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How to Apply for Dog

Permit
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CDC is extending its temporary suspension

of dog importation from high-risk dog
rabies countries until July 31, 2024. This
suspension includes dogs arriving from
countries without high risk of rabies if the
dogs have been in a high-risk country in the
past 6 months. Learn about the current
rules: What Your Dog Needs to Enter the
United States

Plan ahead: The current wait time to receive

a permit is less than 4 weeks, but
submitting an incomplete application will
result in additional delays.

CDC has the authority to issue a CDC Dog

Import Permit to bring in 1 or 2 dogs from a
high-risk country for dog rabies. Permits will be
issued only for dogs that were vaccinated
against rabies in a foreign country. Dogs with
current valid US issued rabies vaccination
certiUcates do not need a permit.

STOP! Did you verify that

 your dog has been in a high-
risk country for dog rabies
in the past 6 months? If not,
go back to High-Risk
Countries
Countries..

Permit Application
Requirements:
Each person may be granted approval
(permits) to bring in a maximum of 2 dogs
for one trip during the temporary
suspension. People wishing to import dogs
for science, education, exhibition, or bona
Ude law enforcement purposes may be
granted approval to import more than 2
dogs.
For dogs to be eligible for an import
permit, they must:
be at least 6 months old, as veriUed by
submission of current photos of the
dog’s teeth
have an ISO-compatible microchip
have a valid CDC Rabies Vaccination
and Microchip Record 
[PDF – 1 page]
have a valid rabies serologic titer from
an approved laboratory. For dogs
older than 15 months with booster
vaccinations, make sure the CDC
Rabies Vaccination and Microchip
Record  [PDF – 1 page] shows the
current rabies vaccination and at least
one previous rabies vaccination given
when the dog was 12 weeks old or
older if your dog’s titer was collected
less than 30 days from the date of the
current rabies vaccination.
Dogs must enter the United States through
one of the 18 airports with a CDC port
health station:

Anchorage (ANC), Atlanta (ATL), Boston

(BOS), Chicago (ORD), Dallas (DFW),
Detroit (DTW), Honolulu (HNL), Houston
(IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA),
Minneapolis (MSP), New York (JFK),
Newark (EWR), Philadelphia (PHL), San
Francisco (SFO), San Juan (SJU), Seattle
(SEA), and Washington DC (IAD).

See more details about these requirements

below.

If you don’t meet the

 requirements above, STOP!
Go back to Determining if
You Can Bring a Dog into
the United States
States..

Before You Apply: What

You Must Know
Start the process early before you travel. Give
yourself plenty of time to apply for the permit—
especially to gather all the required documents
and photos. Also, because of the high volume of
applications CDC receives, it can take up to 40
business days or 8 weeks for CDC to process a
complete and valid permit application.
However, if required information is
missing from the application, the process
can take longer
longer. CDC will respond to you
within 8 weeks.

If you are granted a permit, the validity dates of

the permit may be from 14 days before planned
entry up to 90 days after planned entry,
provided the dog meets all entry requirements
during that time frame. The dog may only travel
to the United States during the period of validity
listed on the permit. If your arrival date changes
to outside the period your issued permit is valid,
please submit a new application and note in the
additional comments section that you are
requesting changes to a current permit.

The permit can only be used once before

the expiration date.

The permit will only be issued to a single

person, known as the Applicant. The Applicant
must be at least 18 years old to apply. You, as
the Applicant, may designate someone (for
example, a family member or friend), known as
the Permit Holder, to travel with the dog to the
United States. If this is the case, then you must
make sure the Permit Holder receives the
permit so the Permit Holder can present it to a
US Customs and Border Protection oicer upon
arrival.

At the Port of Entry

Once the dog is within the United States, the
applicant (or Permit Holder) of the dog listed on
the permit must conUne the dog at the address
listed on the permit. The dog may not be placed
at any other location or with any other person
until the conUnement period has ended.
Ownership of the dog can’t be transferred to
another person while the dog is in conUnement.
The conUnement period for permitted dogs
ends once the dog is revaccinated against rabies
in the United States, which must occur within 10
days of arrival.

Don’t forget: In addition to CDC regulations, you

must comply with US Department of
Agriculture’s (USDA) and your US destination’s
regulations  . Regulations of US states or
territories may be more strict than federal
regulations.

Read through the required documents below as

soon as you can. You can also read the
Application Instructions on how to Ull out the
permit application form line by line. Be sure you
understand all that is required and what
decisions you may need to make before Ulling
out and submitting the permit application form.

An incomplete application will delay the

time to process the permit.

Collect the Documents

You Must Submit with the
Permit Application Form
Gather the documents for the permit
application. You will upload these documents as
part of the application. It may take several
weeks to over a month to obtain some items, so
give yourself plenty of time.

Documents must be submitted in English or be

accompanied by a certiUed English translation. A
certiUed translation is a signed statement on
professional letterhead issued by a licensed
translator declaring that the translation is an
accurate and true representation of the original
document. The translation must include the
name, address and contact information of the
translator and have a signatory stamp or
elevated seal with the translator’s license
number included. A certiUed translation service
provider can be found online.

1. Photographs: Take two clear photographs

of your dog’s teeth (make sure the
photographs are recent and taken within
10 days of submitting your application) and
include them with your permit application:
front view of upper and lower teeth
side view of upper and lower teeth

Photo credit: Zoonoses Team, CDC

Dogs need to be at least 6 months of

age at the time you submit the
application to CDC

2. CDC Rabies Vaccination and Microchip

Record  [PDF – 1 page] : This record
is required for permit applications
submitted beginning March 1, 2023 2023.
Have your veterinarian Ull out the CDC
Rabies Vaccination and Microchip Record if
your dog was vaccinated outside the
United States. The record must document
a current rabies vaccine. Your veterinarian
must also enter the prior rabies
vaccination information if your dog’s titer
was collected less than 30 days from the
date of the current rabies vaccination.
Remember, if your dog’s rabies vaccination
is expired, you cannot apply for a permit.
a. For dogs vaccinated for the Urst
time and for dogs younger than
15 months oldold: Submit a current
CDC Rabies Vaccination and Microchip
Record showing the rabies vaccine
was given on or after 12 weeks of age
and at least 28 days before the arrival
date.
b. For dogs older than 15 months with
booster vaccinations: Submit a CDC
Rabies Vaccination and Microchip
Record  [PDF – 1 page] that shows
the current rabies vaccination and at
least one previous rabies vaccination
given when the dog was 12 weeks old
or older if your dog’s titer was
collected less than 30 days from the
date of the current rabies vaccination.
Enter the date of the most recent
rabies booster into the application
and submit a CDC Rabies Vaccination
and Microchip Record showing both
rabies vaccinations with the
application.
3. Serologic titer from an approved
laboratory
laboratory: You must submit serologic
titer results from an approved laboratory
as part of your CDC dog import permit
application.
a. Titers must be drawn at least 30 days
after your dog’s Urst rabies vaccine
was administered.
b. Dogs over 15 months of age with at
least one vaccine administered
previously after 12 weeks of age may
have a titer drawn at any time. For
dogs older than 15 months with
booster vaccinations, make sure the
CDC Rabies Vaccination and Microchip
Record [PDF – 1 page]  shows the
current rabies vaccination and at least
one previous rabies vaccination given
when the dog was 12 weeks old or
older if your dog’s titer was collected
less than 30 days from the date of the
current rabies vaccination.
c. Dogs must wait 45 days from the date
their titer is collected before they can
enter the United States.
d. Titers are valid for entry for one year
(365 days) from the date of collection.
4. Passport photo: Obtain a clear photo of
the identiUcation page of the applicant’s
and permit holder’s passports.

After all items are complete,

Click here to apply.

If you need to request a change to a

permit that CDC has already issued,
please submit a new application by
clicking the blue button above and
note in the additional comments
section that you are requesting
changes to a current permit.

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Last Reviewed: July 6, 2023

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