Traveling With Your Pet’s Vaccination Records

For most trips you need your pet's current vaccination records, especially the signed rabies certificate, plus whatever your destination and your airline add on top: a health certificate for some states and most countries, the CDC Dog Import Form receipt for any dog entering the United States, and specific inspection papers for dogs crossing between the U.S. and Mexico. The rules are set by different agencies and change often, so treat this as a map of what to check, not a substitute for the official pages linked below.

Rules change. Confirm every requirement with the official source and with your airline before you travel. The details below reflect the official pages as we read them in October 2026.

Traveling within the United States

According to USDA APHIS, the federal government does not regulate pets moving between states with their owners. Requirements are set by the destination state or territory, and may include a health certificate or updated vaccinations. APHIS advises contacting your veterinarian as soon as you know your travel details, and the destination's state animal health official if anything is unclear. Island destinations deserve extra lead time: the CDC notes that all cats arriving in Hawaii and Guam, even from the mainland, are subject to locally imposed quarantine requirements.

Airlines are a separate layer. Each carrier sets its own pet policy, and the CDC notes that health certificates may be required by airlines even where the government does not require one. Read your airline's pet page when you book, and again a week before you fly.

Bringing a dog into the United States

Since August 1, 2024, the CDC dog import rules apply to every dog entering the U.S., including U.S. dogs coming home from a trip. What a dog needs depends on where it has been in the past 6 months.

For dogs that have only been in dog rabies-free or low-risk countries, the CDC lists these requirements:

• A CDC Dog Import Form receipt. You can submit the form on the day of travel, but CDC recommends doing it a few days or up to six months ahead.
• The dog must be at least 6 months old when it arrives.
• A microchip that a universal scanner can detect.
• The dog must appear healthy on arrival.

Those dogs can arrive at any airport, seaport or land border crossing. Per the form instructions, the receipt arrives by email, can be shown printed or on your phone to the airline and to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and is valid for multiple entries from the same country for six months from issuance.

Dogs that have been in a country on CDC's high-risk list need more. For a U.S.-vaccinated dog, that includes a Certification of U.S.-Issued Rabies Vaccination completed by a USDA-accredited veterinarian and endorsed by USDA before departure, a rabies vaccine given after the microchip was implanted, and, for a first rabies vaccine, a dog at least 12 weeks old at vaccination and a form completed at least 28 days later. A dog that is not vaccinated against rabies and has been in a high-risk country in the past 6 months will not be allowed to enter. Use the CDC's own pages to plan these trips well ahead.

Cats: the CDC requires cats to appear healthy on arrival and does not require proof of rabies vaccination for entry, though your destination state may. CDC also does not require general health certificates for pets, but states and airlines may.

Leaving the United States: international health certificates

Your destination country sets its own entry rules and can change them at any time, so APHIS Pet Travel tells you to check the country's requirements every time you travel and to contact a USDA-accredited veterinarian as soon as you decide to go. Choose the country on that page to see its current list.

From the APHIS FAQ:

• Most countries require an international health certificate, issued by a veterinarian who examines your pet and performs or verifies the required tests, vaccinations and treatments.
• If the country needs USDA endorsement, the veterinarian must be USDA-accredited, and APHIS reviews and endorses the certificate after it is issued.
• The whole process can take a few weeks to many months, depending on the country.

Traveling between the U.S. and Mexico

Dogs and cats going from the U.S. to Mexico. According to APHIS and SENASICA, Mexico's agricultural health agency:

• A dog needs a New World screwworm (NWS) inspection certificate signed by a USDA-accredited veterinarian and issued no more than 5 days before travel. APHIS endorsement is not required for this document.
• A cat does not need a health certificate or a screwworm document. Do not add cats to the dog inspection form; APHIS says that makes the form invalid.
• Every pet is physically inspected on arrival, and you request the Certificado Zoosanitario para Importación from SENASICA at the point of entry.
• Carriers must be clean and are sprayed by officials. Bedding, pads, newspaper, sawdust, rags and toys are not allowed, and APHIS adds that you should not bring more than one day's portion of food.

If you enter Mexico with your pet at least three times a year, SENASICA's free Programa Mascota Viajero Frecuente can speed up entry; its page lists the documents to apply.

Dogs coming from Mexico into the U.S. Mexico does not appear on CDC's high-risk list, so the CDC requirements are the low-risk ones above: Dog Import Form receipt, 6 months of age, microchip, healthy appearance. The CDC FAQ confirms dogs crossing at a land border must meet them too. Separately, USDA APHIS requires a dog coming from a country where screwworm is known to exist to have a certificate showing it was inspected for screwworm within 5 days before travel and is free of it. For Mexico, an authorized clinical veterinarian may issue it on behalf of the official veterinarian (APHIS points to Mexico's MVRA directory), there is no required template, and the dog is inspected at the port of entry.

Paper or phone: how to carry the records

• Carry originals of anything signed or endorsed: health certificates, the NWS inspection certificate, USDA-endorsed forms and the rabies certificate. Officials and airlines may not accept a photo.
• The CDC Dog Import Form receipt can be shown printed or on your phone. Print a copy anyway in case your battery dies at the border.
• Keep a phone copy of everything, including the full vaccination history and microchip number, so you can resend a document if a paper goes missing.
• Write down the validity dates. A 5-day certificate and a 6-month receipt expire on very different schedules.

Fuzzi Fi lets you attach PDFs and photos of these documents to your pet's profile and open or share them from your phone, with the microchip number and your vet's contact in the same place. See the features.

Timing and packing checklist

Work backward from your departure date:

1. As soon as you book: read the destination's official requirements, the airline's pet policy and, for international trips, contact a USDA-accredited veterinarian.
2. Check vaccine dates: make sure the rabies vaccine and others will still be current on your return date. See Dog Vaccination Records: What to Keep and Why.
3. Confirm the microchip scans and that its number matches every document.
4. Book the certificate appointment inside the validity window the destination states, such as within 5 days for a dog's screwworm inspection certificate.
5. Submit the CDC Dog Import Form a few days ahead for any dog returning to or entering the U.S.

Pack in a folder you keep with you, not in checked luggage:

• Rabies certificate and vaccination record
• Health or inspection certificates, originals
• CDC Dog Import Form receipt, printed
• Microchip number, your vet's phone number and an emergency contact
• Current medications with their names and doses
• A recent photo of your pet

For a fuller list of what to have on hand, see What Information to Keep About Your Pet: Checklist and How to Organize Your Pet’s Medical Records.

Sources

1. Take a Pet From One U.S. State or Territory to Another (Interstate) — USDA APHIS
2. Bringing a Dog into the U.S. — U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
3. Entry Requirements for Dogs from Dog-Rabies Free or Low-Risk Countries — U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
4. CDC Dog Import Form and Instructions — U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
5. High-Risk Countries for Dog Rabies — U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
6. Entry Requirements for U.S.-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries — U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
7. Frequently Asked Questions on Dog Importations — U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
8. Bringing an Animal into the U.S. — U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
9. Take a Pet From the U.S. to Another Country (Export) — USDA APHIS
10. Frequently Asked Questions About Traveling With Your Pet — USDA APHIS
11. Pet Travel From the United States to Mexico — USDA APHIS
12. Bring a Pet Dog into the United States — USDA APHIS
13. Requisitos y procedimientos para viajar a México con tu mascota — SENASICA (gob.mx)
14. Programa Mascota Viajero Frecuente (PMVF) — SENASICA (gob.mx)

This article is general information, not veterinary advice. Your veterinarian knows your pet and is the right person for medical decisions.