United States sets its own requirements for bringing in dogs and cats. From any departure country your pet needs import declaration.
Pets may not enter through just any airport: there are 6 designated points. Order matters more than the list: the microchip goes in before the rabies vaccination, or the vaccination does not count. 83 carriers in our directory fly direct to United States, and their pet conditions differ.
Free, no signup: timings, documents and airlines for your pet
83 airlines in our directory fly direct to and from United States. Their conditions differ — the cabin weight limit, whether they carry pets in the hold, the fee and breed restrictions — so it is worth choosing the carrier before buying the ticket.
| Airline | Cabin | Hold | Cabin fee | Direct flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | ✓ | no pets | 150 USD per flight |
from 134 cities in 62 countries |
| American Airlines no snub-nosed breeds in the hold |
✓ up to 9 kg on 35 of 123 routes |
no pets | 150 USD per flight |
from 123 cities in 61 countries |
| Delta Air Lines | ✓ | no pets | 150 USD per flight |
from 96 cities in 59 countries |
| JetBlue | ✓ up to 9 kg | no pets | 150 USD per flight |
from 44 cities in 32 countries |
| Envoy Air (American Eagle) | ✓ up to 9 kg | no pets | 150 USD per flight |
from 31 cities in 8 countries |
| Alaska Airlines no snub-nosed breeds in the hold |
✓ on 23 of 31 routes |
✓ up to 68 kg on 23 of 31 routes |
100 USD per flight |
from 31 cities in 15 countries |
| Volaris banned breeds: 20 |
✓ up to 12 kg | ✓ up to 45 kg | — | from 24 cities in 1 country |
| GlobalX | ✓ | no pets | — | from 19 cities in 13 countries |
| Japan Airlines banned breeds: 2 |
no pets | ✓ up to 32 kg | — | from 16 cities in 5 countries |
| National Airlines | ✓ up to 10 kg | ✓ up to 45 kg | 50 USD per flight |
from 14 cities in 11 countries |
Showing the 10 carriers serving the most cities out of 83 with direct flights. Schedules: AeroDataBox, AirLabs, Travelpayouts; pet conditions come from our airline directory.
The limits people find out about last: how many animals one person may bring, the minimum age and which breeds are turned away at the border.
These are the country's rules. Airlines refuse some breeds on their own — their limits are in the carrier table above.
CDC does not require a general veterinary health certificate. The destination state or the airline may require one — those are separate requirements, to be checked with them rather than with federal authorities. Check both before buying tickets.
The full list of documents and procedures for entering United States. Every item carries its official source and last-checked date, and is marked as always required or required only from some departure countries.
The cat must appear healthy on arrival — that is CDC's only federal requirement. A rabies vaccination is NOT required for import (CDC recommends it but does not check it), and no federal health certificate is needed either. Cats are inspected at the port of entry and may be refused if they show signs of a disease transmissible to humans; any examination by a licensed vet is at the owner's expense. Check the destination state's and the airline's requirements separately — they can be stricter than the federal ones. Hawaii and Guam run their own quarantine for cats, even on flights from the U.S. mainland.
The order matters more than the list: a step done too early has to be repeated. The intervals come from the same rule fields the engine uses for the earliest departure date.
Steps marked “depends on origin” are not needed by everyone — see the table above or check your own route.
The requirements are the same whichever country you fly from — this country draws no distinction between departure countries. Below is the same engine answer on six examples, counted from zero: no microchip and no vaccination yet, preparation starting today.
| From | Declaration | Earliest departurepreparing from scratch | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | ✓ | no waiting period | Plan → |
| 🇫🇷 France | ✓ | no waiting period | Plan → |
| 🇹🇷 Turkey | ✓ | no waiting period | Plan → |
| 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | ✓ | no waiting period | Plan → |
| 🇨🇳 China | ✓ | no waiting period | Plan → |
If the microchip and vaccination are already done, the wait is shorter: the clock runs from the vaccination date, not from today. Breed, weight and connections change the answer too — check your own route with the form above.
Pets may not enter through just any airport. Below: where direct flights go and whether animals are accepted.
From any country: import declaration.
No, a titre test is not required for entry.
The country's rules list no breed bans. Individual airlines have their own restrictions — see the carrier table.
For example: United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, Envoy Air (American Eagle), Alaska Airlines. The full list with conditions is in the table above.