Bringing a Dog From Canada to USA: Official CDC and USDA APHIS Forms

As of September 2026, bringing a dog from Canada to USA usually requires one free Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Dog Import Form receipt if the dog stayed only in dog rabies-free or low-risk countries for six months, plus age of at least six months, a healthy appearance, and a universally readable microchip. Canada is low-risk under CDC rules, so extra CDC rabies certificates are generally not required for that itinerary.

Bringing a dog from Canada to USA means meeting United States federal entry rules—primarily CDC dog importation requirements, with United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) and destination-state rules when they apply—so a dog may cross at a land border, airport, or seaport. USDA APHIS is usually not the lead agency for personal pets from Canada unless the move is commercial or disease-specific Veterinary Services rules apply. Animal Passport publishes this form-level overview; it is not legal advice and does not replace live agency pages.

Who regulates dogs entering the United States from Canada?

Three layers matter for most travelers:

1. CDC sets the national dog importation rules aimed at preventing dog-maintained rabies virus variant from re-entering the United States. CDC is the primary federal authority for dog imports, including dogs entering or returning to the United States, according to USDA APHIS pet-dog import guidance updated in 2026.
2. USDA APHIS adds requirements mainly when dogs come from regions affected by certain livestock diseases (for example foot-and-mouth disease or screwworm under Veterinary Services rules) or when dogs are imported for commercial resale or fee-based adoption under APHIS Animal Care and the Animal Welfare Act.
3. U.S. destination states and territories may impose extra rules. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) states that owners must meet federal and state requirements and that CFIA does not administer U.S. state rules. Hawaii’s Animal Industry Division, for example, runs a separate rabies-prevention quarantine program that is stricter than mainland entry.

The CFIA’s “Dogs travelling to the United States” page (current as of the agency’s published guidance linked from inspection.canada.ca) points owners to CDC and USDA APHIS and notes that, as of August 1, 2024, CDC updated import requirements for all dogs travelling to the United States.

Canada’s risk category under CDC rules

CDC maintains a public list of high-risk countries and political units for dog rabies. If a country is not on that list, CDC treats it as dog rabies-free or low-risk for importation purposes. Canada is not on CDC’s high-risk list, so a dog whose recent travel history is limited to Canada and other low-risk places follows the simpler low-risk pathway.

CDC still strongly recommends rabies vaccination for dogs from low-risk countries, even when a CDC rabies certificate is not the required entry document for that pathway. That recommendation appears on CDC’s high-risk countries overview: for dogs that have not been in any listed high-risk country during the past six months, additional high-risk entry requirements do not apply, but vaccination is still strongly recommended.

Official forms checklist for the common Canada-to-U.S. pet trip

Use this checklist when the dog has been only in dog rabies-free or low-risk countries (such as Canada, the United States, and Mexico) in the six months before U.S. entry:

1. CDC Dog Import Form receipt — Complete online; one form per dog; free. Show a printed copy or phone screen to airlines (if flying) and to U.S. Customs and Border Protection on arrival. CDC states this is the only required documentation for the low-risk six-month history pathway starting August 1, 2024.
2. Universally readable microchip — Any brand is acceptable if a universal scanner can detect it, per CDC FAQs updated August 27, 2026.
3. Age eligibility — Dog must be at least six months old at U.S. entry or return.
4. Healthy appearance on arrival — CDC requires dogs to appear healthy upon arrival.
5. Rabies vaccination records (recommended, sometimes required by other parties) — Not the CDC’s sole required document for the low-risk pathway, but airlines, destination states, boarding facilities, or a Canadian veterinarian preparing you for a later return may still ask for them. Keep originals accessible.

As of September 2026, CDC’s Dog Import Form instructions note that on February 5, 2026 the web system’s receipt formatting was updated with no change to importation requirements; older accurate, unexpired receipts remain acceptable.

How to complete the CDC Dog Import Form

According to CDC’s Dog Import Form instructions (page dated April 28, 2026):

• The importer, owner, or shipper completes the form; someone may assist if the importer has difficulty.
• Confirm your email; after confirmation you receive the receipt.
• List passport, driver’s license, or air waybill/bill of lading identifiers as required on the form.
• Enter dog details (age, sex, breed, color/markings) and select purpose (personal pet, commercial, service animal under 14 CFR 382.3, government-owned, or education/exhibition/research).
• Select travel type (air, land, or sea), Canada as country of departure for a Canada departure, and an arrival date (approximate earliest date is allowed).
• Read and accept the attestations; typing a name constitutes a legal signature under the form’s terms.

CDC states the receipt for dogs from dog rabies-free or low-risk countries is valid for multiple U.S. entries for six months from issuance if the listed country of departure does not change. Frequent Canada–U.S. travelers can reuse one Canada-listed receipt until it expires. Switching departure country (for example to France or Mexico) requires a new form listing that country, per CDC’s low-risk entry page and FAQs.

You may complete the form on the day of travel; CDC recommends completing it a few days or up to six months ahead. The form is free. Each dog needs its own form.

Comparison: low-risk Canada itinerary vs. high-risk travel history

Sources disagree in emphasis when travel history is mixed: CDC publishes the high-risk pathways and documentation in detail, while CFIA currently states that dogs that have also been in a high-risk country during the six months before U.S. travel are not eligible to enter the United States directly from Canada and must either wait six months in Canada or enter directly from the high-risk country. CFIA notes it is working with CDC on process and documents for that situation. If your dog’s passport stamps or boarding history include a high-risk country, do not assume the simple Canada low-risk form pathway applies—verify both agencies before booking.

What USDA APHIS requires for dogs from Canada

For a typical privately owned pet dog coming from Canada, USDA APHIS Veterinary Services states that CDC is the primary authority and that APHIS VS requirements apply mainly if the dog is coming from a country affected by foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or screwworm. Canada is not described on APHIS’s pet-dog import page as an FMD or screwworm origin triggering those VS certificates for the ordinary pet case; still confirm the live APHIS disease lists before travel because agency pages change.

APHIS also notes that dogs used in livestock handling imported from most of the world should have no evidence of tapeworm infection, with an explicit exception pathway language covering Canada, Mexico, and certain regions of Central America and the West Indies on the pet-dog import page.

Commercial sale, rescue for fee-based adoption, and APHIS Form 7041

If the dog is imported for resale—retail, wholesale, or fee-based adoption—the Animal Welfare Act rules enforced by APHIS Animal Care apply. APHIS’s commercial dog import guidance (last modified June 2, 2026 on the page fetched for this article) requires, among other items:

• Dog at least 6 months (180 days) of age at entry;
• Veterinary examination in the exporting country finding good health and freedom from infectious disease and parasites;
• Rabies vaccination by a licensed veterinarian at least 30 days before entry (with stated timing exceptions for continuous vaccination status);
• DHLPP vaccination within 12 months of entry;
• English-language health and rabies certificates from a veterinarian licensed in the exporting country—APHIS recommends APHIS Form 7041: Live Dog Import Health and Rabies Certificate;
• A valid APHIS Animal Care import permit via APHIS eFile, allowing at least five business days for processing.

Privately owned pets not intended for resale are outside those Animal Care resale rules, APHIS states. Selecting “Commercial” on the CDC Dog Import Form when the purpose is rescue, sale, or organization-arranged movement is a signal to align CDC and Animal Care paperwork early.

Land borders, airports, and airlines

For the low-risk six-month history pathway, CDC allows entry at any airport (including Pre-clearance ports), seaport, or land border crossing. CDC FAQs confirm dogs entering at a land border must still meet CDC entry requirements even if they stay mostly in the vehicle and do not overnight in the United States.

If traveling by air, CDC’s form instructions require showing the Dog Import Form receipt to the airline before boarding. Airlines may add their own carrier, crate, and breed policies; those are private rules, not CDC forms, and must be checked on the airline’s official page.

State example: Hawaii is not “just another mainland state”

Meeting CDC rules for bringing a dog from Canada to USA does not automatically satisfy Hawaii’s rabies-prevention program. The Hawaii Department of Agriculture Animal Industry Division explains that dogs and cats generally must complete either a 120-day quarantine or qualify for reduced programs such as “5 Day Or Less,” with user-paid fees. Owners planning Canada → Hawaii should treat Hawaii’s checklists and forms (including Dog and Cat Import Form filings) as a separate workstream from the CDC Dog Import Form.

Returning to Canada after a U.S. visit

CFIA reminds travelers that a dog returning to Canada must still meet Canada’s import requirements, such as a valid rabies vaccination certificate, and points owners to CFIA’s pet import tools. Plan the round trip before you leave Canada so you do not meet U.S. entry rules only to fail re-entry home.

Official travel forms vs. Animal Passport’s biometric livestock ID

Government dog-entry paperwork for the United States—especially the CDC Dog Import Form and, for commercial movements, APHIS Animal Care permits and Form 7041—is issued or required by public authorities. It is not the same thing as an EU pet passport, the United Kingdom’s older PETS scheme, or airline pet policies.

Animal Passport is a digital animal and livestock identity product that uses muzzle biometrics (a nose print unique like a fingerprint), phone-based capture, and records that bind owner, breed, estimated age, body condition, and vaccination history. Age can be estimated from a dental photograph with a confidence score, and body condition can be scored 1–5 from a side-profile photo. The product was used in livestock flood rescue in Pakistan in August 2025 so farmers could reclaim animals when paper tags washed away. Those features support durable private identity records; they do not replace the CDC Dog Import Form, USDA endorsements, or CFIA export certificates, and Animal Passport is not a government-issued U.S. travel document.

Owners who keep vaccination and identity history organized—whether in clinic records or complementary tools described on the Animal Passport blog—still must present the official CDC receipt and any USDA or state documents officers request at the border.

Step-by-step plan before you cross

1. Confirm every country the dog visited in the past six months against CDC’s high-risk list.
2. If the history is only low-risk (including Canada), verify the dog is at least six months old and microchipped with a universally readable chip.
3. Complete one CDC Dog Import Form per dog listing Canada as the country of departure; save the receipt on your phone and print a backup.
4. Ask your Canadian veterinarian for current rabies documentation even when CDC does not require a rabies form for the low-risk pathway—useful for airlines, states, and the return to Canada.
5. If the purpose is commercial resale or fee-based adoption, start the APHIS Animal Care permit and Form 7041 pathway at least five business days before arrival.
6. Check the destination state veterinarian’s office (Hawaii and other jurisdictions may add quarantine or filing rules).
7. Confirm airline pet policies if flying; show the CDC receipt before boarding.
8. At the U.S. port, present the receipt to Customs and Border Protection and follow officer instructions; dogs that fail requirements may be denied entry and returned at the importer’s expense, CFIA and CDC both warn.

Trust and update note

This article is published by Animal Passport and reflects official pages fetched for research as of September 2026. CDC dog importation pages cited here include updates through August 27, 2026 on the FAQ, and USDA APHIS commercial and pet FAQ pages show 2026 modification dates. Rules change; re-check CDC, USDA APHIS, CFIA, and your destination state before each trip. For questions on CDC requirements, CDC-INFO is listed at (800) 232-4636; CFIA lists the same CDC phone line and cdcanimalimports@cdc.gov for U.S. dog-entry questions.