While the rules for bringing pets on domestic flights lie squarely with airlines, transporting pets internationally is subject to much stricter border laws on animal control — ones that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just tightened.
The changes affect dogs in particular and, according to the CDC, are necessary to “protect the health and safety of people and animals by making sure any dog arriving in the United States is healthy and doesn’t present a risk to our communities.”
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While previous laws did not distinguish canines based on age, all dogs entering the United States by airport, land or sea crossing as of August 1, 2024 must be at least six months of age. Other new requirements include having to be microchipped with their vaccination records and owner’s details, having a filled-out CDC Dog Import Form that the owner can present and appearing “healthy upon arrival." The latter is simply clarifying existing rules as any dog deemed unhealthy by a customs officer could have still been taken in for examination in the past.
Traveling with a dog? Here is what you need to know about the new rules
For dogs that have been to countries such as Bolivia and Mongolia, which are determined to be high-risk for dog rabies in the last six months, further proof of rabies vaccination is required — without it, a dog could be separated from the owner and placed in quarantine for up to several weeks.
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The changes were introduced to avoid dog rabies that the U.S. eliminated fully in 2007 amid an increase in “recent challenges with international dog importations” in which people have been faking documents to bring in dogs illegally.
“The rabies virus variant carried by dogs (dog rabies) was eliminated in the United States in 2007 and CDC wants to prevent the re-introduction of dog rabies into the United States,” the CDC writes further. “This regulation builds on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic when a temporary suspension was enacted for the importation of dogs from countries with a high risk of rabies.”
Traveling with a pet domestically? The rules are very different
When it comes to domestic flights, the rules are much simpler. The rule, which is generally the same across the “big three” carriers such as Delta Air Lines (DAL) , American Airlines (AAL) and United Airlines (UAL) , is that any pet traveling in the cabin needs to fit into a carrier of 18 x 11 x 11 inches and be well-behaved enough to stay in it throughout the flight.
American Airlines recently outbid competitors by changing up its rules so that one can bring a carry-on suitcase alongside the pet carrier without paying extra. Previously (and at many other airlines), it counted as one’s main carry-on item. Bringing a pet into the cabin is still subject to a fee of $150 (this is also generally the same across airlines) and registering that you are bringing one ahead of time.
“On flights with American you can bring one pet carrier as a carry-on if: you pay the carry-on pet fee [and] your pet stays in the pet carrier and under the seat in front of you the entire flight,” American wrote on the updated page on pet transportation rules on its website.
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