The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will require only the CDC Dog Import Form for dogs entering or returning to the United States from countries designated as dog rabies-free or low-risk beginning Aug. 1, 2024. The narrowed documentation requirement centralizes import paperwork for eligible animals and makes a digital receipt the principal proof of compliance, the agency said.

The CDC published guidance and an online submission portal accompanying the change, saying, “CDC simplified the process for meeting requirements for dogs arriving from dog rabies-free or low-risk countries.” Under the new requirement, owners or transporters must complete the CDC Dog Import Form before arrival; a receipt will be emailed upon submission and should be retained for arrival screening, the guidance says.

The streamlined rule applies only when a dog’s travel history during the six months preceding arrival has been limited exclusively to nations that the CDC deems dog rabies-free or low-risk. For animals with other travel histories, for dogs coming from higher-risk countries, or for animals with different vaccination circumstances, existing federal rules and additional documentation or certification requirements continue to apply.

The change is intended to standardize and simplify what had been a more fragmented set of entry requirements for some pets. The CDC said the single, standardized form reduces the paperwork burden for owners and transporters and consolidates the evidence the agency will review on arrival. The form and a list of eligible countries are posted on the CDC website, which hosts the importation guidance and the electronic submission portal.

Veterinary and industry groups have relayed the change to practitioners and owners. The American Animal Hospital Association highlighted the update in its communications to members, reflecting how professional organizations are assisting with dissemination of the federal change. The CDC’s guidance also notes that interagency and industry conversations informed efforts to streamline entry procedures, while the specifics — including which countries meet the rabies-free or low-risk designation and how that status is determined — are set out in the published materials.

Countries are generally classified as rabies-free or low-risk based on formal surveillance data showing no locally acquired cases for a defined period, robust national rabies surveillance and reporting systems, and control of imported cases, the guidance states. International standards and reporting to organizations such as the World Organisation for Animal Health inform those determinations.

Public-health context for the move: human rabies is now extremely rare in the United States, with fewer than 10 human cases reported annually and 17 documented cases from 2015–2024. At the same time, roughly 100,000 people receive post-exposure prophylaxis each year after potential rabies exposures, underscoring continued public-health vigilance even as human infections remain uncommon.

The CDC’s updated rule includes practical steps owners should complete before travel. Owners should ensure their dog is at least 6 months old, healthy, microchipped with a universally readable chip, and has a completed CDC Dog Import Form receipt before entering the United States; those items are central to the agency’s eligibility checks for the simplified pathway. The guidance warns that if a dog has been in a high-risk rabies country within the prior six months, or was vaccinated in the United States and has a complicated vaccination history, different documentation or certification may be required.

Officials emphasize retaining the emailed receipt as immediate confirmation of filing; the receipt will be the primary digital proof of compliance with the new standard at arrival screening. The CDC’s importation page provides the submission portal, the list of qualifying countries, and the full statement of the new documentation standard.

The narrower paperwork rule takes effect Aug. 1, 2024, and is intended to make entry screening more efficient for dogs whose six-month travel histories are limited to specified low-risk or rabies-free nations while preserving existing controls for animals with other histories. Rabies in the United States: Protecting Public Health – CDC
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