Moving with a dog or cat between France and the United States

At a glance

USA → France

Bringing a pet from the US to France

For the European Union, the United States is listed in Annex II to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636, together with American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. That listing makes one thing easy and leaves the rest demanding:

• No rabies antibody titre test if the pet comes directly from the US, or has only been in listed countries (a stopover in Canada or the UK, for instance).
• An EU health certificate is required: the US cannot issue EU pet passports. A USDA-accredited vet completes the certificate and submits it through the VEHCS online system; USDA APHIS then ink-signs and embosses it.
• A 10-day window: no more than 10 days may pass between USDA's endorsement and the check on arrival in the EU.
• Entry through a travellers' point of entry (in practice a major international airport), where the pet is presented to customs.

The new certificate model

Since 22 April 2026 the EU rules have been set by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131, and the certificate follows the model in Annex III to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/705. USDA states that the new non-commercial certificates took effect on 1 October 2026. An old-model certificate is accepted until 31 March 2027 only if it was issued before that date, so any certificate written now must use the new model. When France is the first EU country the pet reaches, the certificate is in French and English.

The last page of the certificate is a declaration, signed by the owner (or the person they have authorised), that the move is not commercial. It travels with the pet. For the US-side paperwork in order, from the accredited vet's appointment to the USDA endorsement, see our step-by-step article bringing a dog or cat from the USA to France.

Moving house, or coming home after a stay

A pet that lived in France and comes back after time in the US can return on its EU pet passport, with no certificate, on one condition: the rabies vaccination recorded in the passport before departure must still be valid on return. A US vet cannot enter a booster given in the US into the passport; if the EU-recorded vaccination has lapsed, you need a USDA-endorsed health certificate, exactly as for a first trip. If you have settled in the US for good, your pet counts as coming from the US: plan for the certificate.

Cats

The EU entry rules are the same for cats and dogs. For a Bengal or Savannah cat, the French veterinary authority (DGAL) asks for proof of breed (pedigree or birth certificate); without it, the cat is treated as a hybrid and needs an import permit issued in advance by the regional environment authority (DREAL).

France → USA

Moving to the US with a dog or cat

In the US, dog imports are regulated by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) because of rabies. France is not on the CDC's list of high-risk countries for dog rabies (list dated 15 April 2026), so a dog that has only been in low-risk countries over the past 6 months follows the simplest set of rules.

Dogs from France: four conditions

• At least 6 months old on the day it arrives in the US. There is no exception for younger puppies.
• A microchip that a universal scanner can read. The CDC accepts any brand: ISO is not required to enter the US.
• A CDC Dog Import Form receipt, from a free online form filled in for each dog. The receipt covers several entries from the same departure country for 6 months; a new form is needed for a different departure country, and the receipt becomes invalid if the dog visits a high-risk country.
• Appearing healthy on arrival.

For a dog from a low-risk country, the CDC asks for no rabies certificate and no health certificate, and the dog may arrive at any airport, seaport or land border.

USDA APHIS, the other federal authority, notes that the CDC is the primary authority for dogs. Its own requirements target dogs from countries affected by screwworm or foot-and-mouth disease: France is not on APHIS's screwworm-affected list (15 October 2026) and is listed as free of foot-and-mouth disease. On our reading, no APHIS document is therefore expected for a pet dog coming from France; we reconfirm this before every departure.

Dogs that were in a high-risk country in the past 6 months

Everything changes if the dog has been in a country on the CDC list during the 6 months before arrival, even if it now flies from Paris. A family moving from the United Arab Emirates to France and then on to the US is a typical case: the UAE is on the list. The dog then needs a CDC certification of rabies vaccination and microchip, completed by its vet and endorsed by an official government vet of the exporting country, plus a titre test from a CDC-approved laboratory (blood drawn at least 30 days after the first valid vaccination and at least 28 days before entry). Without that titre, the dog spends 28 days in quarantine at a CDC-registered animal care facility, booked in advance at the arrival airport, at the owner's expense. There are no such facilities in Alaska, Hawaii or the US territories.

For the CDC, a dog has "been in" a country once it has cleared customs there. A dog travelling in the cabin, or changing airlines at a layover, may have to clear customs in the layover country: check the routing before you book.

Cats from France

The CDC does not require proof of rabies vaccination to import a cat, nor a general health certificate. The cat must appear healthy and may be examined on arrival. The CDC adds that some states and some airlines may ask for a health certificate: we check the destination state's and the airline's requirements for your case.

Hawaii is a special case

Hawaii runs its own rabies quarantine system through its Department of Agriculture, and France is not exempt from it. It requires, among other things, a rabies titre test from a laboratory Hawaii recognises, waiting periods and paperwork sent in advance; a pet that does not meet the conditions can be held in quarantine on arrival. Allow several months: we check the current conditions for your case. Other states are not covered on this page.

Identification and vaccination

To enter France, the pet needs an ISO-standard microchip (or a clearly readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011). With a non-ISO chip, you must bring your own scanner, or have a second ISO chip implanted and both numbers written on the certificate. The chip is implanted and read before the rabies vaccine, which can be given from 12 weeks of age. The primary vaccination must be at least 21 days old on the day of travel; a booster given before the previous vaccine expired is valid immediately.

USDA warns that a primary rabies vaccination given in the US is valid for one year only. A booster given even one day late counts as a new primary vaccination, with a fresh 21-day wait.

To enter the US, the CDC requires no rabies vaccination for a dog coming from France, nor for a cat. We still advise keeping the vaccination current in the EU passport: it lets you come back to France on that passport, and some airlines ask for a vaccination certificate on international flights.

Documents to prepare

• From France, for a dog: the CDC Dog Import Form receipt (one per dog), the microchip number and, to be safe, the up-to-date EU passport.
• From France, for a cat: no federal document; the EU passport and, if the state or airline asks, a health certificate.
• From the US: the original EU health certificate, ink-endorsed by USDA, with the owner's declaration signed; the rabies vaccination records; your boarding pass, which shows you are travelling within 5 days before or after your pet.
• Authorised person: if the pet travels with someone other than its owner, the owner's signed written authorisation, attached to the certificate.
• Category 2 dog: its pedigree registration papers (not needed for Rottweilers).

Rabies antibody titre test

In the usual cases it is not required in either direction. The US is in Annex II of the EU list: a pet arriving directly from the US, or that has only been in listed countries, is exempt. If the routing goes through an unlisted country, the owner signs a declaration that the pet stayed on board or inside the airport's international zone, without contact with animals susceptible to rabies.

The other way, the CDC does not require a titre for a dog coming from France. Two exceptions: a dog that was in a high-risk country in the past 6 months (titre at a CDC-approved lab, or 28 days' quarantine), and Hawaii, which has its own titre requirement. For pets that lived in an unlisted country before coming to France, see bringing a pet into France.

Typical timeline

France → USA

1. Check the dog's age and travel history as soon as you have a date

   At least 6 months old on arrival; no time in a high-risk country in the last 6 months. For Hawaii, several months of preparation.

2. Book the pet's place on the flight as early as possible

   Cabin and hold places are limited per flight; Air France asks for pets to be added at least 48 hours before departure in the cabin, 24 hours in the hold.

3. Complete the CDC Dog Import Form before departure

   The receipt is valid for 6 months. Nothing to do at federal level for a cat.

USA → France

1. ISO microchip, then rabies vaccine at least 21 days before departure

   Nothing to repeat if the vaccine is current and the chip came first.

2. Visit a USDA-accredited vet a few days before endorsement

   The vet completes the EU certificate and submits it through VEHCS.

3. USDA endorsement no more than 10 days before arrival

   The endorsed original travels with the pet.

4. Arrival and customs check travel day

   At the first EU airport, with your boarding pass.

5. I-CAD registration within 7 days

   For stays of 3 months or more, through a French vet.

Ways to travel

Between France and the US, pets fly: in the cabin if they are small, in the hold as accompanied baggage, or as cargo. Each airline sets its own rules, and they change often. This is what the airlines publish on their official pages as of 19 October 2026:

Delta does not carry snub-nosed (brachycephalic) dogs and cats or their mixes. Air France accepts them in the cabin only, after veterinary advice. For a dog over 8 kg, the Air France hold or cargo through a forwarder are, in practice, the only options on this route. Other airlines' conditions, United's included, are checked for your journey at booking time. To choose between cabin, hold and cargo, see pet air cargo.

Airports and checks

On arrival in France, a pet coming from the US must enter through a travellers' point of entry. For France, the European Commission refers to the list of border crossing points, which includes Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Orly, Lyon-Saint-Exupéry, Nice-Côte d'Azur, Marseille-Provence, Bordeaux-Mérignac, Toulouse-Blagnac, Nantes-Atlantique and Basel-Mulhouse. You declare and present your pet to customs before leaving the international zone: there is no appointment to book, and the certificate is always shown for stamping.

The check happens at the first EU airport. Connecting in Paris for Nice, it happens in Paris; connecting in Frankfurt, it happens in Germany, and the certificate must then be in German and English. After that check, the certificate stays valid for 6 months for travel within the EU, or until the rabies vaccination expires if sooner.

If the move becomes commercial (more than five pets, a pet travelling more than 5 days before or after its owner, a pet being sold), it must enter through a border control post approved for dogs and cats, with a different certificate. Among the main airports, Paris-CDG (animal station) and Nice (by appointment, weekdays) qualify; Paris-Orly, Lyon, Marseille and Bordeaux do not. See French airports.

On arrival in the US, a dog from a low-risk country can land at any airport. A dog under the high-risk rules must arrive at the airport where its quarantine facility is located.

What affects the cost

A few official amounts, checked on 19 October 2026:

• CDC Dog Import Form: free.
• USDA APHIS certificate endorsement (schedule modified 18 June 2026): USD 101 per certificate when no lab tests are needed, whatever the number of pets; with one or two tests, USD 160 for the first pet plus USD 10 for each additional pet. Vaccines do not count as tests. The accredited vet's own fees are extra.
• CDC-registered quarantine facility (high-risk dogs only): prices set by each facility and paid by the importer.

Beyond that, cost depends mainly on how the pet travels (cabin, hold or cargo; see the published fees above), the crate size, the vet visits and, on arrival in France, I-CAD registration, whose fee is shown by the database operator. Our quote lists each item separately.

Common mistakes

• Assuming the EU passport replaces the CDC form: for a dog, the Dog Import Form receipt is mandatory.
• Planning to fly a puppy under 6 months to the US: it will be refused.
• Letting a dog clear customs in a high-risk country during a layover (cabin travel, change of airline).
• Forgetting that a dog that lived in the UAE in the past 6 months falls under the CDC's high-risk rules.
• Booking a cabin pet on American Airlines for a transatlantic flight.
• Using the old EU certificate model for a certificate issued on or after 1 October 2026.
• Having USDA endorse the certificate more than 10 days before arrival in Europe.
• Letting a US rabies vaccination lapse: the booster then counts as a primary vaccination, with a 21-day wait.

Frequently asked questions

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