The USA’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its regulations for importing dogs into the country with effect from 1 August, 2024.

The new regulations will make it easier to import a dog as long as it has been in a rabies-free country for the previous six months.  In this case, owners simply need to complete a CDC Dog Import Form which, the organisation claims, should take a few minutes.

The regulations are more complicated for dogs from high-risk countries (there’s a long list on the CDC website).  They may be imported if they have been vaccinated against rabies, but the regulations are different depending on whether the dog was vaccinated in the US or elsewhere.  Unvaccinated animals from high-risk countries may not be imported.