Pet Transport from China to the USA
Start with the airline, not the paperwork. Air China’s own US website states that from 1 February 2025 it suspended carriage of dogs on flights to the United States, guide and hearing dogs included, and it has not restored the service. That single line …
The China to United States import process
Every step must be completed in sequence. A single missed deadline can add months to your timeline. We own the entire process.
Responsible: Your veterinarian
Responsible: Your veterinarian + approved laboratory
Responsible: You (or your agent)
Responsible: Local customs + designated veterinary institution
Responsible: Official government veterinarian
Responsible: Official government veterinarian
Responsible: You + the facility operator
Which United States rules depend on a pet coming from China?
The United States sorts countries into 2 groups, and China falls in “High-risk countries for dog rabies”.
Dog has been in one of these within 6 months: rabies vaccination mandatory. US-vaccinated dogs need USDA-endorsed CDC certification form; foreign-vaccinated dogs need foreign certification form, CDC-approved titre or 28-day quarantine, facility reservation and arrival at that facility's airport. Official source
These rules apply to that group, on top of the rules every pet follows:
- Quarantine: Without a valid titre, the dog is admitted only after 28 days' quarantine at a CDC-registered animal care facility; this can be shortened if criteria are met. Applies to foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries without a valid titre.
Entry Requirements for Foreign-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries, checked 2 October 2026 - Quarantine: All foreign-vaccinated high-risk dogs need a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility before entry, where they are examined and revaccinated with a US-licensed rabies vaccine. Applies to foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries.
Entry Requirements for Foreign-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries, checked 2 October 2026 - Quarantine: The 28-day CDC facility quarantine may be shortened only if all of these are met: personal pet or service dog; documentation of at least 2 rabies vaccines; healthy on exam; the facility gets CDC approval for a prospective serologic monitoring (PSM) assessment; the dog gets a US-issued rabies vaccine under PSM; and a titre is obtained from a CDC-approved US lab (CDC FAQ updated 27 August 2026). Applies to foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries without a valid titre.
Frequently Asked Questions on Dog Importations, checked 2 October 2026 - Rabies titre test: Foreign-vaccinated high-risk dogs need a passing rabies serology titre from a CDC-approved laboratory; blood drawn at least 30 days after the first valid vaccine and at least 28 days before entry. Applies to foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries.
Entry Requirements for Foreign-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries, checked 2 October 2026 - Rabies titre test: Passing titre results are valid for life while vaccination does not lapse and the lab remains approved. Applies to foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries.
Entry Requirements for Foreign-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries, checked 2 October 2026 - Rabies titre test: Not required: US-vaccinated dogs returning from a high-risk country need valid (unexpired) documentation of a US-issued rabies vaccination, not a titre. If that documentation is invalid, the foreign-vaccinated rules (including titre or 28-day quarantine) apply. Applies to US-vaccinated dogs returning from high-risk countries.
Frequently Asked Questions on Dog Importations, checked 2 October 2026 - Health certificate: Foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries need the Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip form, completed by a vet and endorsed by an official government vet of the departure country. Applies to foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries.
Entry Requirements for Foreign-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries, checked 2 October 2026 - Health certificate: That form must be completed no more than 30 days before travel, is single use and is valid 30 days from the vet's signature. Applies to foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries.
Entry Requirements for Foreign-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries, checked 2 October 2026 - Health certificate: US-vaccinated dogs returning from high-risk countries need the Certification of U.S.-Issued Rabies Vaccination form, completed by a USDA-accredited vet and USDA-endorsed before the dog leaves the US (at least 28 days after a first vaccine). Page updated 28 April 2026. Applies to US-vaccinated dogs returning from high-risk countries.
Entry Requirements for U.S.-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries, checked 2 October 2026 - Health certificate: USDA-endorsed export health certificates issued after 31 July 2025 are no longer accepted for re-entry; the CDC certification form is needed instead. Applies to US-vaccinated dogs returning from high-risk countries.
Entry Requirements for U.S.-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries, checked 2 October 2026 - Rabies vaccination: For high-risk dogs the first rabies vaccine must be given at or after 12 weeks (84 days) of age; earlier vaccines are not accepted. Applies to foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries.
Entry Requirements for Foreign-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries, checked 2 October 2026 - How your pet may travel: Foreign-vaccinated high-risk dogs must arrive by air; only service dogs (14 CFR 382.3) may arrive by sea. Applies to foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries.
Entry Requirements for Foreign-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries, checked 2 October 2026 - Arrival points and notice: Foreign-vaccinated high-risk dogs must arrive at the airport where their CDC-registered facility is. CDC list (updated 1 Sept 2026): Atlanta (ATL), Dallas (DFW), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK), Philadelphia (PHL), Seattle (SEA, cargo only), Washington DC (IAD). Applies to foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries.
CDC-registered Animal Care Facilities, checked 2 October 2026 - Arrival points and notice: There are no CDC-registered facilities in Alaska, Hawaii or US territories, so foreign-vaccinated high-risk dogs cannot enter the US through those places. Applies to foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries.
Frequently Asked Questions on Dog Importations, checked 2 October 2026 - Arrival points and notice: US-vaccinated dogs returning from high-risk countries may arrive at any airport, land border or seaport matching the receipt. Applies to US-vaccinated dogs returning from high-risk countries.
Entry Requirements for U.S.-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries, checked 2 October 2026 - Arrival points and notice: Foreign-vaccinated dogs that have been in a high-risk country in the past 6 months cannot enter at a land border crossing (Canada or Mexico). Applies to foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries.
Frequently Asked Questions on Dog Importations, checked 2 October 2026 - Microchip: For dogs from high-risk countries the chip must be implanted before the rabies vaccine, otherwise the vaccine is invalid. Applies to foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries.
Entry Requirements for Foreign-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries, checked 2 October 2026
One rule for every pet entering the United States decides whether yours can travel at all:
- Minimum age: Every dog must be at least 6 months old on entry or return to the US.
Entry Requirements for Dogs from Dog-Rabies Free or Low-Risk Countries, checked 2 October 2026 - Minimum age: Not listed: cats. CDC's cat section requires only that cats appear healthy on arrival (they may be inspected, examined at the owner's cost if ill, or refused if they show a zoonotic disease); rabies vaccination proof is not required. APHIS states it has no animal health requirements for pet cats (https://www.aphis.usda.gov/pet-travel/another-country-to-us-import/cats). Neither sets a minimum age; destination states may.
Bringing an Animal into the U.S., checked 2 October 2026
The rules that apply to every pet entering the United States, whatever the origin, are listed with their official sources in our United States guide.
What does China require before your pet leaves?
- Export health certificate: National rule for all ports (GACC Measures on Quarantine of Articles Carried by Inbound and Outbound Persons, as amended 23 November 2018, article 24): where the destination country or region or the traveller requires quarantine for a pet leaving China, the traveller applies to customs, which inspects the pet and issues the certificate. The GACC online service guide for traveller quarantine says no fee is charged. Applies to dogs and cats leaving China through any port.
出入境人员携带物检疫管理办法（海关总署）, checked 5 October 2026
What this route typically costs
Critical points
Air China has carried no dogs to the United States since 1 February 2025, guide and hearing dogs included, in its own published words. One of the two obvious flag carriers is simply unavailable.
The CDC high-risk designation reads China excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, but the test is where the dog has spent the last six months. Routing a Shanghai dog through Hong Kong does not convert it.
The in-cabin pet products Chinese carriers launched from December 2024 are domestic routes only. None of them applies to a US flight.
Approved carriers for this route
Not all airlines accept live animals. We book only with carriers that handle live animal cargo correctly.
What is actually left to fly on
China Southern is the practical answer out of the mainland. It flies Guangzhou to Los Angeles five times a week and Guangzhou to New York JFK once a week, and both airports hold a CDC-registered animal care facility, which turns out to be the other binding constraint on this route. Beyond that, a third-country carrier routing into one of the six facility airports, or straight air cargo.
China Southern’s published limits: small animals as checked baggage, one per cage, 32kg maximum, cage no larger than 90 x 60 x 66cm, application made at booking and at least 72 hours before departure, and some flights capped at three animals in total. Nothing pregnant and nothing under eight weeks.
China Eastern is reported to have made the same US dog suspension as Air China on the same date, but that could not be confirmed on the airline’s own site, so treat it as unconfirmed and ask before you plan around it.
One thing to ignore entirely: the headlines about Chinese carriers now allowing pets in the cabin. China Southern launched cabin pets on Guangzhou to Shanghai Hongqiao in late 2024 and has expanded it widely, Hainan offers it from dozens of airports, and China Eastern sells an adjacent seat for pets up to 18kg. Every one of those products is domestic. None of them applies to a flight to America.
Cats, meanwhile, are a different move altogether. The CDC has no import requirements for cats, so a cat leaving Shanghai faces the Chinese export formalities and nothing else on the American side.
What the CDC actually asks of a Chinese dog
China sits on the CDC’s high-risk dog rabies list, entered as “China (excluding Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan)”. The carve-out is about residence, not departure airport: the question is where the dog has been in the previous six months, so a mainland dog does not become low-risk by connecting through Hong Kong.
High risk means the full pathway. A free CDC Dog Import Form receipt. A microchip implanted before the rabies vaccination, in that order, because a vaccination given first does not count. A dog at least six months old. A Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip endorsed by an official government vet, which expires 30 days after signature. A rabies titre of at least 0.5 IU/ml. And a booked reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility, which is required whether or not the titre passes.
Here is the one place China is genuinely better off than most high-risk origins: it has eight CDC-approved serology laboratories, in the Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Changchun and Jilin catchments, among them the Technical Centre for Animal, Plant and Food Inspection and Quarantine of Shanghai Customs and South China Agricultural University. Owners in most high-risk countries courier blood halfway around the world and wait. Chinese owners do not. The CDC accepts results only from laboratories on its own list, so check the current list before the blood is drawn.
Two dates govern the titre. The draw must be at least 30 days after the first valid rabies vaccination, and at least 28 days before the dog enters the United States. Check the second one before you buy a ticket.
The screwworm certificate almost nobody mentions
CDC is not the only American agency involved. USDA APHIS lists China as a screwworm-affected region, so a dog also needs an official government veterinary certificate based on an inspection carried out within five days before shipment. Of the common US-bound origins, China is one of the few carrying both the CDC high-risk burden and the APHIS screwworm certificate at once.
China is also not on the APHIS foot-and-mouth-free list, which sounds worse than it is. Nothing needs documenting. The dog’s fur and bedding must be free of excessive dirt, hay or straw, it should be bathed on arrival, and it should be kept away from livestock for five days.
Which airports can receive the dog
A foreign-vaccinated dog from a high-risk country has to arrive by air at the airport where its reserved CDC-registered facility is located. Not a land border, not Alaska or Hawaii, not a US territory. Seven facilities operate across six airports: Atlanta, Los Angeles (two), Miami, New York JFK, Philadelphia and Washington Dulles.
Put that beside the airline position and the shape of the move is clear. China Southern into Los Angeles or JFK works. A third-country carrier that lands at one of the six works. Air cargo works. Air China does not, for dogs, by its own suspension.
If you are an American family posted to China and the dog left the United States with you, there is a shortcut worth knowing: a dog holding a valid USDA-endorsed, US-issued rabies certificate skips the titre and the facility entirely and can enter at any port. It is the single most useful fact on this page for that group of owners, and it is why keeping the original US paperwork alive matters.
The exit side, city by city
Chinese export practice is run by customs rather than a national pet agency, and the detail differs by city. The shape is consistent: declare to your local customs office, book a clinical inspection, and collect an Animal Health Certificate issued to the destination country’s requirements. The inspection itself covers mental condition, movement, coat, breathing, nose moisture, mucous membrane colour and freedom from parasites.
Dogs and cats over three months are expected to have been vaccinated at a clinic recognised by the local authority and to hold the rabies immunity certificate, then attend a designated animal hospital for a health check and deworming before the customs declaration. Customs formalities generally sit inside the fortnight before departure, with the certificate typically obtained seven to ten days out.
The list of designated hospitals is held locally and changes, so confirm it with your own city’s customs office on the 12360 hotline rather than working from a guide written for a different city.
Common questions
Move your pet to United States.
Get my free quoteSources
Requirements on this page were checked against the authorities below. Rules change, so confirm current conditions with the relevant authority before you travel.
- USDA APHIS · United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
- CDC · United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dog import rules