Pet Transport Costa Rica to USA
Start by discarding the most common claim about this route. Costa Rica does not appear on the CDC’s high-risk rabies country list, so a dog travelling from San Jose needs no …
The import process, in full
Responsible: You
Responsible: You + airline
Responsible: Your veterinarian
Responsible: Private authorised veterinarian
Responsible: Official government veterinarian + SENASA
Responsible: You
Which United States rules depend on a pet coming from Costa Rica?
The United States sorts countries into 2 groups, and Costa Rica falls in “Dog rabies-free or low-risk countries”.
Dog has been only in these countries for 6 months before entry: CDC Dog Import Form receipt (valid 6 months), age 6 months, microchip, healthy; any airport, seaport or land border. Official source
These rules apply to that group, on top of the rules every pet follows:
- Import permit: For dogs only in rabies-free or low-risk countries, the receipt is valid 6 months unless the dog visits a high-risk country or a different low-risk country in that time. Applies to dogs from rabies-free or low-risk countries.
Entry Requirements for Dogs from Dog-Rabies Free or Low-Risk Countries, checked 2 October 2026 - Health certificate: No document beyond the CDC Dog Import Form receipt is listed for dogs only in rabies-free or low-risk countries. Applies to dogs from rabies-free or low-risk countries.
Entry Requirements for Dogs from Dog-Rabies Free or Low-Risk Countries, checked 2 October 2026 - Health certificate: Not required: CDC does not require a general health certificate for pets (cats, and dogs only in rabies-free or low-risk countries). Airlines and some states may still ask for one.
Bringing an Animal into the U.S., checked 2 October 2026 - Rabies vaccination: CDC recommends, but for dogs only from rabies-free or low-risk countries does not list as an entry requirement, rabies vaccination. Applies to dogs from rabies-free or low-risk countries.
Bringing a Dog into the United States, checked 2 October 2026 - How your pet may travel: Not required: no federal restriction on mode of travel for dogs only in rabies-free or low-risk countries; they may arrive by air, sea or land. Cabin, checked baggage or cargo is an airline matter. (Seattle's CDC facility takes cargo-only reservations, and the LAX facilities prefer cargo, for high-risk dogs.) Applies to dogs from rabies-free or low-risk countries.
Entry Requirements for Dogs from Dog-Rabies Free or Low-Risk Countries, checked 2 October 2026 - Arrival points and notice: Dogs only in rabies-free or low-risk countries may enter at any airport, seaport or land border. Applies to dogs from rabies-free or low-risk countries.
Entry Requirements for Dogs from Dog-Rabies Free or Low-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 Costa Rica require before your pet leaves?
- Export health certificate: Exports of dogs and cats: the private veterinarian who inspects the pet prepares the export certificate to the destination country's requirements, then SENASA veterinarians review and sign it, validating it as a Costa Rican Government document (SENASA news item, 8 April 2022). Applies to dogs and cats leaving Costa Rica.
SENASA recuerda trámite para salida de perros y gatos desde Costa Rica (8 April 2022), checked 7 October 2026 - Export health certificate: MAG/SENASA reminder of 18 December 2025: the owner takes the pet to an authorised private veterinarian for the clinical assessment; that vet checks the destination country's requirements and issues the export certificate, and the official SENASA veterinarian reviews it and confirms compliance. Once the certificate is signed the pet may leave. Applies to dogs and cats leaving Costa Rica.
Si va a viajar con su mascota, recuerde verificar los requisitos de exportación (18 December 2025), checked 7 October 2026 - Other conditions: The export certificate fee is paid under the SENASA tariff decree, code C.16, and the user must show the vaccination card and any document the destination requires. If the destination needs an additional certificate model, the user arranges both documents. Applies to dogs and cats leaving Costa Rica.
Si va a viajar con su mascota, recuerde verificar los requisitos de exportación (18 December 2025), checked 7 October 2026 - Other conditions: SENASA Tarifario 2026 (valid 1 April 2026 to 31 January 2027): code C.16, certificate for the export of animals, products and non-edible by-products, costs CRC 17,322 with 0% VAT. The MAG reminder of 18 December 2025 names C.16 as the code for pet exports. Applies to dogs and cats leaving Costa Rica.
Tarifario 2026, rige a partir del 01 abril 2026, checked 7 October 2026
We handle the regulations for every animal, every country, every airline, so nothing on your Costa Rica to United States move gets missed.
Carriers on this route
Not all airlines accept live animals on this route. Confirm the operating carrier's current policy for every flight segment.
What this route typically costs
Critical points
The requirement that does apply, and that most guides miss, is the USDA screwworm certificate: an official government veterinarian must inspect the dog within 5 days before shipment. Costa Rica joined the affected-region list in August 2023.
The two busiest carriers on the corridor, United and American, cannot move a large dog: United carries no civilian pets and American restricts checked pets to military and State Department orders. Avianca is the practical nonstop for anything above cabin size.
What the CDC actually asks for
For a dog from a low-risk country the list is short: the CDC Dog Import Form receipt, a microchip readable by a universal scanner, a minimum age of six months at entry, and an animal that appears healthy when it lands. The form is free, takes minutes online, and its receipt stays valid for six months across multiple entries so long as the dog does not visit a high-risk country in the meantime.
Notice what is absent. No rabies certificate is required by the CDC on this route, though vaccination remains sensible and is expected under Costa Rican domestic practice, and your destination US state may impose its own rules. No titre. No facility booking. No quarantine.
Cats are simpler still: the CDC imposes no import requirements on cats from anywhere. Hawaii and Guam run their own separate quarantine schemes, which is the only caveat worth remembering.
The screwworm certificate, and its five-day clock
Costa Rica was added to the APHIS screwworm-affected region list with effect from August 2023, following New World screwworm detection. The consequence for pet owners is a certificate signed by a full-time salaried government veterinarian, confirming the dog was inspected for screwworm within five days before shipment to the United States. Costa Rica’s own veterinary college confirms the certification has to be handled inside that five-day window.
Plan the last week around it. The private authorised vet drafts the export certificate ten to fourteen days out; the screwworm inspection and official certification then happen inside the final five days, and SENASA signs off the export certificate through its Animal Quarantine Directorate. Any change of flight date in that window means redoing the inspection, not just re-dating a form.
One piece of good news specific to Costa Rica: it is on the APHIS foot-and-mouth-free list, so the arrival bathing and five-day livestock-separation conditions that apply to many origins do not apply here. Of the common Latin American origins, this is the one where that rule is switched off.
Which airlines can actually take your dog
San Jose has eleven to fourteen nonstop US departures a day across a dozen airlines, and that abundance is misleading. United, the highest-frequency operator, carries no civilian pets at all, its PetSafe programme having been closed to the public since 2018. Delta restricts hold carriage to military and State Department moves. American, the second-busiest, takes pets in the cabin for 150 dollars but limits checked pets to active-duty military and State Department personnel on orders.
So for a cat or a dog under about 9kg with its carrier, you have real choice: American at 150 dollars, JetBlue at 125 one way (cabin only, no cargo at all, and Costa Rica is on its permitted international list), or Avianca at 110 to 200 depending on route.
For a medium or large dog, Avianca is the practical nonstop: up to 45kg including the carrier in a rigid IATA crate, booked at least 48 hours ahead, San Jose to Miami. Copa can also move a larger dog but only as cargo through Panama City, since it carries no live animal as checked baggage.
Because Costa Rica is low-risk, your arrival airport is unconstrained. Miami, JFK, Fort Lauderdale, anywhere at all. That freedom is worth using: pick the routing that gives the shortest total journey rather than one dictated by facility locations.
Common questions
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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
- IATA · International Air Transport Association, Live Animals Regulations
- SENASA Costa Rica · Servicio Nacional de Salud Animal, Costa Rica