Pet Transport from France to the United States
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The France to United States process
Responsible: Vet
Responsible: Owner
Responsible: Owner or agent
Responsible: French veterinarian
Responsible: US Customs and Border Protection
Which United States rules depend on a pet coming from France?
The United States sorts countries into 2 groups, and France 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 France require before your pet leaves?
- Export health certificate: For travel to a non-EU country, where the destination country's health rules cannot be found, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (updated 27 July 2026) gives default conditions: an international health certificate drawn up by the owner's own vet holding the 'mandat sanitaire' in the week before leaving France. Otherwise the destination's own rules set the timing and content. Applies to dogs and cats leaving France for non-EU countries.
Animaux domestiques (mis à jour le 27 juillet 2026), checked 1 October 2026 - Export health certificate: Under the same default conditions, the owner must then book an appointment with the 'Santé et protection animales' service of the Ministry of Agriculture veterinary services covering that vet, which validates the documents the vet has drawn up. Applies to dogs and cats leaving France for non-EU countries.
Animaux domestiques (mis à jour le 27 juillet 2026), checked 1 October 2026 - Other conditions: Owners of Category 1 or Category 2 dogs must check in advance whether the dog can travel with them and be admitted by the destination country. Applies to Category 1 and 2 dogs leaving France.
Voyager à l'étranger avec son animal de compagnie, checked 1 October 2026 - Other conditions: For travel from France to a country outside the EU, service-public.gouv.fr (checked 28 April 2026) lists the conditions for the dog, cat or ferret: microchip identification (or a tattoo made before 3 July 2011 that is still legible), a European pet passport issued by a vet, and rabies vaccination. Applies to dogs, cats and ferrets leaving France for a non-EU country.
Voyager à l'étranger avec son animal de compagnie, checked 1 October 2026 - Other conditions: Rabies vaccination is possible from 12 weeks of age and takes effect at least 21 days later (service-public.gouv.fr, conditions for travel outside the EU). Applies to dogs, cats and ferrets leaving France for a non-EU country.
Voyager à l'étranger avec son animal de compagnie, checked 1 October 2026 - Other conditions: Some destination countries require the documents validated by the Ministry of Agriculture veterinary services to be legalised or apostilled afterwards; the apostille is obtained from the courts of appeal (Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, updated 27 July 2026). Applies to dogs and cats leaving France for a non-EU country.
Animaux domestiques (mis à jour le 27 juillet 2026), checked 1 October 2026 - Other conditions: Allow at least ten days for the export formalities, or several months for destinations that require quarantine (Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, updated 27 July 2026). Applies to dogs and cats leaving France for a non-EU country.
Animaux domestiques (mis à jour le 27 juillet 2026), checked 1 October 2026
What this route typically costs
| 1 | Air France cabin pet fee: approximately EUR 70 to EUR 125 per leg for small pets |
| 2 | Air cargo fee (larger pets): EUR 1,000 to EUR 3,000 from Paris to a US hub |
| 3 | French vet health certificate for the airline: EUR 50 to EUR 150 |
| 4 | Pet transport agent fee if used: EUR 400 to EUR 1,200 |
| 5 | IATA-compliant travel crate (if cargo): EUR 80 to EUR 350 |
| 6 | US-side customs clearance and cargo terminal handling if the pet flies as cargo: quoted by the broker or handling agent. Ask for this figure before booking. We do not publish a range because we do not hold a checked one. |
Read before you book
Airlines on this route
France's CDC low-risk status
The US CDC classifies France as low risk for dog rabies. The classification attaches to the dog, not to the airport it leaves from: what the CDC looks at is where the animal has been for the previous six months. A dog that has spent all six of those months in France, or in any other low-risk country, does not need a titre test, quarantine, or a CDC-registered facility. The only mandatory CDC document is the Dog Import Form, completed free online at cdc.gov/importation before travel.
Check that six-month history before you plan anything else. A dog that has been in a country the CDC classes as high risk within that window, a rescue relayed through Paris for example, is treated as high risk however long it has lived in France since. That dog needs a Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip endorsed by a government vet, plus either a rabies serology result from a CDC-approved laboratory or a booked 28-day stay at a CDC-registered animal care facility, and it has to land at the airport where that facility sits with no domestic connection first. None of it can be arranged at the airport.
While the CDC does not require a rabies vaccination on the low-risk pathway, airlines require one for their booking, so most pets will have a current vaccination.
Cats face no federal US requirements: no CDC form, no federal health certificate, no vaccination certificate. Individual states can still set their own rules, so check the agriculture department for the state you are moving to, and note that Hawaii’s quarantine programme applies to cats exactly as it does to dogs.
Air France cabin travel
Air France takes small pets in the cabin on many transatlantic routes, which is unusual on the Atlantic and worth having. The limit is around 8kg for the animal and its carrier together, and the carrier has to fit under the seat in front, so weigh the pet in its bag before you assume anything. A 9kg cat in a 1kg carrier is over. Confirm the current figure with the airline when you book, because these limits change.
Over that weight the pet goes in the hold or as cargo, and the choice of carrier narrows sharply. Air France cargo handles larger animals out of Paris. United carries small pets in the cabin only and runs no cargo pet service. Delta’s cargo service is currently limited to active US military and State Department personnel moving on PCS orders, so it is not something a civilian owner can book, whatever a general airline guide may say. If your dog is too big for a cabin carrier, plan on Air France cargo or an IPATA-accredited agent, and book weeks ahead rather than days.
Flat-faced breeds are the other thing that stops bookings out of France. French Bulldogs, Pugs and English Bulldogs meet restrictions and seasonal embargoes on both cabin and cargo, and a summer departure narrows the options further. Check the breed policy before you fix a travel date.
Common questions
France to United States?
Sources
Requirements on this page were checked against the authorities below. Rules change, so confirm current conditions with the relevant authority before you travel.