Bringing your dog to the US from Germany
Germany is low risk for the CDC: your dog needs one free form. What to check before leaving, trips that change the rules and the breed ban on return.
Germany on the CDC list
Germany is not on the CDC list of high-risk countries for dog rabies. A dog that has only been in low-risk countries during the last 6 months follows the simplest pathway.
If your dog has also been in another country in the last 6 months, that country counts too.
What your dog needs
From Germany, the requirements are short:
- CDC Dog Import Form receiptFree on cdc.gov. Show the receipt to the airline and at the border, on paper or on your phone.
- At least 6 months old on arrivalYounger dogs cannot enter the US, whatever their papers.
- A microchipAny brand, as long as a universal scanner can read it. Ask your vet to check it.
- Healthy on arrivalA dog that looks sick can be refused boarding or entry.
Where your dog can arrive
Any US airport, land border or seaport.
Local information
In short
- Germany is low risk for the CDC. A dog that has only been in low-risk countries in the last 6 months needs the free CDC Dog Import Form receipt, and nothing else from the CDC.
- The form asks for no photo, no microchip number and no vet document. You can do it a few days before the flight.
- Watch recent holidays: Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Ukraine and Russia are all high risk.
- On the way back, EU rules apply, plus Germany’s own ban on some breeds.
Before you leave Germany
Your dog must be at least 6 months old when it lands in the US, look healthy and carry a microchip that a universal scanner can read. Ask your vet to scan it before the trip: a chip that cannot be read at the border is one of the most common problems.
The CDC does not ask a dog from Germany for a rabies vaccination. You still need a valid one to bring your dog back into the EU, so check the date in the EU pet passport now. If the vaccination would run out while you are in the US, get the booster in Germany before you leave.
The trips that change the rules
The CDC asks where your dog has been during the last 6 months, not only where it flies from. Several popular destinations for German dog owners are on the CDC high-risk list: Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Ukraine, Russia and Georgia, among others.
A dog that visited one of them within the window is a high-risk dog. If it was vaccinated outside the US, it needs a titer test (a blood test that measures rabies antibodies), an official vet certification and a booking at a CDC-registered animal care facility. Three German laboratories are on the CDC list of approved laboratories: the Bavarian State Office for Health and Life Sciences, Viro Vet Diagnostik UG and IDEXX Reference Laboratories Vet Med Labor GmbH (Kornwestheim).
Flights to the US
A low-risk dog can enter at any US airport, so a direct flight from Frankfurt or Munich and a connection through another low-risk country are both fine for the CDC. The airline is usually the harder part: each carrier has its own limits on cabin and hold travel, crate size, temperature and breeds. Confirm your dog’s booking with the airline before you rely on a flight.
The low-risk receipt stays valid for 6 months for multiple entries, as long as your dog always departs from the same country. If you fly to the US from Germany and later from Austria or Switzerland, that is a new departure country and a new form.
Coming back to Germany
The return follows EU rules. The United States is on the EU list of countries whose dogs do not need a titer test to enter the EU (EU Commission). Your dog needs a microchip, a valid rabies vaccination and either its EU pet passport, after a short stay, or an EU animal health certificate endorsed by the US authorities and used within 10 days of issue. After an extended stay in the US, the EU expects the certificate, not the passport.
See returning to Europe with your dog for the full EU checklist.
Questions travelers ask
Does my German dog need a titer test for the US?
No, not if it has only been in low-risk countries recently. Germany is not on the CDC high-risk list, so the CDC Dog Import Form receipt is all the CDC asks for.
We spent the summer in Turkey with our dog. Is that a problem?
It can be. Turkey is on the CDC high-risk list. If the stay falls within the CDC look-back window before your US arrival, your dog follows the high-risk rules, with extra documents and a mandatory arrival airport.
Can I bring my Staffordshire Bull Terrier back to Germany after the US trip?
German law bans the import of Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Bull Terriers and their crosses. Its implementing regulation exempts dogs returning from a temporary stay abroad to a place in Germany where they may lawfully be kept, so check the rules of your federal state before you leave.
Ready to fill in the form?
Do it yourself, for free
The official CDC Dog Import Form is free. Use this page and fill it in on cdc.gov.
Or let us do it
We check your documents, file the form and send you the receipt. Our fee covers this service only.
Sources: CDC: Bringing a dog into the United States (opens in a new tab), CDC: High-risk countries for dog rabies (opens in a new tab), CDC: Dogs from rabies-free or low-risk countries (opens in a new tab), CDC: Approved rabies serology laboratories (opens in a new tab), EU: Bringing a pet into the EU from a non-EU country (opens in a new tab), EU: Listing of territories and non-EU countries (pets) (opens in a new tab), EU: Dogs, cats and ferrets FAQs (opens in a new tab), Germany: Hundeverbringungs- und -einfuhrbeschränkungsgesetz, § 2 (opens in a new tab), Germany: Hundeverbringungs- und -einfuhrverordnung, § 2 (exceptions) (opens in a new tab)