Bringing your dog to the US from Colombia

Colombia is high risk for the CDC. How the ICA exit certificate fits in, where to send the titer sample, the arrival airport and the return to Colombia.

Colombia on the CDC list

Colombia is on the CDC list of high-risk countries for dog rabies. Any dog that has been there during the last 6 months follows the high-risk rules, even for a short stay.

If your dog has also been in another country in the last 6 months, that country counts too.

High risk

What your dog needs

If your dog was vaccinated in the US

With the USDA-endorsed Certification of US-Issued Rabies Vaccination:

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.
A clear photo of your dogFace and body visible, .jpg or .png, up to 10 MB. Under 1 year old: taken within 15 days before arrival.
Certification of US-Issued Rabies VaccinationFilled in by a USDA-accredited vet and endorsed by USDA before the dog left the US. Carry 3 copies.

If your dog was vaccinated outside the US

The most demanding pathway:

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.
A clear photo of your dogFace and body visible, .jpg or .png, up to 10 MB. Under 1 year old: taken within 15 days before arrival.
Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and MicrochipEndorsed by an official government vet of the country you leave, no more than 30 days before travel.
Documents in EnglishOr with a certified English translation.
Rabies titer test from a CDC-approved labRecommendedA blood test showing at least 0.5 IU/mL. Without it, your dog spends 28 days in quarantine at the facility.
Booking at a CDC-registered animal care facilityThe facility examines your dog and gives a US rabies booster on arrival, at your cost.
Direct flight to the facility’s airportNo connecting domestic flight before the facility has cleared your dog. No land crossing.

A dog that is not vaccinated against rabies cannot enter the US from Colombia.

Where your dog can arrive

Dogs vaccinated outside the US must land at one of these 8 airports, each with a CDC-registered animal care facility: ATL, DFW, IAD, JFK, LAX, MIA, PHL, SEA. US-vaccinated dogs with their certification can use any airport.

In short

Colombia is on the CDC high-risk list. A dog that has been in Colombia in the last 6 months follows the high-risk rules, even a US dog visiting family.
Leaving Colombia also takes the ICA exit certificate (Certificado de Inspección Sanitaria, CIS), and ICA asks for your CDC receipt to issue it.
There is no CDC-approved titer laboratory in Colombia: the blood sample must go abroad, to a laboratory such as the ones in Mexico or Chile.
Bogotá has nonstop flights to US airports with a CDC-registered animal care facility, such as Miami, New York JFK and Atlanta.

Before you leave Colombia

Check the order of the microchip and the rabies vaccination first: for a dog vaccinated outside the US, the chip comes first. If your dog was vaccinated before it was chipped, it needs a new vaccination, and the titer test has to wait for it. See foreign-vaccinated dogs for the chain of dates.

The CDC asks for a certification completed by your vet and endorsed by an official government veterinarian no more than 30 days before travel. In Colombia, official animal health certification for pets is the job of the Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario (ICA). ICA’s pages on travel to the US say:

the CDC receipt is required to obtain ICA’s exit certificate (CIS) for the US, however short your stay in Colombia. That means you submit the CDC form before you see ICA, not after;
for a dog entering the US for the first time, start the process at least 45 days before travel;
the CIS is requested online and then issued at the ICA office of the airport or border crossing you leave from, with your dog present.

The CDC does not name the endorsing authority for each country, and we could not confirm from ICA’s pages how the CDC certification is endorsed alongside the CIS. Ask the ICA office at your departure airport early.

Titer test: the sample leaves Colombia

The CDC list of approved laboratories has no laboratory in Colombia, and none in Panama either. The nearest approved laboratories on the list are in Mexico (SADER/SENASICA) and Chile (Instituto de Salud Pública de Chile), and the list also has several in the US, including Kansas State University. Which of them accepts samples from private owners, what they charge and how they receive serum from abroad are questions for each laboratory; the CDC list does not say.

One CDC condition matters more here than elsewhere: results must come directly from the approved laboratory, not from a third-party lab that sent the sample on. If a Colombian clinic collects the blood and forwards it, make sure the approved laboratory issues the report. Allow for courier time and customs for a biological sample. The timing windows are on the rabies titer test page.

Flights from Bogotá to a US facility

Pick the facility, then the flight, then fill in the form. Route listings for Bogotá (BOG) show nonstops to three airports that have a facility:

Miami (MIA): the busiest option, with several airlines listed (Avianca, American and LATAM among them). Facility: Pet Limo.
New York (JFK): Avianca is the nonstop carrier listed; Delta ended its Bogotá-JFK flights in October 2024. Facility: The ARK Pet Oasis, which accepts landings at JFK only.
Atlanta (ATL): Delta. Facility: Dandie Scottie Kennel.

We found no confirmation of a current nonstop to Washington Dulles, so do not assume one. These are third-party listings, so check the airline’s own schedule and whether the flight carries dogs. Details of each facility are on animal care facilities. If the route stops in another country, keep your dog airside and with the airline.

A US dog with the Certification of US-Issued Rabies Vaccination, endorsed by USDA before it left the US, does not need the facility and can return through any US port that matches its receipt. See US-vaccinated dogs.

Coming back to Colombia

For dogs entering Colombia, ICA asks for a health certificate issued or endorsed by the official veterinary authority of the departure country (in the US, USDA), dated no more than 10 days before arrival, and a valid rabies vaccination. On arrival, you present your dog and its papers at the ICA office of the airport, which inspects the dog and issues the CIS. Check ICA’s page before you book, as its requirements are updated from time to time.

Questions travelers ask

Is Colombia a high-risk country for the CDC?

Yes. Colombia is on the CDC list of high-risk countries for dog rabies, so every dog that has been there recently follows the high-risk rules, including US dogs on vacation.

Can my dog’s titer test be done in Colombia?

Not by a Colombian laboratory. The CDC list of approved laboratories has none in Colombia, so your vet draws the blood locally and sends the sample to an approved laboratory abroad.

What is the ICA certificate?

The Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario (ICA), Colombia’s official agricultural health agency, issues the Certificado de Inspección Sanitaria (CIS) that pets need to leave the country. ICA says your CDC receipt is required to obtain it for a trip to the US.

How early should we start?

ICA recommends starting at least 45 days before travel for a dog entering the US for the first time. In practice, a dog that still needs its titer test needs more than that.

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.

Go to the free CDC form

Or let us do it

We check your documents, file the form and send you the receipt. Our fee covers this service only.

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