Bringing your dog to the US from France

In short

• France is low risk for the CDC. A dog that has only been in France or other low-risk countries in the last 6 months needs one thing: the free CDC Dog Import Form receipt.
• No photo, no microchip number on the form and no vet document for the CDC. The form takes a few minutes, even on the day you fly.
• The traps are elsewhere: a recent trip to a high-risk country (Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey…), a neighbor of an overseas department, and the paperwork for coming back to France.
• Plan the return before you leave: the EU sets its own rules for dogs entering from the US.

Before you leave France

Your dog must be at least 6 months old on arrival in the US and carry a microchip that a universal scanner can read. Most French dogs already have one, because identification is compulsory in France and recorded in the national I-CAD file.

Two points are worth checking with your vet:

• Tattoo only? Older French dogs were sometimes identified by tattoo alone. The CDC asks for a microchip, and the EU only accepts a tattoo done before 3 July 2011 that is still clearly legible (Service-Public.fr). A microchip avoids the question on both sides of the trip.
• Rabies vaccination. The CDC does not ask for one from a low-risk country, but you will need a valid one to come back to France. Get it done in France, after the microchip, so it is recorded in your dog’s EU pet passport before departure.

The trips that change everything

The CDC looks at every country your dog has been in during the last 6 months, not only the one it flies from. Many French families take their dog to North Africa or Turkey on holiday: Morocco (including Western Sahara), Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey are all on the high-risk list. A summer week in Marrakech followed by a flight from Paris to New York in the autumn makes your dog a high-risk dog, with a titer test, a vet certification and an animal care facility to plan.

The CDC does not say whether a dog flying from an overseas department counts as departing from “France” on a low-risk receipt. If your dog leaves from French Guiana or the Antilles rather than mainland France, declare the place it actually departs from, and do a new form if that changes.

Flights to the US

A low-risk dog can arrive at any US airport, so direct flights from Paris and connections through other low-risk countries both work for the CDC. What limits you is the airline: each carrier sets its own rules on cabin or hold travel, crate size and breeds. Confirm your dog’s booking with the airline early, then keep the CDC receipt on your phone and on paper for check-in.

If your dog stays in the US and you fly back later, the low-risk receipt stays valid for 6 months for multiple entries, as long as the dog always departs from the same country. See how long the receipt is valid.

Coming back to France

The return follows EU rules, not CDC rules. The United States is on the EU list of countries whose dogs do not need a rabies titer test to enter the EU (EU Commission). Your dog needs:

• a microchip, implanted before the rabies vaccination;
• a valid rabies vaccination, given at least 21 days before travel if it is the first one;
• either its EU pet passport, after a short stay, or an EU animal health certificate completed by a vet, endorsed by the US authorities (USDA) and used within 10 days of issue.

The EU pet passport works only for a short stay outside the EU. After an extended stay, for work for example, the EU treats your dog as coming from a non-EU country and expects the animal health certificate. France also bans the entry of first-category dogs (attack dogs of pit bull type), whatever their papers (Service-Public.fr). The details are in returning to Europe with your dog.