Bringing your dog to the US from Spain

Mainland Spain and the islands are low risk for the CDC, but Ceuta and Melilla are high risk. What that means for your dog, your flight and the return to Spain.

Spain on the CDC list

Spain 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.

Low risk

What your dog needs

From Spain, 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.

In short

Mainland Spain, the Balearics and the Canary Islands are low risk for the CDC: one free form, no vet document for the CDC.
Ceuta and Melilla are on the CDC high-risk list, listed apart from Spain. A dog that lives there or visited them in the last 6 months is a high-risk dog.
Morocco, a ferry ride away, is high risk too.
Coming back to Spain follows EU rules, which are simple for dogs returning from the US.

Ceuta, Melilla and Morocco: the Spanish trap

The CDC high-risk list names Ceuta and Melilla separately from Spain. On the CDC’s logic, a weekend in Ceuta is the same as a weekend in a high-risk country, even though you never left Spain. Morocco (including Western Sahara) is on the list as well, and the ferries across the Strait of Gibraltar make it an easy trip with a dog.

What counts is the last 6 months before arrival in the US. If your dog was in Ceuta, Melilla or Morocco during that window, the low-risk path is closed for this trip. Your dog then needs, if it was vaccinated in Spain:

a titer test (a blood test that measures rabies antibodies) from a CDC-approved laboratory;
the Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip, endorsed by an official government veterinarian no more than 30 days before travel;
a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility at the US arrival airport.

Getting a titer test from Spain

Two Spanish laboratories are on the CDC list of approved laboratories: the Instituto Valenciano de Microbiología and the Laboratorio Central de Sanidad Animal Santa Fe (Granada). Your vet draws the blood and sends the sample. A titer from any other laboratory is not accepted by the CDC.

The blood must be drawn at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination and at least 28 days before arrival in the US, with a result of at least 0.5 IU/mL. See the rabies titer test for the timing.

Before you leave Spain

For a low-risk dog, check two things with your vet: that the microchip reads on a standard scanner and that the rabies vaccination is valid and recorded in the EU pet passport. The CDC does not ask for the vaccination from a low-risk country, but you need it to come back.

Flights to the US

A low-risk dog can arrive at any US airport. A high-risk dog vaccinated outside the US must fly directly into one of the airports with a CDC-registered animal care facility, with no domestic connection inside the US before it is cleared there. Pick the facility first, then the flight, then fill in the form: a high-risk receipt is valid only for the date and airport you declare.

Coming back to Spain

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 outside the EU, the passport alone is not enough. See returning to Europe with your dog. The same EU rules apply if you fly home through France or Germany.

Questions travelers ask

Is Spain a high-risk country for the CDC?

Mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands are not on the CDC high-risk list. Ceuta and Melilla, the two Spanish cities in North Africa, are listed as high risk on their own.

My dog lives in Melilla. Can it still fly to the US?

Yes, but as a high-risk dog. If it was vaccinated outside the US, it needs a titer test from a CDC-approved laboratory, an official vet certification and a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility at the US arrival airport.

We took the ferry to Morocco last spring. Does that matter?

Yes, if the trip falls within the CDC look-back window. Morocco is on the high-risk list, so a dog that visited it recently is treated as a high-risk dog, even if it now flies from Madrid or Barcelona.

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.

See what we do