Taking a dog to Hawaii or Guam: quarantine rules on top of the CDC

In short

• Hawaii and Guam are rabies-free and have their own quarantine laws, on top of any CDC rule. They apply even to dogs coming from the US mainland.
• In Hawaii, a dog that meets every condition of the 5-Day-or-Less program can be released at the Honolulu airport the day it lands. Otherwise, quarantine lasts up to 120 days.
• The program needs a microchip, two rabies vaccines, a passing OIE-FAVN blood test and a 30-day wait, plus documents received at least 10 days before arrival.
• There is no CDC animal care facility in Hawaii or the US territories, so a dog vaccinated abroad that has been in a high-risk country cannot fly there directly.
• Guam requires an entry permit for every animal and a quarantine whose length depends on where the dog comes from.

Why Hawaii and Guam have their own rules

Hawaii and Guam are both free of rabies. Both protect that status with local laws that are much stricter than the CDC rules. The CDC itself notes that animals arriving in Hawaii and Guam, even from the US mainland, are subject to these local quarantine requirements.

So there are two layers:

• The CDC layer, only for dogs coming from another country: the CDC Dog Import Form and, depending on the last 6 months, extra rabies documents.
• The local layer, for every dog and cat, wherever it comes from: Hawaii’s Department of Agriculture or Guam’s Department of Agriculture.

Hawaii: the 5-Day-or-Less program

All the figures below come from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture’s Checklist 1 and its quarantine pages. Hawaii warns that its rules can change without notice, so download the current checklist before you start.

1. Microchip

Your dog needs a working microchip before the blood test. A dog whose chip cannot be read on arrival does not qualify and goes to 120-day quarantine.

2. Two rabies vaccines

• At least two rabies vaccinations in the dog’s lifetime, given more than 30 days apart.
• The most recent one given more than 30 days before arrival, and still valid on arrival.
• A vet certificate for each vaccine, showing the vaccine name, lot number, date and booster interval.

3. The OIE-FAVN blood test

The FAVN test (a blood test that measures rabies antibodies) must be done at one of the labs Hawaii lists: Kansas State University, Auburn University, the University of Missouri or the US Department of Defense lab in Texas. The result must be 0.5 IU/mL or more. Hawaii asks for the FAVN method specifically, not the RFFIT method.

4. The waiting period

The wait starts the day after the lab receives the blood sample. That date must be at least 30 days and not more than 36 months before arrival. A dog that lands early is held in quarantine until the 30 days are over, at the owner’s cost.

5. Health certificate and tick treatment

• An original health certificate in English, issued within 14 days of arrival, listing the rabies vaccine details.
• A tick treatment by a vet within 14 days of arrival, with a long-acting product from Hawaii’s list of acceptable treatments (opens in a new tab) (Revolution is not accepted). The product and date go on the health certificate.
• Hawaii’s quarantine page asks for a New World screwworm statement on health certificates: “All animals were inspected and found free of evidence of New World Screwworm infestation.” Ask your vet to add it.

6. Documents in advance

The Dog and Cat Import Form (AQS-279), the two original vaccine certificates and payment must reach the Animal Quarantine Station at least 10 days before arrival for release at the Honolulu airport. Late documents mean a higher fee and possibly no airport release.

Honolulu or a Neighbor Island airport

• Honolulu (HNL): no permit needed. A qualifying dog is released at the airport animal holding facility during inspection hours.
• Kona, Kahului or Lihue: you need a Neighbor Island Inspection Permit, an arrangement with an approved vet facility, a passing FAVN and documents received 30 days or more before arrival (Checklist 2, 17 January 2024). A dog refused at these airports is sent to Honolulu or out of the state at the owner’s cost.

Dogs that live in Hawaii and travel out and back use separate checklists (3 and 4) with slightly different timings.

Dogs flying to Hawaii from another country

Here the two layers meet, and one combination simply does not work.

• A dog that has been only in low-risk countries needs the CDC form, then every Hawaii requirement above. On an international flight, it must clear US Customs before Hawaii can release it.
• A US-vaccinated dog returning from a high-risk country with a valid USDA-endorsed certification can use any US port, Hawaii included, but still has to meet Hawaii’s rules.
• A foreign-vaccinated dog that has been in a high-risk country must land at an airport with a CDC-registered animal care facility. The CDC lists none in Alaska, Hawaii or the US territories. So it must enter at a mainland airport first. See animal care facilities.

Hawaii also publishes a separate checklist for pets coming from the British Isles, Australia, Guam and New Zealand.

Guam: entry permit and quarantine

Guam’s rules come from its Department of Agriculture (Animal Health) and are enforced with the Customs and Quarantine Agency. Their published material says:

• Every live animal needs an entry permit, service animals included. Arriving without one can mean commercial quarantine or return at the owner’s expense. Guam suggests sending documents 2 to 3 months before arrival.
• Quarantine depends on origin. The base rule is 120 days in an approved facility. Dogs with a microchip and a passing FAVN titer can serve a shorter, calculated quarantine. Pets from the US mainland may qualify for a short stay followed by home quarantine. Pets from the British Isles, Australia, New Zealand, Japan or Hawaii can be exempt under conditions.
• Documents include two rabies vaccination certificates, other vaccine records, a FAVN result, a health certificate issued within 10 days of arrival and, for international arrivals, the CDC Dog Import Form.