India to the USA
Moving a dog or cat from India to the USA
For a dog, the CDC sets the route: a chip before the vaccine, a titre, two forms and a booked facility at the airport he lands at. Cats go a different way. Allow 4 months or more.
Stop by stop
The timeline for the USA.
In the order it happens. Where the authority sets a minimum gap, it's written on the line.
01 · Start
Start planning
4 months or more. The CDC's own advice is at least 60 days.
02 · Vet
Microchip
Before the rabies vaccine that counts.
03 · Vet
Rabies vaccine
The first valid vaccination, after the chip.
- 30+ days
04 · Vet
Titre sample
Sent to a CDC-approved lab.
05 · Booking
CDC forms, facility booked
The Dog Import Form receipt, the endorsed certificate, and a place at a registered facility at the arrival airport.
- about 7 days before
06 · Check
AQCS export check
The pet and the whole file go to the quarantine office, by appointment, about a week before the flight. The export certificate is good for 10 days.
- 28+ days after the sample
07 · Travel
Flight
At least 28 days after the sample, and he must be six months old or more.
08 · Arrive
CDC facility
An exam and a rabies vaccine at the registered facility. A valid titre means no 28 day quarantine.
A family who took this route, in their own words.
“We were extremely nervous about the journey but Lola Worldwide really made it easy for us.”
How it works.
For a dog that's been in India, the chip has to go in before the rabies vaccine that counts. The titre sample is drawn at least 30 days after the first valid vaccine and at least 28 days before he lands, and it goes to a CDC-approved lab. He travels with a CDC Dog Import Form receipt, an endorsed Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip, and a booked place at a CDC-registered animal care facility at the arrival airport.
A valid titre means no 28 day quarantine at that facility. Without one, the booking includes it. He also has to be at least six months old on the day he lands, whatever else is in order.
The CDC itself says to start 60 days or more before travel. We plan on 4 months, because the airline, the arrival airport and the ground time all need checking too, and the cheapest fare isn't enough to go on.
Cats Cats don't use the CDC dog route. Their USDA, state and airline rules are checked on their own, and we never copy the dog list across.
The file for United States
- Dogs: a CDC Dog Import Form receipt and the endorsed Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip.
- Dogs: a booked place at a CDC-registered animal care facility at the arrival airport.
- Dogs: a valid titre from a CDC-approved lab, drawn at least 28 days before entry, or a facility booking that includes quarantine.
- Dogs: at least six months old on the day of arrival.
All of this sits on top of the standard export file.
Quarantine: Depends on the titre, for dogs
Every foreign-vaccinated dog that's been in India in the last six months needs a booked place at a CDC-registered facility for an exam and a fresh vaccine. Without a valid titre, that booking includes a 28 day quarantine. Cats are checked under USDA, state and airline rules.
The thing that moves the date
The chip, the vaccine date, the titre date, the form, the arrival airport and the facility booking all have to agree with each other. One mismatch and the dog isn't cleared.
Checked against the authority's own pages
- US CDC, dogs from high risk countries read 1 Sep 2026
- US CDC, high risk countries for dog rabies read 31 Aug 2026
Rules change. We check the live rule for your pet and your dates before anything is booked, and nothing here is a promise about a date.
Tell us about him.
The quickest way is a message. Both of these open with it already written, from what you picked above, and a founder answers.
Hi, I'd like to move my pet.
Or fill in his pass, and it goes on WhatsApp or by email with everything in it