Red Tape Travel

Flying a dog from Great Britain to the United States

USA: Federal rules for pets entering the US mainland. Each state can add its own entry rules.

Last verified 58 primary sources

Conditional: yes, with 1 hard deadline

A dog can enter the United States (Federal rules for pets entering the US mainland) from Great Britain without quarantine when every condition is met. It needs an age of at least 6 months on arrival, a CDC Dog Import Form receipt on or before arrival, a microchip a universal scanner can read and a healthy appearance on arrival. If a condition is missed: An animal refused entry after a flight is returned by the airline to the country it left, on the next available flight and at the importer's expense.

Cabin
AllowedA dog may fly to the United States in the cabin, as checked baggage in the hold, or as cargo.
Quarantine
NoneIf a rule is missed: An animal refused entry after a flight is returned by the airline to the country it left, on the next available flight and at the importer's expense.
Rabies titer
Not required
Lead time
0 days

Your deadlines, counted back from arrival

1 of these steps is a hard deadline. Changing the date re-dates the plan in your browser; it fetches nothing.

Lead time: 0 days

  1. By 184 days before arrival

    Birth

    No later than

    The dog is at least 6 months old on the day it arrives. Timing: at least 6 months before arrival.

    Fails if: Done less than 6 months before arrival.

  2. Arrival day

    Import formHard deadline

    Between and

    The importer submits a complete CDC Dog Import Form before the dog arrives; it can be filled in on the day of travel. Timing: on or before arrival.

    Fails if: Done after arrival.

    The receipt is valid for 6 months from when it is issued, so the form is submitted no more than 6 months before the dog arrives. A visit to a high-risk country, or to a different low-risk country, in that time needs a new form. Timing: within 6 months before arrival.

    Fails if: Done more than 6 months before arrival.

  3. Arrival

    Arrive on

This plan assumes one air journey, with every step done before you leave. It assumes you leave the day before arrival or on arrival day. Where a rule counts hours, it assumes you land at 12:00 local time. Times are local to the United States (America/New_York).

Which airlines carry dogs on this route

Fees are per animal, one direction, as published on .
AirlineCabinHoldManifest cargoFee fromSnub-nosed
American AirlinesAssistance dogs onlyRestrictedYesQuoted on requestRefused
British AirwaysAssistance dogs onlyNoYesQuoted on requestCase by case
Delta Air LinesNoNoNoNoNo
United AirlinesNoNoNoNoNo
Virgin AtlanticSuspendedSuspendedSuspendedSuspendedSuspended
  • American Airlines: From May 1 to September 30, no pets outside the cabin to, through or from Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas or Palm Springs.
  • American Airlines: American Airlines Cargo will not carry animals when the ground temperature at the origin, a connection or the destination is above 85 or below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Between 20 and 44 degrees it needs a vet's acclimation letter, and even then carriage is not guaranteed.
  • American Airlines: American Airlines Cargo will not carry animals on any single flight of 12 hours or more.
  • American Airlines: Pets cannot be booked through to another airline, including codeshare flights with an American flight number that another airline operates. American Eagle and American Connection flights are not affected.
  • American Airlines: No new cargo bookings for dogs from a CDC high-risk country for rabies, or for dogs that were in one at any point in the 6 months before travel.
  • American Airlines: A pet shipped from outside the United States must be booked through an IATA-regulated freight forwarder or professional pet shipper.
  • American Airlines: American's pets page lists a checked-pet fee for flights from the United Kingdom.
  • American Airlines: American's fee table has no checked-pet fee for Europe or the United Kingdom.
  • American Airlines: American's filed international tariff says checked pets are accepted through AA Cargo.
  • British Airways: IAG Cargo asks for live animals to be checked in 4 hours before departure, subject to the station; some stations set their own cut-off.
  • British Airways: IAG Cargo takes no dangerous dogs at Heathrow or Gatwick, and restricts some snub-nosed (brachycephalic) breeds there.
  • British Airways: No live-animal exports from Phoenix (PHX) from 15 March to 31 October, and no live-animal imports there at weekends.
  • British Airways: IAG Cargo's St. Louis (STL) flight is seasonal, from 19 April until 23 October 2026.
  • British Airways: IAG Cargo takes no live-animal imports at Denver (DEN) on days 6 or 7, and restricts live animals at Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) on days 6 and 7 and on holidays. Neither page defines the day numbering.
  • British Airways: Collect the pet on the day it lands at New York (JFK), which has no storage, and on arrival at Philadelphia (PHL).
  • British Airways: British Airways' Conditions of Carriage still allow checked baggage; its current pet pages say cargo, which is what we show.
  • Delta Air Lines: Delta Cargo accepts no pets at Amsterdam (AMS), Paris (CDG), Frankfurt (FRA) or London Heathrow (LHR), even for military and Foreign Service families.
  • Virgin Atlantic: Trained assistance dogs still fly in the cabin on all Virgin Atlantic routes. They cannot be booked online, and Virgin Atlantic asks for its assistance dog form at least 72 hours before the flight.

1 change in 12 months

  • Certificate 8860 needed only for dogs going to certain US states

    Was
    A dog going to the USA travelled on export health certificate 8860.
    Now
    A dog needs certificate 8860 only for certain states, such as Massachusetts.

    Source: GOV.UK (APHA) · found at our first read

Where every rule above came from

Rules change without notice. Confirm each item against the linked official page before you book: we re-check weekly and date every check, but the official page is the authority.

See everything that applies in United States, or what changed across the site.