Pet transport from Canada to United States
Canada-to-US pet moves sit at the simpler end of international relocation. Neither side currently imposes a quarantine period or a rabies titer requirement for dogs and cats moving between the two countries, and the sector distance is short enough that routing is rarely the constraint. What has changed in recent years is the United States' federal treatment of dog imports: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now applies a documented entry process for dogs, which commonly includes an online import form and proof of rabies vaccination, with the exact requirements depending on the dog's vaccination history and on where it has been in the preceding months. Those rules have been revised more than once, so the current CDC and APHIS conditions should be checked for the specific travel date rather than assumed from a previous move.
Documentation requirements
- ✓ISO-compliant microchip. Worth having even where it is not strictly mandated, because it is what links a rabies vaccination record to the individual animal at the border.
- ✓Rabies vaccination current and documented, with proof available at the port of entry per the CDC requirements in force for dogs.
- ✓The CDC dog import form, or its current equivalent, submitted online before travel where applicable. The form and the circumstances requiring it have changed more than once, so confirm the current process for the travel date.
- ✓General health certificate from a licensed veterinarian, typically issued close to the travel date.
- ✓Cats generally face lighter federal requirements than dogs, but state-level rules can still apply depending on the destination state and should be checked separately.
- ✓Verify current rules: export certification is handled through the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and entry conditions are set by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) together with USDA APHIS. Confirm the dog import requirements against CDC for the intended travel date.
Timeline
This corridor generally moves faster than the others listed here, because there is no mandatory post-vaccination waiting period and no titer test to schedule around. Plan for roughly one to three weeks door to door; the limiting factors are veterinary appointment availability and health certificate issuance rather than any regulatory wait. Confirm the current CDC form processing expectation before booking, since a requirement that applies to a particular dog can add time the general case does not.
Crate & airline
Standard IATA Live Animal Regulations crate sizing applies for hold or checked travel. Many small pets qualify for in-cabin carriage on the shorter routings used on this corridor, depending on the carrier's current policy and its combined pet and carrier weight limit. Which option is actually available depends on the pet's measured size and the carriers serving the specific city pair.
What affects cost
Cost here is driven mainly by the pet's size, the ground transport distance at each end, and documentation handling, rather than by extended waiting-period logistics. Because there is no testing or quarantine component, the cost structure has fewer moving parts than the long-haul corridors listed on this site, though seasonal live-animal embargoes can still affect routing and price.