Everything you need to know about moving your dog or cat from India to the US: the CDC’s foreign-vaccinated and US-vaccinated pathways, India’s AQCS export process, costs, and timeline — all in one place.
Everything you need to navigate international pet relocation: import rules, customs, costs, timelines.
Difficult
58+ days (foreign-vaccinated pathway)
$335–$640
Conditional (no valid titer)
Which pathway applies to your dog depends entirely on where it was vaccinated — in India (titer/quarantine pathway) or in the US before travel (lighter pathway, arranged before departure).
Everything you need to know about moving your dog or cat from India to the US: the CDC’s foreign-vaccinated and US-vaccinated pathways, India’s AQCS export process, costs, and timeline — all in one place.
Dogs need a Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip form (foreign-vaccinated pathway) or a Certification of U.S.-Issued Rabies Vaccination form (US-vaccinated pathway). Both dogs and cats need India's AQCS export certificate, supported by a local vet's health certificate.
Depends on Pathway
Foreign-vaccinated pathway: a veterinarian, endorsed by an official Indian government veterinarian. US-vaccinated pathway: a USDA-accredited veterinarian, endorsed by USDA.
Required Only for the US-Vaccinated Pathway
Confirm which pathway applies to your dog before assuming which endorsement process you need — the two are not interchangeable.
10 Days (AQCS Export Certificate)
India’s AQCS export certificate is valid for only 10 days once issued. The Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip form is valid for a single entry, for 30 days after signing.
Required
Bring original, printed documentation — AQCS requires physical presentation of the pet and documents at the point of departure.
→ Two different CDC pathways apply depending on where your dog was vaccinated
→ Foreign-vaccinated dogs need a titer test or 28-day quarantine
→ US-vaccinated dogs need a form arranged before leaving the US (cannot be issued after)
→ AQCS export certificate required for dogs and cats, valid only 10 days
→ Cats face no CDC/USDA rabies-related requirement
→ Not knowing which of the two CDC pathways applies
→ Assuming the US-vaccinated form can be arranged after departure
→ Missing the titer timing window
→ Missing AQCS’s short 10-day certificate validity
→ Assuming Air India offers in-cabin pet travel to the US
Cargo
Varies
Check airline
India's flag carrier; cabin to the US not independently confirmed
Follow this timeline to make sure you complete everything on time for a smooth, stress-free travel day.
Confusing the foreign-vaccinated pathway with the lighter US-vaccinated pathway can mean missing a required document or badly misjudging the timeline.
As of July 31, 2025, the Certification of U.S.-Issued Rabies Vaccination form cannot be issued retroactively.
Costs vary based on pet size, airline, season, and any additional Services.
Roughly $335–$640 (estimated) — microchip, vaccine, crate, and a confirmed Delta cabin fee. Excludes the titer test, AQCS's exact fee, Air India's fee, and quarantine costs, none of which were independently confirmed.
Typical total cost
Price in USD, Estimate only.
→ Certification of Foreign or U.S.-Issued Rabies Vaccination (dogs, pathway-dependent)
→ Rabies Titer Report or 28-Day Quarantine Reservation (foreign-vaccinated dogs without valid titer)
→ CDC Dog Import Form receipt — Dogs
→ AQCS Export Certificate
→ Microchip documentation
Start with your origin country guide for route-specific requirements, timelines, and common pitfalls.
→ Yes. India appears on CDC’s current high-risk country list.
→ Which pathway applies to your dog depends on where it was vaccinated, not just that it’s coming from India.
→ Foreign-vaccinated (vaccinated in India) requires a titer test or 28-day quarantine.
→ US-vaccinated (vaccinated in the US) requires a lighter two-document process.
→ The US-vaccinated form must be arranged before your dog leaves the US.
→ Only if it’s on the foreign-vaccinated pathway without a valid rabies titer.
→ With a valid titer, or on the US-vaccinated pathway, no quarantine applies.
→ Cats never quarantine on this route.
→ Not a general CDC health certificate, but related documents serve that role.
→ Dogs need the Certification of Foreign or U.S.-Issued Rabies Vaccination form, depending on pathway.
→ Both dogs and cats need AQCS’s export certificate, supported by a local vet’s health certificate.
→ About 58 days for a foreign-vaccinated dog on the titer pathway, if the titer passes the first time.
→ Considerably faster for a US-vaccinated dog, or for a cat.
→ Longer if a 28-day quarantine applies instead of a titer.
Our pet relocation experts are here to guide you every step of the way.
If a regulation changes after this page was published, the official source always takes precedence over this guide — check the links above for the current rules before you travel.
Moving a pet from India to the United States is one of the more involved routes covered on this site — India is a CDC high-risk country for dog rabies, and which pathway applies depends entirely on where your dog was vaccinated.
A dog vaccinated in India follows the foreign-vaccinated pathway: a titer test or 28-day quarantine, plus a form endorsed by an official Indian government veterinarian. A dog vaccinated in the US before traveling to India follows a lighter pathway — but as of July 31, 2025, the required form must be arranged before departing the US, not after.
AQCS issues a real export certificate for both dogs and cats, valid for only 10 days, requiring submission with the pet physically present at least 7 days before departure.
USDA currently classifies India as FMD-affected, which adds a simple, documentation-free requirement for dogs (clean fur/bedding, bathe on arrival, 5-day separation from livestock) — much lighter than the CDC pathway, and shouldn’t be confused with it.
This is one of the more complex routes on this site, particularly for a foreign-vaccinated dog on the titer pathway — many owners find professional help genuinely useful here for coordinating the titer timing, the Indian government vet endorsement, and AQCS’s tight certificate window.
If a regulation changes after this page was published, the official source always takes precedence over this guide — check the links above for the current rules before you travel.
If a regulation changes after this page was published, the official source always takes precedence over this guide — check the links above for the current rules before you travel.
