Moving pets from North America to the United States is, route for route, the fastest and least complicated move this site covers — and the reasons why are structural, not just luck: a real land-border option, one origin that isn’t even international travel, and generally the shortest planning windows on the site.
Current as of 2026. This guide summarizes patterns across this site’s own published North America route guides. Requirements can change — always confirm current details directly with CDC and the relevant authority before you travel, and check the specific route guide linked below for your move’s full, sourced requirements.
What This Guide Does — and Doesn’t — Cover
Use this guide to understand the pattern across the region and figure out which planning path applies to you. Then go to your specific route guide for the exact paperwork, and to this site’s general US-entry and species guides for detailed CDC/USDA rules that apply regardless of origin.
- This guide: the three North America route models, how they differ, and which one applies to you.
- Your country’s route guide: exact documents, timeline, airline options, and costs for that specific route.
- General US-entry guides: Bringing a Dog to the United States and Bringing a Cat to the United States cover the destination-side CDC/USDA rules for international moves — see the Puerto Rico exception below for why that framework doesn’t apply to every North America origin.
Quick Answers
Here’s the short version before the full explanation below:
- Do I have to fly? Not necessarily. Canada and Mexico both allow entry at a land border crossing under CDC rules — driving is a real option many pet owners use.
- Is Puerto Rico to the mainland international travel? No. It’s a domestic US move — no CDC form, no international customs process.
- Is this a slow move, like Oceania? No — North America has the shortest typical timelines this site covers, often 2–5 weeks.
- Does Canada require a government export certificate? No — a genuine outlier among the continents this site covers; Canada’s Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) defers entirely to US requirements.
- Does Mexico work exactly like Canada? Not quite — Mexico adds its national agri-food health agency’s (SENASICA) export certificate process and a USDA screwworm-related certificate that Canada doesn’t require.
Which North America Route Are You Taking?
The three origins this site covers aren’t just “easier” or “harder” versions of each other — they’re three genuinely different route models. Compare them here, then follow the link to your specific route.
| Origin | International or Domestic? | Drive Possible? | Origin Export Process | Typical Planning Distinction | Full Route Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | International | Yes | None — CFIA defers entirely to US requirements | Fastest, simplest of the three | Canada to the United States |
| Mexico | International | Yes | SENASICA export certificate (CZE) + USDA screwworm-related certificate | 2–5 weeks, driven mainly by certificate processing time | Mexico to the United States |
| Puerto Rico | Domestic (US territory) | Not applicable — already domestic US travel | None — not an international move at all | No comparable international processing step | Puerto Rico to the United States |
Flying vs. Driving
If you’re moving from Canada or Mexico, driving is a real, CDC-sanctioned option — not just a workaround. CDC’s low-risk pathway explicitly permits entry at any US airport, seaport, or land border crossing. For a qualifying dog, the same paperwork (microchip, CDC Dog Import Form, healthy appearance) applies the same way at a land port of entry as at an airport — this is a dog-specific pathway, since cats have no equivalent federal form. Driving removes the airline fee and airline crate requirement entirely for that leg of the trip. This option doesn’t apply to Puerto Rico, since that move is domestic mainland US travel rather than an international entry.
Puerto Rico Is the Exception
Don’t apply Canada or Mexico logic to a Puerto Rico move. Canada and Mexico are both international moves that happen to be simpler than most of this site’s other routes. Puerto Rico is different in kind, not just in degree: because it’s a US territory, moving a pet to the mainland is a domestic move. CDC’s international dog import framework, including the CDC Dog Import Form, doesn’t apply at all. The real risk here is the opposite of Canada or Mexico — assuming no documentation is needed because the move feels domestic, when your airline still enforces its own requirements (like a health certificate within a set pre-departure window).
Why Planning Time Differs Across the Region
North America has the shortest typical planning windows this site covers, but the reason differs by origin. Mexico’s own guide estimates 2–5 weeks, driven mainly by SENASICA’s certificate-processing time — an actual government process Canada doesn’t have. Canada’s own guide estimates 2–4 weeks, the shortest of any route this site has researched, consistent with CFIA imposing no export certificate step at all. Puerto Rico, as a domestic move, has no comparable international processing step in the first place. Compare that to this site’s Oceania routes — see Moving Pets from Oceania to the United States — where planning windows run 4–8 weeks at minimum and up to 3–6 months for the longest one.
Common Mistakes When Moving Pets from North America
These mistakes come from applying one origin’s pattern to a different one, rather than an actual regulatory misunderstanding:
- Not considering the land-border driving option for Canada or Mexico and defaulting to planning a flight instead.
- Assuming Puerto Rico requires no documentation at all because the move is domestic — airlines still enforce their own requirements.
- Assuming Canada’s lack of a government export certificate means Mexico works the same way — Mexico’s screwworm-related certificate and SENASICA process are genuinely different steps.
