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Bringing a dog from Taiwan to the United States

Yes — and this is one of the easier long-haul routes. Taiwan is not on the CDC's high-risk list for dog rabies, so your dog enters on the low-risk pathway: a free CDC Dog Import Form receipt, a microchip a universal scanner can read, at least 6 months of age, and a healthy arrival. The step people miss is on the USDA side: Taiwan is on APHIS's screwworm-affected list, so the dog also needs a government screwworm inspection certificate dated within 5 days before shipment.

6 months

Minimum age

CDC rule for every dog, all origins

1 form

CDC Dog Import Form

Free, online; receipt valid 6 months

5 days

Screwworm cert window

Government vet inspection before shipment

None

Titer test / quarantine

Low-risk pathway — neither applies

Step-by-step checklist

Requirements — Dog · Taiwan → the United States
Step	What to do	When
Microchip	Your dog must have a microchip that can be detected with a universal scanner (CDC sets no brand or ISO requirement for the low-risk pathway, only readability). On the Taiwan side, APHIA requires dogs and cats to be individually identified by microchip, implanted before the rabies vaccination the export paperwork relies on.	Before vaccination / travel
Rabies vaccination (Taiwan export side)	CDC does not require a rabies vaccination certificate for a dog that has only been in dog rabies-free or low-risk countries in the past 6 months. APHIA, however, works the other way round: a dog leaving Taiwan is vaccinated against rabies with an inactivated vaccine after microchipping (at 90–91 days of age or older — APHIA's own English pages give both figures, see the research notes), and the vaccination certificate is part of the export application. Keep the certificate even though CDC will not ask for it.	Before the APHIA export visit
CDC Dog Import Form	Complete the free CDC Dog Import Form online, one form per dog, and keep the emailed receipt (printed or on your phone) to show the airline before boarding and US Customs and Border Protection on arrival. The receipt is valid for 6 months and for multiple entries, as long as the dog has not been in a high-risk country and the country of departure stays Taiwan.	A few days before travel (can be done up to 6 months ahead)
Screwworm inspection + APHIA export certificate	Taiwan is listed by USDA APHIS as a region where screwworm is known to exist. The dog must be inspected for screwworm within 5 days before shipment to the United States and travel with a certificate signed by a full-time salaried veterinary official of Taiwan (in practice, APHIA) stating it is free from screwworm, or was treated and held until free. APHIS has no required form — the statement can stand alone or sit inside the APHIA export health certificate. This 5-day window is stricter than APHIA's usual 'within 7 days before departure' export application window, so book the APHIA visit inside the 5 days.	Final 5 days before shipment
Arrival	A dog that has only been in low-risk countries in the past 6 months may enter at any US airport, seaport or land border crossing. It must appear healthy on arrival; documentation is reviewed and the dog inspected at the port of entry.	Arrival day

Your preparation timeline

1Any time — Microchip check (must read on a universal scanner) and rabies vaccination record in order for APHIA
2Up to 6 months out — Submit the CDC Dog Import Form online; save the receipt
3Final 5 days — APHIA export inspection, including the screwworm inspection, and official export certificate
4Travel day — Show the CDC receipt to the airline before boarding
5Arrival — Present the CDC receipt and the APHIA certificate to US Customs and Border Protection; enter at any port

The mistake that causes trouble on this route: Treating the CDC form as the whole job. CDC's low-risk pathway needs no rabies certificate, no titer and no permit — but USDA APHIS runs a separate screwworm rule, Taiwan is on its affected-regions list, and a dog that arrives without the 5-day government screwworm certificate does not meet the import conditions. The 5-day clock runs to shipment, not to arrival, so a long layover booked after the inspection can quietly break it.

Costs you can plan for

The CDC Dog Import Form is free, and neither CDC nor APHIS publishes a US-side fee for the low-risk dog pathway or for the screwworm certificate (APHIS does not even prescribe a form for it). Your real costs are Taiwan-side: the vet visit and rabies vaccination, the APHIA export inspection and certificate (APHIA's English export pages do not publish the fee — ask the branch office when you book), and the air fare or cargo charge. There is no quarantine to budget for on this route if the paperwork is right.

✈️ Government rules are only half the trip. Airlines set their own pet carriage rules (crate size, breed limits, seasonal embargoes). Re-confirm carriage with your airline after you meet the rules above.

Questions people ask about this route

Is Taiwan a high-risk country for dog rabies for the US?

No. CDC publishes only a high-risk list and treats every country not on it as dog rabies-free or low-risk; Taiwan is not on that list (the Asia entry is mainland China). That is why the simple low-risk pathway — form, microchip, 6 months old, healthy — applies, provided your dog has not spent time in a high-risk country in the 6 months before entry.

Does my dog need a rabies vaccination certificate to enter the US?

Not for CDC on the low-risk pathway — CDC strongly recommends vaccination but does not require the certificate. Taiwan's APHIA export process does require a rabies vaccination and certificate to issue the export documents, so in practice a Taiwan departure dog travels vaccinated anyway.

Why does my dog need a screwworm certificate if Taiwan is low-risk?

The two lists belong to two different agencies and measure different things. CDC's list is about dog rabies; USDA APHIS's regional health-status list is about pests and diseases, and it names Taiwan as screwworm-affected. Dogs from screwworm regions need the government-vet inspection certificate dated within 5 days before shipment — cats do not.

Are any dog breeds banned on this route?

Neither the CDC dog-import pages nor the USDA APHIS pet-dog page lists a federal breed ban. Two cautions sit outside those pages: Taiwan itself has banned the import and breeding of American Pit Bull Terrier and American Staffordshire Terrier types since 1 March 2022 (APHIA's import-permit system states this), so a dog of those types lawfully in Taiwan is a special case — get APHIA's advice before planning an export; and individual US states and airlines set their own breed rules.

Related guides

✓ Last verified: 2026-11-12

Official sources for this page

We check each rule against the exporting country's official page and the destination country's official page. If the two disagree, we show the disagreement instead of guessing.

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