Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Qatar → the United States
What the official rules ask for on this route, for a family pet travelling with its owner. Enter your travel date and your pet’s details to turn it into a dated checklist.
Limited official guidance. The authority for leaving Qatar publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. Qatar publishes no step-by-step guide for taking a pet out. These steps come from the general Veterinary Quarantine Law (an English translation), which sets the rules for exporting any animal, and from one sentence on the government's pets page. The destination decides what the certificate must say, and the veterinary authority may add tests or vaccinations, so ask the Department of Animal Resources early.
How early to start
8 weeks
if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet (the least time the official waiting periods allow)
4 weeks
if it is already microchipped and vaccinated
Counted only from the officially fixed waiting periods. Vet, lab and paperwork appointment times are on top, so start earlier.
Which rules apply to you
Qatar is in the group “High-risk for dog rabies” in the United States’s published list.See every group
Headlines for the United States
- Rabies blood test for some origins
- Designated entry point for some trips
What your dog needs
Dogs
Paperwork
CDC Dog Import Form
Fill in the free CDC Dog Import Form online (one per dog) and keep the emailed receipt to show on arrival. You can submit it up to the day of travel; the receipt is valid for 6 months unless your dog visits another country in that time.
Details and the official words
The receipt stops being valid if your dog visits a high-risk country, or a different low-risk country, during those 6 months — then you need a new form.
If your travel date or port of entry changes, submit a new form.
“the receipt is valid for 6 months from when it's issued unless the dog visits a high-risk country or a different dog rabies-free or low-risk country during that time”
Age rule
Dog at least 6 months old
Dogs must be at least 6 months old when they enter or return to the U.S.
Details and the official words
“Dogs must be at least 6 months old at time of entry or return to the U.S.”
Identification
Microchip
Your dog must have a microchip that a universal scanner can detect. If it has been in a high-risk country, the chip must have been implanted before the rabies vaccine.
Details and the official words
“Dogs must have a microchip that can be detected with a universal scanner to identify them.”
“The microchip must be implanted before getting the rabies vaccine, or else the vaccine will be invalid.”
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination
Because your dog has been in a high-risk country for dog rabies in the last 6 months, it must be vaccinated against rabies — at 12 weeks (84 days) or older, at least 28 days before entry for a first vaccination — and the vaccine must not expire during travel.
Details and the official words
If this is missed: Unvaccinated dogs that have been in a high-risk country are not allowed to enter the U.S.
“will NOT be allowed to enter the U.S.”
“at least 28 days before entry”
Paperwork
Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip
A vet completes this CDC form and an official government veterinarian endorses it, no more than 30 days before your dog travels to the U.S. It is valid for one entry.
Details and the official words
“This form must be completed no more than 30 days before the dog travels to the U.S.”
Blood test
Rabies blood test (titer) at a CDC-approved lab
A blood sample taken at least 30 days after the first valid rabies vaccination and at least 28 days before entry, tested by a CDC-approved laboratory. Without a valid titer your dog must be quarantined for 28 days at the CDC-registered facility.
Details and the official words
If this is missed: 28-day quarantine at the CDC-registered animal care facility, at your cost.
“at least 30 days after the dog's first valid rabies vaccination”
Route
Reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility
Book the CDC-registered animal care facility before travel and fly into the airport where it is located. The facility examines and revaccinates your dog on arrival.
Details and the official words
“must have a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility before entering the U.S.”
Permit
Export permit from the veterinary authority
The law says exporting animals is prohibited unless the necessary permit was obtained beforehand from the competent veterinary authority. The application states the number and type of animals, the country the animals are going to, the means of transport and the date of shipment.
Details and the official words
The pages don't say where to apply for a pet's export permit or how long it takes: ask the Department of Animal Resources.
“shall be prohibited unless the necessary permit has been previously obtained from the competent veterinary authority.”
Notice
Tell the veterinary authority at least 72 hours before you leave
The law requires the owner of an animal to inform the competent veterinary authority at least seventy-two hours before the date of exit from Qatar.
Details and the official words
“The owners of the animal consignments shall inform the competent veterinary authority at least seventy-two hours before the date of arrival or exit from the country.”
Official stamp
Examination and health certificate from the supervising veterinarian
A supervising veterinarian competent to issue veterinary certificates examines the animal and gives you a health certificate confirming it is free of infectious disease. It records the number and type of animals, their distinguishing characteristics, the export date and the destination.
Details and the official words
The destination country decides what else its certificate must say and how recent it must be.
“Animal consignments intended for export shall be tested by a supervising veterinarian competent to issue veterinary certificates in accordance with the provisions of this law.”
“the exporting person shall be given a veterinary health certificate confirming that the animals are free of infectious disease, and indicating the number, type of animals, the distinguished characteristics regarding the animals”
Route
Leave through a designated port
The law names Doha Sea Port, Doha International Airport and Abou Samara land port as the ports animals may leave through (the minister may add others).
Details and the official words
“except through the following ports: 1- Doha Sea Port; 2- Doha International Airport; 3- Abou Samara land port;”
Good to know
- Your destination state may have its own rules (for example a rabies vaccination or health certificate). Check with the state veterinarian before you travel.
- If your dog comes from a region affected by screwworm, USDA requires a certificate from a full-time salaried government vet confirming a screwworm inspection within 5 days before shipment. Check USDA's list of affected regions.
- Qatar's Department of Animal Resources issues import permits and oversees the exportation, transfer and transit of pets across borders.
- The veterinary authority may require any test, health condition or vaccination it considers necessary before it approves an export. The pages don't say which apply to a pet, so ask the Department of Animal Resources.
- These rules come from an English translation of Qatar's Veterinary Quarantine Law (the copy on FAO's FAOLEX database), not from the official Arabic text, and the law still names the old ministry (Municipal Affairs and Agriculture): check the current requirements with the Department of Animal Resources.
What your cat needs
Cats
On arrival
Cat appears healthy on arrival
Cats must appear healthy on arrival and may be inspected. No federal proof of rabies vaccination is required, but CDC recommends it and your destination state may require it.
Details and the official words
“Cats are not required to have proof of rabies vaccination for importation into the United States.”
“APHIS Veterinary Services does not have any animal health requirements related to bringing (importing) a pet cat”
Permit
Export permit from the veterinary authority
The law says exporting animals is prohibited unless the necessary permit was obtained beforehand from the competent veterinary authority. The application states the number and type of animals, the country the animals are going to, the means of transport and the date of shipment.
Details and the official words
The pages don't say where to apply for a pet's export permit or how long it takes: ask the Department of Animal Resources.
“shall be prohibited unless the necessary permit has been previously obtained from the competent veterinary authority.”
Notice
Tell the veterinary authority at least 72 hours before you leave
The law requires the owner of an animal to inform the competent veterinary authority at least seventy-two hours before the date of exit from Qatar.
Details and the official words
“The owners of the animal consignments shall inform the competent veterinary authority at least seventy-two hours before the date of arrival or exit from the country.”
Official stamp
Examination and health certificate from the supervising veterinarian
A supervising veterinarian competent to issue veterinary certificates examines the animal and gives you a health certificate confirming it is free of infectious disease. It records the number and type of animals, their distinguishing characteristics, the export date and the destination.
Details and the official words
The destination country decides what else its certificate must say and how recent it must be.
“Animal consignments intended for export shall be tested by a supervising veterinarian competent to issue veterinary certificates in accordance with the provisions of this law.”
“the exporting person shall be given a veterinary health certificate confirming that the animals are free of infectious disease, and indicating the number, type of animals, the distinguished characteristics regarding the animals”
Route
Leave through a designated port
The law names Doha Sea Port, Doha International Airport and Abou Samara land port as the ports animals may leave through (the minister may add others).
Details and the official words
“except through the following ports: 1- Doha Sea Port; 2- Doha International Airport; 3- Abou Samara land port;”
Good to know
- Your destination state may have its own rules (for example a rabies vaccination or health certificate). Check with the state veterinarian before you travel.
- Qatar's Department of Animal Resources issues import permits and oversees the exportation, transfer and transit of pets across borders.
- The veterinary authority may require any test, health condition or vaccination it considers necessary before it approves an export. The pages don't say which apply to a pet, so ask the Department of Animal Resources.
- These rules come from an English translation of Qatar's Veterinary Quarantine Law (the copy on FAO's FAOLEX database), not from the official Arabic text, and the law still names the old ministry (Municipal Affairs and Agriculture): check the current requirements with the Department of Animal Resources.
Common questions
Does my dog need a rabies blood test to go from Qatar to the United States?
Yes: A blood sample taken at least 30 days after the first valid rabies vaccination and at least 28 days before entry, tested by a CDC-approved laboratory.
Do I need an import permit to bring my dog into the United States?
Yes: The law says exporting animals is prohibited unless the necessary permit was obtained beforehand from the competent veterinary authority.
Will my dog be quarantined in the United States?
Not on the routes we have verified: the official rules list no quarantine for a pet that meets the requirements.
Does my dog need a microchip?
Yes: Your dog must have a microchip that a universal scanner can detect.