Bringing your dog from Chile to the US: CDC entry rules and the SAG export certificate

Chile counts as low risk for dog rabies

Since August 1, 2024, the CDC's dog import rules depend on where your dog has been in the 6 months before it arrives. Chile isn't on the CDC's list of high-risk countries for dog rabies, so a dog that has only been in Chile follows the simplest set of rules: the ones for dogs from dog rabies-free or low-risk countries.

Several of Chile's neighbors are on that list, including Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. That matters if your dog has been to one of them in the past 6 months, or if your flight connects there.

CDC requirements for dogs entering the US from Chile

For a dog that has only been in Chile:

• Age: at least 6 months old when it enters the US.
• Microchip: it must be readable with a universal scanner.
• CDC Dog Import Form: it's online, free and one per dog. Once you verify your email, you get a receipt, which you show (printed or on your phone) to the airline before boarding and to US Customs and Border Protection on arrival.
• Health: your dog must appear healthy on arrival.

You can fill out the form as late as the day you travel, but the CDC recommends doing it a few days ahead. The receipt is valid for 6 months and for multiple entries, as long as your dog keeps flying from Chile and doesn't visit another country in that time.

The CDC doesn't require a rabies vaccine for these dogs, though it strongly recommends one. In practice your dog needs it anyway: rabies vaccination is mandatory in Chile, and the SAG asks for the certificate before it issues the export certificate.

Watch out for layovers in Peru, Brazil or Colombia

For the CDC, a dog has entered a country once it clears customs there. If your dog clears customs on a layover in a high-risk country, it will have to meet the much stricter requirements for dogs from high-risk countries when it lands in the US, even though the trip started in Chile.

The CDC notes this can happen, for example, if your dog rides in the cabin with you or if you switch airlines on the layover. If you can, fly direct; if not, ask the airline before you buy whether your dog would have to clear customs at the connection.

Getting the SAG export certificate to leave Chile

To take your dog out of Chile you need an Export Animal Health Certificate (Certificado Zoosanitario de Exportación, or CZE), issued by the SAG (Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero). To request it, the SAG requires:

• Your dog registered in Chile's National Pet Registry (Registro Nacional de Mascotas), which Chilean law requires for every dog living here.
• A health certificate from a veterinarian, no more than 10 days old.
• Certificates for the rabies vaccine, the combination vaccine known in Chile as séxtuple or óctuple, and deworming, within the time frames the destination country sets.

You can apply online with ClaveÚnica, the Chilean government login, or at a SAG office. ChileAtiende, the government's services portal, says the online route is only for Chilean nationals, so if you're not Chilean, plan to apply in person. It recommends applying about 10 days before you fly: processing takes 3 working days, and you pick up the certificate at the SAG office you chose. The fee is 0.41 UTM for one pet (the UTM is a Chilean unit of account whose peso value is updated every month).

If you come back to Chile within 60 days of the issue date, the same certificate covers your dog's return, as long as it lists the microchip and the rabies vaccine is still valid.

Airline, USDA and your destination state

• Your airline: each one sets its own cabin and hold rules. LATAM, for example, requires dogs to be 6 months old on flights to or from the US; our guide to flying with your dog from Chile sums up the main airlines.
• The US Department of Agriculture (USDA): it adds requirements in some cases, such as dogs coming from countries with screwworm or foot-and-mouth disease, dogs that work with livestock, and dogs imported for sale or adoption. Check its website to see if any of these apply to you.
• Your destination state: the CDC reminds travelers that dogs must also meet the rules of the state where they arrive.

Checked on October 28, 2026 on the CDC, USDA, SAG and ChileAtiende websites. Rules change: confirm them before you buy your tickets.

How The Place's can help

Our relocation service is run by our vet: we do pre-travel health checks, verify vaccines and advise you on international requirements, paperwork, health certificates and airline rules. We also help with crate training for the flight.

Joshua is from Denver, so you can go through all of it in English. If you're moving to the US, your dog can stay with us while you pack up, and we're about 25 minutes from Santiago airport without traffic.