Pet travel rules are defined by both government entry requirements and airline operating limits. The statistics below focus on measurable requirements from the CDC, American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, and Southwest, including validity periods, carrier dimensions, passenger limits, fees, and route restrictions.
Contents
- CDC dog-import validity periods
- CDC entry conditions and documentation
- Airline carrier capacity and size limits
- American Airlines pet travel statistics
- Delta pet travel statistics
- JetBlue and Southwest pet limits
CDC dog-import validity periods
The CDC Dog Import Form and Instructions distinguish between dogs coming from dog rabies-free or low-risk countries and dogs connected with high-risk countries. That distinction changes how long an import receipt can be used and how many entries it covers.
For a dog from a dog rabies-free or low-risk country, the CDC dog import receipt is valid for one dog to enter the United States multiple times from the same country within 6 months. The 6-month period runs from the form’s submission date, provided the departure country does not change. This is a validity period, not a guarantee that every airline or destination will accept the itinerary.
The same CDC instructions say that a new form is required for an additional dog. A new form is also required for a future entry by the same dog if the dog is coming from a different country or if more than 6 months have passed. In practical terms, the receipt’s repeated-entry benefit is tied to one dog, one departure country, and a 6-month window.
For dogs from high-risk countries, the CDC dog import receipt is valid for one dog to enter the United States one time. A new CDC Dog Import Form receipt is required for future entries or for other dogs. The single-entry rule therefore creates a different planning baseline from the repeated-entry rule for dogs that have only been in low-risk or rabies-free countries.
The CDC also says that dogs which have been in any high-risk country during the previous 6 months must be vaccinated against rabies to enter the United States. Those dogs must additionally meet age, microchip, rabies serology titer, health, and documentation requirements. The 6-month lookback period is important: it concerns where the dog has been, not simply the airport where it boards.
CDC entry conditions and documentation
Dogs that have only been in dog rabies-free or low-risk countries during the last 6 months can enter at any port of entry, according to the CDC FAQs on Dog Importations. The CDC describes that category broadly: the port can be any airport, including a pre-clearance port, any seaport, or any land border crossing. Even with that flexibility, the port of entry must match the port listed on the CDC Dog Import Form receipt.
Dogs with high-risk-country exposure during the last 6 months face narrower arrival conditions when they have a valid foreign-rabies-vaccination form. The CDC says these dogs can enter only at a U.S. airport with a CDC-registered animal care facility and a reservation. The CDC FAQs also state that foreign-vaccinated dogs with high-risk-country exposure are not allowed to enter at a land border crossing.
There is a specific exception for a service dog in the high-risk-country category: the CDC says it may arrive by sea if it meets the listed requirements. For high-risk-country service dogs arriving by cruise ship, the CDC requires a CDC Dog Import Form receipt listing the port of arrival. Before disembarking, the dog must present a completed foreign-rabies-vaccination-and-microchip form and a valid rabies serology titer from a CDC-approved laboratory.
The foreign-rabies-vaccination-and-microchip form has a separate validity statistic. CDC instructions for veterinarians say it is valid for entry for 30 days from the date of issuance. That 30-day period should be considered separately from the 6-month CDC Dog Import Form receipt period: they are different documents with different validity windows.
The high-risk-country process also includes a facility reservation upon arrival in the United States. The CDC FAQs say high-risk-country dogs need that reservation at an animal care facility. For a traveler, the measurable planning points are therefore the 30-day validity period for the foreign-vaccination-and-microchip form, the required arrival reservation, and the airport-only rule that applies to foreign-vaccinated dogs in the cited high-risk category.
The CDC Dog Import Form and Instructions list the information collected on the form. The dog’s age is entered in years or months, and the form asks for sex, breed, color, and markings. If the breed is unknown, mixed breed or other can be used. The form permits one consignee or additional owner per dog, and that additional owner can also travel with the dog.
The importer must provide a passport number, driver’s license number, or air waybill or bill of lading number. The receipt can be sent to an email address entered on the form, and the importer’s phone number is required. The departure-country selector lists only dog rabies-free and low-risk countries. If the dog is arriving from a high-risk country, the user must return to the top of the form and answer yes to the high-risk-country question.
Airline carrier capacity and size limits
Airline limits are usually expressed as carrier counts, dimensions, weights, route restrictions, or combinations of those measurements. The same dog may meet a government entry rule but still fail an airline’s cabin or aircraft-specific requirement.
| Airline or rule set | Quantified limit | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| American Airlines, some aircraft | 20 carriers | Maximum across all cabins on some aircraft |
| American Airlines A321T | 2 compartments | Dedicated animal-friendly compartments at the front |
| American Airlines A321T | 20 lb | Combined pet-and-carrier maximum |
| Delta | 18 × 11 × 11 in | Recommended soft-sided kennel maximum |
| JetBlue | 6 pets | Maximum in-cabin pets per flight |
| Southwest | 8 weeks | Minimum pet age |
These figures are not interchangeable. A carrier-count limit concerns the aircraft’s available pet capacity; a dimension limit concerns physical fit; a weight limit concerns the combined pet and container; and an age limit concerns eligibility to travel.
American Airlines pet travel statistics
American Airlines says pets on some aircraft are limited to a maximum of 20 pet carriers across all cabins. The A321T three-cabin aircraft has 2 dedicated animal-friendly compartments at the front of the plane. On that aircraft, the combined weight of the pet and carrier must not exceed 20 pounds.
Carrier dimensions differ by aircraft and construction. American’s mainline hard-sided carry-on pet carriers can measure up to 19 × 13 × 9 inches. American Eagle hard-sided carry-on pet carriers can measure up to 16 × 12 × 8 inches. For soft-sided carry-on carriers, American recommends 18 × 11 × 11 inches.
American Eagle aircraft have a separate carrier-count figure in the cited table: 1 pet carrier is allowed on each of the CRJ-900, CRJ-700, CRJ-200, ERJ-190, ERJ-175, and ERJ-145 flights. That is a per-flight aircraft limit, not a general statement that every American flight has one available space.
Carry-on pets are allowed on American flights up to 12 hours, according to the American Airlines pets page. They are not permitted in bulkhead seats or exit-row seats. Carry-on pets are also not available in First or Business on B777-200, B777-300ER, B787-8, or B787-9 aircraft.
The Boeing B737 has a different restriction: American says carry-on pets are not available on B737 aircraft, while the airline’s cited aircraft rule provides a maximum of 20 pet carriers across all cabins instead. Travelers therefore need to check the aircraft type rather than relying only on the airline name.
Checked pets are accepted only for active-duty U.S. military and U.S. State Department Foreign Service personnel traveling on official orders. Up to 2 pets may be checked for those official-order travelers. American says checked pets are accepted on a first-come basis because capacity is limited. Checked-pet containers must not exceed 100 pounds for the combined pet-and-kennel weight.
Delta pet travel statistics
Delta’s recommended maximum for a soft-sided kennel is 18 × 11 × 11 inches. Pets and kennels are checked at the Special Service Counter before travel, and the airline agent collects the pet fee at check-in. These are process requirements rather than optional conveniences, so they affect the time and location of the preflight check.
Delta lists 13 destinations or destination groups where pets are not permitted in the cabin: Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Iceland, Jamaica, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.
For domestic travel within the contiguous United States, Delta says in-cabin travel is available for small dogs, cats, and household birds that meet its age, health, size, and kennel requirements. For dog or cat travel outside the contiguous United States, the customer must have all required documentation for entry and return to the country of origin, when applicable.
Delta’s cited fee information includes a Virgin Islands in-cabin pet fee of $95 USD/CAD for tickets issued before April 8, 2025. That date is part of the statistic: it should not be read as a current fee for tickets issued later. Delta also says international travel to other destinations is permitted when the customer has the documentation required for the pet’s entry into the final destination.
JetBlue and Southwest pet limits
JetBlue’s Contract of Carriage states that the in-cabin pet charge is $125 per pet each way. It also says a passenger may not transport more than 1 pet per flight, while all in-cabin pets must use an approved kennel with only 1 pet per kennel. Separately, JetBlue sets a maximum of 6 pets traveling in-cabin on any flight.
Those three numbers describe different layers of the rule. The passenger-level limit is 1 pet per flight for the passenger. The kennel-level limit is 1 pet per kennel. The flight-level capacity is 6 in-cabin pets. A traveler may therefore need to satisfy all three conditions at once, along with the kennel approval requirement and the $125 each-way charge.
Southwest says pets must be at least 8 weeks old to travel. Each ticketed customer may bring 1 pet carrier, and each carrier may hold up to 2 small cats or dogs of the same species. The carrier allowance is consequently different from the animal allowance: one carrier can contain two eligible small animals when the same-species condition is met.
Southwest accepts pets only on domestic flights. The airline does not accept them on flights to or from Hawaii or on international itineraries. The pet fare must be paid at the ticket counter with accepted credit cards, and pets must remain inside the carrier in the gate area, during boarding and deplaning, and throughout the flight.
Finally, Southwest says pets may be denied transportation for disruptive behavior such as scratching, excessive whining or barking, growling, biting, lunging, or urinating or defecating. These behaviors are listed as operational reasons for denial, so meeting the age, route, carrier, and payment rules does not by itself eliminate every travel restriction.