Caribbean Cruising with PetsEntry rules for cats & dogs arriving by boat

Mainland United States

Alabama

Import permit: sources disagreeRabies vaccine neededVet certificate within 30 days of arrivalNo quarantine

Before you sail

  • Import permit — sources disagree whether it is required
  • Rabies vaccine within 1 year before arrival; at least 3 months old when vaccinated
  • Veterinary health certificate issued within 30 days of arrival, endorsed by the exporting country's veterinary authority
  • Parasite treatment — internal and external
  • Microchip
  • Dogs vaccinated against: Rabies — the only vaccination Alabama requires of a dog. Neither r. 80-3-6-.22 nor AGI's dogs-and-cats page lists distemper, parvovirus, leptospirosis or any other vaccine as a condition of entry.
  • Cats vaccinated against: Rabies — the only vaccination Alabama requires of a cat, from three months of age. Neither r. 80-3-6-.22 nor AGI's dogs-and-cats page names any other vaccine or test.
  • Dogs and cats at least 3 months old
Not requiredQuarantine

Not documented Rabies titer test

Fees

Permit

No Alabama charge, and no state document to pay for. R. 80-3-6-.22 asks for a veterinarian's certificate and a rabies vaccination, both obtained privately, and AGI issues nothing to an ordinary arriving pet. A FINDING ABOUT THE STATE ONLY: your veterinarian, any government endorsement abroad and the inherited federal requirements are separate and are not priced here.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[511]

Inspection

Not published. No Alabama source describes a state inspection of an arriving dog or cat, and none prices one. That is an absence of published information, not a finding that an inspection would be free.confidence: Unknown. Not located in any source yet.

THE CHARGES THAT DO EXIST ARE PENALTIES AND COSTS ASHORE. An owner whose dog or cat is stopped without a tag or a current certificate faces a penalty of up to twice the state-approved immunization charge, on top of the immunization fee (Code of Ala. § 3-7A-6); an impounded animal is redeemed only on paying for its immunization, that penalty if no certificate can be produced, and its board (§ 3-7A-8). Quarantine costs fall on the owner — see quarantine.fees. No figure is published for any of them.[8]

Timeline

  1. 1 year before arrivalRabies vaccine given no earlier than this
  2. 30 days – arrivalVeterinary health certificate issued in this window
  3. ArrivalPresent the permit and certificate; clear the animal before going ashore.

On arrival & aboard

Advance notice
SEND THE CERTIFICATE BEFORE YOU ARRIVE. No appointment and no permit is required for a healthy dog or cat, but Alabama's rules want the certificate in the State Veterinarian's hands, and they do not agree on when. The dogs-and-cats rule says a copy "shall be forwarded promptly to the State Veterinarian of Alabama" (r. 80-3-6-.22). The chapter's general certificate rule is earlier and fuller: "A copy of the approved certificate shall be forwarded to the State Veterinarian of Alabama before arrival of livestock", and the certificate "shall contain the names and address of the consignor and the consignee, with an accurate description or an identification of the livestock by tag or number" (r. 80-3-6-.13(4)). That rule speaks of livestock, which reaches a pet through the statute's definition (§ 2-15-150(5)); one can argue the specific dogs-and-cats rule displaces it, but nothing says so. The statute itself has the owner send the certificate to the State Veterinarian after arrival (§ 2-15-155). The safe course satisfies all three: email a scan to stvet@agi.alabama.gov before you arrive, with the boat's name and your berth as consignee and destination. On the federal side CBP "highly recommends contacting the anticipated port of arrival before importing a pet or other animal for expeditious processing and to reduce the possibility of unnecessary delays" — advice, not an Alabama requirement.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[5719]
Ports of entry
Mobile, Alabama — the only Alabama port of entry on CBP's reporting list for pleasure boats. A boat landing first at Orange Beach, Dauphin Island or elsewhere on Mobile Bay reports to CBP and is told where to go; the same list also offers Pascagoula and Gulfport, Mississippi. These are CBP ports for reporting the boat and its people, not ports designated for animals — no source names one.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[18]
Customs inspection
On arrivalconfidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[18]
At the dock
THIS IS A FEDERAL ARRIVAL, CLEARED BY FEDERAL OFFICERS. Sailing into Mobile Bay or Perdido Pass from Mexico, Belize or the Caribbean is an international entry into the United States. CBP's Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi reporting page says the master must report immediately and that only the master or a designee may go ashore, and only to report; nobody else may leave the boat, and nothing may be landed, until CBP releases it. After hours, CBP's number for the region is +1 800 973 2867. That page says nothing about animals. Nothing located places an AGI, ADPH or county officer at a marina or customs dock, and nothing describes a state inspection of an arriving pet. Alabama's own checks happen later, if at all: a copy of the certificate is supposed to reach the State Veterinarian on paper, and the county rabies officer and local police enforce the tag and certificate rules once the animal is ashore. Send that copy before arriving; see advance_notice. Treat the absence of a described dockside procedure as an absence of information, not of a requirement — arrive with the health certificate, the rabies certificate and, for a dog, the federal paperwork in hand.
Carrier or crate
Not required, and not mentioned. Neither r. 80-3-6-.22 nor AGI's dogs-and-cats page asks for a crate, carrier or kennel or sets a standard for one, and neither uses any of those words. The only transport containers chapter 80-3-6 mentions are the railway cars, trucks and other conveyances used for livestock, which must be kept sanitary.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[511]
Confinement
Nothing requires an arriving dog or cat to be confined, aboard or ashore. Alabama's confinement provisions all sit outside arrival: the rabies-observation quarantine after a bite (Code of Ala. § 3-7A-9), the hold of an uncertified animal at the owner's expense (r. 80-3-6-.13(5)), and the general rule that a dog be kept to its owner's premises (§ 3-1-5), which expressly allows the owner, or whoever has charge of the dog, to take it with them away from the premises where it is regularly kept.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[8510]
Leash
No statewide leash rule for a dog with its owner — the question is local. § 3-1-5's confinement duty does not apply within a city or town that requires dog licence tags, or in a county that has not adopted it, and § 3-7A-14 preserves the power of any municipality to prohibit dogs, cats or ferrets from running at large and to regulate dogs and cats further within its limits. So the rule on the dock at Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Dauphin Island or Mobile is a city or county ordinance, and none was read for this file. ADPH's general advice is to "Keep pets properly confined or on leashes."confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[10815]
Muzzle
Not required of an arriving animal, and no breed is singled out by state law. Alabama's dangerous-dog statute, Emily's Law (Code of Ala. ch. 3-6A), defines a dangerous dog by what it has done — bitten, attacked or injured a person without justification — and says in terms that breed is irrelevant (§ 3-6A-3(4)). Its enclosure and leash duties attach to a dog declared dangerous after an investigation, not to a breed and not to a dog that has just arrived. The chapter contains no muzzle requirement. It does leave room for local rules: § 3-6A-7(c) preserves the power of counties and municipalities to adopt ordinances that meet at least its minimum standards. BREED RULES, IF ANY, ARE MUNICIPAL OR COUNTY, and no Baldwin County or Mobile County ordinance was read for this file.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[9]
By yacht
KEEP INTERSTATE AND INTERNATIONAL APART. Coming along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway from Pensacola or Pascagoula is interstate movement, which is what AGI's dogs-and-cats page is visibly written for — a US-form CVI from an accredited veterinarian, and, since June 2026, the screwworm rules if the animal has been in a US infested zone. Coming in from Mexico, Belize or the Caribbean is an international arrival: the inherited federal rules apply in full, and Alabama's certificate requirement is written broadly enough to reach the animal too, even though no form it describes can be issued abroad as written. Nothing in Alabama law turns on the animal arriving by boat rather than by road or air.

Quarantine

Quarantine
None requiredconfidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[511]
What it costs, and who pays

On the owner, in both regimes, and no figure is published for either. The entry quarantine is "at owner's expense" (r. 80-3-6-.13(5)). For a bite quarantine, Code of Ala. § 3-7A-9(e) puts every expense of the quarantine, and of any impoundment under § 3-7A-8, on the owner.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[58]

If your papers are not in order

No routine quarantine for a compliant animal: r. 80-3-6-.22 and AGI's page impose none. Three hooks exist. (1) NO CERTIFICATE — r. 80-3-6-.13(5): "Livestock entering the state without a proper certificate and not meeting the health requirements shall be held in quarantine at owner's expense until released from quarantine by the State Veterinarian or his authorized agent." The rule says livestock. It reaches a pet only through the statute it is made under, whose definition of livestock (§ 2-15-150(5)) takes in any captive animal. That bridge is an inference, and nothing published says how or whether this hold has ever been applied to a dog off a yacht, or where it would be served. (2) DISEASE — no bridge needed, because it says "No animal": r. 80-3-6-.13(1), "No animal, including poultry or bird of any species, that is infected with, or that has been recently exposed to, any infectious or transmissible disease shall be imported into the state, until written permission for such importation is obtained from the State Veterinarian of Alabama." (3) A BITE — THE HOOK MOST LIKELY TO MEET A CRUISING ANIMAL, AND THE WORST ONE. Code of Ala. § 3-7A-9 places a dog, cat or ferret that has bitten or exposed a person in a ten-day quarantine for rabies observation under a veterinarian's supervision (defined in § 3-7A-1(11)), and lets the health officer order the animal destroyed at once and its head sent for testing. Home quarantine is the exception, not the rule. ADPH's r. 420-4-4-.05(3): "Home quarantine may be permitted at the discretion of the Health Officer only if all of the following conditions are met", including that "The exposure was as a result of a provoked incident" and "The animal is currently vaccinated against rabies", that the animal is examined by a veterinarian ten days after the exposure, and that "The animal is kept in an enclosed area (e.g., house, pen) in a designated confinement area". An unprovoked bite, or an animal whose vaccination Alabama does not recognise, means quarantine at a veterinarian's — and r. 420-4-4-.02 adds: "All unvaccinated dogs, cats and ferrets of any age that have exposed humans are declared to be nuisances menacing public health." Whether a foreign vaccination counts as current is not addressed (see rabies.booster_rules). Whether a boat can be the enclosed area is not addressed either.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[5678]

Open questions

High priority

  1. HIGH PRIORITY — the rabies interval. R. 80-3-6-.22 requires a dose "within twelve (12) months of date of entry"; AGI's own dogs-and-cats page instead follows the vaccine's licensed interval, which a current three-year vaccine meets. Ask AGI which governs, and whether a dog on a three-year booster given more than twelve months ago is accepted. The rule dates from 1990 and may predate the page's wording; AGI's page does not cite its source.

Also open

  1. HIGHEST PRIORITY, AND THE REASON THIS PAGE EXISTS — does Alabama's certificate requirement reach a dog or cat arriving at Mobile Bay directly from a foreign port, and if so, what document does the State Veterinarian accept? R. 80-3-6-.22 covers dogs and cats "imported into Alabama for any purpose", and § 2-15-155 covers any captive animal brought into the state, but the rule's certificate must be approved by "the proper livestock sanitary official of the state of origin", which a foreign country does not have. Ask the Office of the State Veterinarian (Tony Frazier, DVM; +1 334 240 7255 or 7253; stvet@agi.alabama.gov) whether a Mexican, Belizean or Honduran health certificate endorsed by that country's government veterinary service is accepted. If not, ask whether the special permit AGI describes for animals "from states that do not meet Alabama requirements" can be issued for one, and whether anything at all is expected beyond the federal clearance. Ask too which filing rule applies to a pet: r. 80-3-6-.22 wants the certificate copy forwarded "promptly", r. 80-3-6-.13(4) wants it "before arrival of livestock" with consignor and consignee named, and § 2-15-155 has the owner send it after arrival.
  2. What does "those to be in the state for a limited time" in r. 80-3-6-.22 mean? It is undefined, and AGI's restatement replaces it with an exhibition-only exception of 21 days. Ask the State Veterinarian whether a cruising animal aboard a boat staying days or weeks is within it.
  3. Is the r. 80-3-6-.13(5) quarantine of uncertified "livestock" ever applied to a pet off a yacht, and where would it be served? Ask AGI (+1 334 240 7253) — and ask CBP Mobile whether AGI is ever notified of a pet on an arriving pleasure boat.
  4. Does a rabies vaccination given abroad satisfy Code of Ala. § 3-7A-2, which requires a certificate with specified contents and says one that does not comply is not valid? Ask ADPH (Dee W. Jones, DVM, State Public Health Veterinarian, +1 334 206 5969) whether a foreign certificate is accepted by county rabies officers, and whether a visiting animal needs an Alabama tag.
  5. Establish whether anyone inspects an animal at an Alabama seaport arrival. CBP's regional reporting page lists Mobile as the port of entry and never mentions animals; no Alabama source describes a dockside check. Ask CBP Mobile (via the after-hours line +1 800 973 2867 or the port office) what a master is expected to present for a dog or cat.
  6. Local ordinances were not read. Leash, licensing and any breed rules in Baldwin County (Orange Beach, Gulf Shores), Mobile County (Dauphin Island) and the City of Mobile should be checked with each animal control office before landing an animal there.
  7. The June 2026 New World screwworm order is written for US infested zones. Ask AGI (ALImportPermit@agi.alabama.gov, +1 334 240 7253) whether it treats a dog or cat from Mexico, where screwworm is present, as within it, since the order covers dogs and cats as warm-blooded animals but names no foreign origin.
  8. Nothing addresses an animal that stays aboard and never lands, so no transit section is authored here.

About this page’s sources

  • The Code of Alabama's official site, ALISON, is a script-only application that the project's corpus cannot read. Its corpus entries hold the empty page shell, so statute passages on this page (Titles 2 and 3: §§ 2-15-150, 2-15-155, 3-1-5, 3-6A, 3-7A) are described and cited by section, not quoted. The quoted text comes from the readable Alabama Administrative Code chapters 80-3-6 and 420-4-4 and the agency pages, which say the same thing wherever the page relies on a quotation.
  • The Code of Alabama and the Administrative Code are served by JavaScript applications. Statute text was read from the Legislature's own ALISON GraphQL service (the query its code viewer uses), and the Administrative Code chapters from the PDF the code viewer downloads at /api/chapter/<number>. The cited ALISON and administrative-code URLs are the human pages, which return an empty shell to an automated reader; Justia's copy of the Code returned HTTP 403 and was not used. A reviewer should open the human pages to confirm the text.
  • Eight sources carry an archived_url, and every one is a snapshot that already existed — none was made for this file. The Internet Archive's availability service answered HTTP 429 for part of the session. No snapshot exists of the AGI pages (dogs, import requirements, screwworm page and letter), of ADPH's September 2026 release, of the Administrative Code chapter 80-3-6 page or PDF, or of the ALISON page for § 2-15-155. The ALISON and administrative-code snapshots are of the JavaScript shell, not of the statute or rule text. Archive the rest on review — the AGI dogs page and r. 80-3-6-.22 first, since the central finding rests on them.
  • AGI's dogs page is reached at the canonical address cited here; the older address agi.alabama.gov/animalindustries/?p=2586 redirects to it.
  • Verify the inherited CDC federal requirements against cdc.gov, which blocks automated access and could not be read directly at author time.

Page status

Mainland United States · State of the United StatesDataset status Inferredconfidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.Last checked 2026-10-10 Recently checkedfreshness: Recently checked. Sources were last re-read 2 days ago, well inside the 180-day window. Recent is not reviewed — this page is still an unreviewed draft.

Evidence

Import permit

Permit
Not requiredconfidence: Conflicting. Sources disagree — verify before you rely on it.[5111214]
What it costs

No fee is published, because no entry permit is required for a healthy dog or cat. R. 80-3-6-.22 asks for a certificate and nothing issued by the state, and AGI's dogs-and-cats page names no permit. Three permit routes exist and none is the ordinary case. (1) DISEASE: r. 80-3-6-.13(1) bars any animal "infected with, or that has been recently exposed to, any infectious or transmissible disease" until "written permission for such importation is obtained from the State Veterinarian of Alabama". (2) A CERTIFICATE THAT CANNOT COMPLY — the route most likely to fit a foreign arrival. AGI's general requirements say "No certificate shall be issued unless it can be issued to comply in all respects with requirements of the State of Alabama, unless otherwise specifically authorized in writing", and "Livestock and poultry from states that do not meet Alabama requirements may not enter Alabama unless a special permit is obtained from the State Veterinarian". A request gives consignor and consignee, a description and identification of the animal, origin, destination, approximate date of arrival and purpose, and "All permits shall be void fifteen (15) days after date of issuance." It is written for "states"; whether AGI would issue one for an animal certified abroad is the question to put to the State Veterinarian. (3) SCREWWORM: the June 2026 order requires an entry permit number, requested from ALImportPermit@agi.alabama.gov at least 48 hours ahead, for warm-blooded animals from an infested zone. It is written for US zones; whether it reaches an animal from Mexico is unanswered. None of the three publishes a charge.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[51112]

Phone
+1 334 240 7255

Contacts. AGI Office of the State Veterinarian (Tony Frazier, DVM), 1445 Federal Drive, Montgomery, AL 36107: +1 334 240 7255, animal health office +1 334 240 7253, stvet@agi.alabama.gov; screwworm entry permits ALImportPermit@agi.alabama.gov, Monday to Friday 8:00 to 17:00 Central.[1412]

Rabies

Vaccination
Requiredconfidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[5118]
Min. age at vaccination
90 days (Three months, in every instrument: r. 80-3-6-.22 (dogs and cats over three months), AGI's page ("when the animal reaches three months of age"), and the standing owner's duty in Code of Ala. § 3-7A-2, which ADPH's rule repeats as "when the animal reaches three months of age and subsequently in accordance with the intervals specified in the rabies vaccine’s license" (r. 420-4-4-.06(1)). ADPH's own press material says "Alabama state law requires that dogs, cats and ferrets 12 weeks of age and older be current with rabies vaccination" — twelve weeks, a few days short of three months. Recorded as 90 days because that is the figure in the statute and both rules.)confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[5116816]
Min. before travel
Not documented. Neither r. 80-3-6-.22, AGI's page nor Title 3 Chapter 7A sets any interval between vaccination and entry. Recorded as undocumented, not as an exemption.confidence: Unknown. Not located in any source yet.
Max. before travel
365 days (TWO OFFICIAL ALABAMA SOURCES DISAGREE, AND THE DIFFERENCE DECIDES WHETHER A DOG ON A THREE-YEAR VACCINE IS COMPLIANT. The promulgated rule is a hard twelve months: the animal must have "received a standard dose of rabies vaccine within twelve (12) months of date of entry" (r. 80-3-6-.22). AGI's own page instead asks for vaccination "when the animal reaches three months of age and subsequently in accordance with the intervals specified in the vaccine’s license" — the formula of the ADPH statute, § 3-7A-2, and of ADPH's rule, which says "subsequently in accordance with the intervals specified in the rabies vaccine’s license" (r. 420-4-4-.06(1)). A current three-year vaccine satisfies that formula. ADPH adds that "the first rabies vaccination is only good for one year, regardless of which vaccine a pet receives." So: a first vaccination is good for a year on every reading; a three-year booster given more than twelve months ago satisfies AGI's page and the statute but not the rule as published. Recorded as 365 days because the rule is the instrument with force of law and the stricter reading is the safe one. Ask the State Veterinarian before relying on a three-year booster.)confidence: Conflicting. Sources disagree — verify before you rely on it.[5116816]
Boosters, and what the certificate must show

WHAT THE ALABAMA RABIES CERTIFICATE MUST SAY, AND THE TAG THAT GOES WITH IT. Code of Ala. § 3-7A-2(a) is specific. Evidence of immunization is a printed certificate supplied by ADPH, showing the animal's description, age, colour, sex and breed, the owner, the vaccine lot number and type, the manufacturer, the amount injected and the date after which the animal stops counting as vaccinated, together with a serially numbered tag matching the certificate. The section also says a certificate that does not comply, or one issued by someone not authorised to vaccinate, is not valid. ADPH's rule carries the same pairing: the certificate "shall be accompanied by a serially numbered tag bearing the same number and year as that of the certificate" (r. 420-4-4-.07(a)). It softens the form — "Alternatively, the NASPHV Form 51, which can be obtained from vaccine manufacturers may be used" — but not the content. A certificate written in Mexico or Belize routinely lacks the lot number, the expiry date or a matching tag, and AGI's restatement of the entry rule wants the animal "identified by vaccination certificates and tags bearing the same number and year as that of the certificate". Have the last-port vet write all of it down. Whether a foreign vaccination counts at all is not addressed: § 3-7A-2 names the county rabies officer, the officer's representative or a licensed veterinarian as the person who vaccinates, without saying licensed where. One more ADPH figure to know: vaccines given at public rabies clinics count for one year only — "the vaccine interval for rabies vaccines administered in public rabies clinics shall be one year" (r. 420-4-4-.06(2)).confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[8611]

The rabies statute and its rules are ADPH's, not AGI's. Questions about what a rabies certificate must show, tags, and bite quarantine go to the State Public Health Veterinarian, Dee W. Jones, DVM, +1 334 206 5969, or to the county health department.[1716]

A MEDICAL EXEMPTION EXISTS, AND IT CARRIES A COST AFTER A BITE. Under r. 420-4-4-.08 a veterinarian may certify, with the owner's consent and on ADPH's Appendix A form, that vaccination is medically contraindicated. The exemption lasts one year and a copy goes to ADPH within seven days. It does not protect the animal after an incident: an exempt animal exposed to rabies must be "euthanized or quarantined for six months", and one suspected of exposing a human "shall be quarantined for 10 days". Whether a foreign exemption certificate would be accepted, and whether an exempt animal satisfies r. 80-3-6-.22's rabies-dose requirement on entry, is not addressed.[65]

Rabies titer test

A blood test that measures rabies antibodies, to show the vaccination actually took. The sample has to be drawn a set time after the jab, and some places then make you wait months more before the animal may land — so this is the requirement most worth checking before you plan a route, not after.

Blood titer
Not yet documentedconfidence: Unknown. Not located in any source yet.
Required level
Not documented. No Alabama statute, rule or agency page read for this file asks for a rabies antibody titre, names a threshold or a laboratory, or sets a wait after a blood draw. Recorded as undocumented rather than as an exemption: the inherited federal layer can require serology of a dog that has been in a high-risk rabies country, and Alabama's silence does not displace it.confidence: Unknown. Not located in any source yet.

Veterinary health certificate

Certificate
Requiredconfidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[5711]
Completed within
30 days (Thirty days from inspection, but read where the number comes from. R. 80-3-6-.22 itself sets no validity period. AGI's general requirements, which apply to "All domestic animals and poultry entering the State of Alabama", say "Certificates shall be void thirty (30) days after the date of inspection and issuance." The rule chapter's general certificate rule says the same — "A certificate or permit will be void after thirty (30) days." (r. 80-3-6-.13(3)) — but it speaks of livestock, and it reaches a pet only through the statute's definition of livestock as any captive animal (§ 2-15-150(5)). The statute also sets the order of events: § 2-15-155 has the certificate made right after the veterinarian examines the animal and before it is brought into Alabama. So get it in your last foreign port, not on arrival. Thirty days is not the window that binds a dog from screwworm country: the inherited 9 CFR 93.600 certificate must date from within five days of sailing, and AGI's June 2026 screwworm order, if AGI applies it to a foreign origin, asks for a CVI valid no more than seven days.)confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[1257141]
Gov. endorsement
Requiredconfidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[512]
Form
What the rule describes: a certificate of health from a licensed graduate veterinarian, approved by the livestock sanitary official of the state of origin, attesting freedom from infectious disease, origin outside a rabies quarantine area, and a rabies dose within 12 months of entry. No foreign form is named and no foreign equivalent of the state-of-origin approval is described. The closest a cruiser can come is a health certificate from a veterinarian in the last port, endorsed by that country's government veterinary service., APHIS form 7001 is not accepted: AGI stopped approving it for small animals entering Alabama from 1 January 2019. AGI sells paper ICVI booklets to Alabama licensed and accredited veterinarians and accepts electronic ICVIs from Global Vet Link and AgView — all US instruments., The rabies certificate: Code of Ala. § 3-7A-2 sets out what it must show (description of the animal, owner, vaccine lot and type, manufacturer, dose, the date after which the animal is no longer considered vaccinated, and a serially numbered tag), and ADPH rule 420-4-4-.07(b) accepts NASPHV Form 51 or any computer-generated form carrying the same information., A copy of whatever certificate you carry, emailed to stvet@agi.alabama.gov before you arrive: see arrival_procedures.advance_notice.
Arriving by sea

NONE PUBLISHED FOR A BOAT, AND ONE UNDEFINED EXCEPTION THAT MIGHT REACH ONE. No Alabama statute, rule or AGI page addresses an animal arriving from a foreign country or by vessel. The rule does exempt animals "to be in the state for a limited time", and sets no limit; a yacht clearing in at Mobile and moving on within days is a plausible fit on the words alone. But AGI's published restatement does not repeat that exception. It says instead: "This section does not apply to any dog or cat which is imported into the state for exhibition purposes, and which does not remain in the state for more than 21 days." On AGI's reading a short visit earns nothing unless the animal is being exhibited. Do not rely on the limited-time words without asking the State Veterinarian. Note too that the statutory certificate duty in § 2-15-155 has no exception of either kind. And remember the federal layer decides first: a dog vaccinated outside the United States that has been in a CDC high-risk country in the past six months — Belize, Honduras and Guatemala among the usual departure points for this coast — cannot be landed at any US seaport, whatever Alabama would accept.confidence: Conflicting. Sources disagree — verify before you rely on it.[511743]

What the certificate must say

Ala. Admin. Code r. 80-3-6-.22: "All dogs or cats over three months of age imported into Alabama for any purpose, with the exception of those for exhibition purposes and those to be in the state for a limited time, shall be accompanied by a certificate of health issued by a licensed graduate veterinarian and approved by the proper livestock sanitary official of the state of origin, stating that the dog or cat is free from symptoms of any infectious or communicable disease, did not originate within an area under quarantine for rabies, and has received a standard dose of rabies vaccine within twelve (12) months of date of entry." A copy "shall be forwarded promptly to the State Veterinarian of Alabama." AGI's own page states the requirement differently: "All dogs and domesticated cats to be moved or transported into Alabama for any purpose shall be accompanied by an official Certificate of Veterinary Inspection showing that the animals have been officially vaccinated against rabies when the animal reaches three months of age and subsequently in accordance with the intervals specified in the vaccine’s license, and identified by vaccination certificates and tags bearing the same number and year as that of the certificate." The rule was last amended in 1990; AGI's text does not match it on the rabies interval or on the exceptions, and AGI does not say which instrument its wording comes from. Write the certificate to satisfy both.confidence: Conflicting. Sources disagree — verify before you rely on it.[511]

Parasite treatment

Internal

None. No deworming or internal-parasite treatment appears in r. 80-3-6-.22, on AGI's dogs-and-cats page or in Title 3 Chapter 7A. Recorded as an observed absence, not as an exemption.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[5118]

External

No routine external-parasite treatment is published for a dog or cat arriving from abroad, but one Alabama order may require one, and nobody has said whether it does. (1) A PROHIBITION, not a treatment: "No dog or domesticated cat infested with screwworms shall be shipped or otherwise imported into Alabama for any purpose" (AGI). (2) THE JUNE 2026 SCREWWORM ORDER, WRITTEN FOR US ZONES, REACH UNANSWERED FOR A FOREIGN ORIGIN. Since 5 June 2026, "All warm-blooded animals entering Alabama from an infested zone must be accompanied by a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection" documenting an effective screwworm treatment, with an inspection within 5 days of movement, a CVI valid no more than 7 days and an entry permit number obtained at least 48 hours before entry. Oral or injected treatments must be given no less than 12 hours and no more than 14 days before entry, topical ones no less than 72 hours. The order is headed "Interstate Movement Requirements for New World Screwworm Detection", applies "for warm-blooded animals entering Alabama from infested states", and points to a map of US cases. It does not define "infested zone", and nothing says a foreign country is outside it. Reading it as interstate only is plausible, but it is a reading. None of it can be arranged after arrival, so coming from Mexico or Central America, email ALImportPermit@agi.alabama.gov at least 48 hours before entry and ask. The screwworm rule that certainly binds a dog coming off a boat is FEDERAL, the 9 CFR 93.600 certificate in the inherited layer, and AGI's own screwworm page points that way: "Ensure that pets traveling internationally are inspected for screwworm."confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[111412131]

CATS AND THE TWO SCREWWORM RULES. The federal 9 CFR 93.600 certificate is a dog rule only. Alabama's prohibition is not — it names the "domesticated cat" alongside the dog — so an infested cat is barred by the state even though no federal screwworm paperwork applies to it.[111]

Identification

Microchip
Requiredconfidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[24]
Standard
Any brand, but it must be detectable with a universal scanner. CDC names no ISO standard and no digit count.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[4]

CDC requires dogs entering the United States to be microchipped, and the chip number must appear on any accompanying rabies documentation. A territory may accept a collar tag for its own local rule, but that does not replace the federal microchip requirement for a dog arriving from abroad.[24]

"If your dog's microchip number starts with a number other than 9, be sure to check with your veterinarian that it is readable. If the microchip cannot be scanned on arrival for a dog that has been in a high-risk country, the dog may be denied entry and returned to the country of departure at the importer's expense."[4]

ALABAMA'S OWN IDENTIFIER IS A COLLAR TAG, NOT A CHIP. Code of Ala. § 3-7A-4 requires the rabies tag, numbered to match the certificate, to be worn on the dog's or cat's collar or harness at all times, and § 3-7A-6 penalises the owner of a dog or cat found without that evidence of current vaccination or unable to produce a current certificate. ADPH's rule describes the tag as "a serially numbered tag bearing the same number and year as that of the certificate" (r. 420-4-4-.07(a)), and AGI's entry page wants the animal "identified by vaccination certificates and tags bearing the same number and year as that of the certificate". A foreign-vaccinated animal will usually have a foreign tag or none. Neither the rules nor the statute name a microchip. None of that displaces the inherited CDC requirement that a dog arriving from abroad be microchipped, so chip it, and keep a tag on the collar as well.[8611]

Animals & vaccinations

Dogs

Min. age
90 days (The same three-month trigger as for cats, and for a boat arriving from abroad it is academic: the inherited CDC layer requires a dog entering the United States to be at least six months old, which is stricter and bites first.)confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[511]

Vaccinesconfidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[5118]

  • Rabies — the only vaccination Alabama requires of a dog. Neither r. 80-3-6-.22 nor AGI's dogs-and-cats page lists distemper, parvovirus, leptospirosis or any other vaccine as a condition of entry.

Cats

Min. age
90 days (NOT A BAR ON ENTRY, AND THE TWO SOURCES DISAGREE ABOUT WHAT IT TRIGGERS. The rule, r. 80-3-6-.22, covers only "All dogs or cats over three months of age imported into Alabama for any purpose", so on its wording a kitten under three months needs no certificate at all. AGI's page requires a CVI of "All dogs and domesticated cats" with no age limit, and excuses the young animal only from the shot: "Puppies and domesticated kittens under 3 months of age may be admitted without vaccination." For a cat this matters, because the inherited federal layer sets no minimum age for one. Carry a health certificate for a kitten anyway; it is the reading that satisfies both.)confidence: Conflicting. Sources disagree — verify before you rely on it.[511]

Vaccinesconfidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[5118]

  • Rabies — the only vaccination Alabama requires of a cat, from three months of age. Neither r. 80-3-6-.22 nor AGI's dogs-and-cats page names any other vaccine or test.

Other health requirements

Note
CDC governs dogs specifically; it does not impose an equivalent federal import form on cats. Cats are governed by the inheriting jurisdiction's own requirements plus a general healthy-on-arrival expectation — and note that for a US STATE those requirements may be drafted for interstate movement and may not reach a foreign arrival at all. See the state files for how each one resolves that.
Dogs
  • CDC Dog Import Form — required for every dog entering the United States, including a US-vaccinated dog returning home. Submitted online before travel; carry the receipt.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[4]
  • Dogs must be at least 6 months old.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[42]
  • Dogs must appear healthy on arrival.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[4]
  • Dogs that have been in a high-risk rabies country in the previous 6 months face additional requirements: a rabies serology/titer and, in some cases, a CDC import permit. Which countries those are is not a judgement call — see the note below for CDC's list and the eight destinations on this site that are on it.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[43]
  • SCREWWORM CERTIFICATE — USDA/APHIS, and separate from anything CDC asks for. 9 CFR 93.600(a): "Dogs from any region of the world where screwworm is considered to exist may only be imported into the United States if they meet the requirements of paragraphs (a)(1) and (2)". Those are: "(1) Dogs must be accompanied by a certificate signed by a full-time salaried veterinary official of the region of origin stating that the dog has been inspected for screwworm within 5 days preceding its shipment to the United States" and "(2) The certificate must state that the dog is either free from screwworm or was found to be infested with screwworm and was held in quarantine and treated until free from screwworm prior to leaving the region of origin." READ THAT AS A CRUISER: it is not your own vet's certificate, it is a GOVERNMENT veterinary official's, it must be within FIVE DAYS of departure, and on many islands finding a full-time salaried government vet at short notice is the hard part. APHIS maintains the list of affected regions at aphis.usda.gov (Animal Health Status of Regions) and changes it by administrative action, so check it against your actual last port rather than assuming — this dataset does not reproduce the list. Cats are not covered: subpart F is headed "Dogs". The quoted paragraphs have been checked against the regulation: subpart F is now held in this repository, fetched from the eCFR XML API, and both quotes above appear in it verbatim.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[1]
  • ALABAMA'S DISEASE BAR APPLIES ON TOP OF THE FEDERAL ITEMS ABOVE. R. 80-3-6-.13(1): "No animal, including poultry or bird of any species, that is infected with, or that has been recently exposed to, any infectious or transmissible disease shall be imported into the state, until written permission for such importation is obtained from the State Veterinarian of Alabama." And AGI: "No dog or domesticated cat infested with screwworms shall be shipped or otherwise imported into Alabama for any purpose."confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[511]
  • WILD CROSSES ARE BARRED. AGI, under "Other Feline & Canine Species": "it shall be illegal to own, maintain, sell, or trade any canidae or felidae for which there is not a USDA licensed rabies vaccine." That is Code of Ala. § 3-8-1. ADPH's rules treat a cross with a wild species as wild: "Crosses between wild animal species and domestic animals are considered to be wild animals." (r. 420-4-4-.01(10)). A wolf-dog or a Savannah or other wild-cross cat aboard should not be landed in Alabama without asking the State Veterinarian first.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[126]
Cats
  • Rabies vaccination and a veterinary health certificate are the whole of the Alabama entry requirement for a cat. R. 80-3-6-.22 asks for nothing more, and AGI's page names no permit, titre, parasite treatment or other vaccine. A sick or exposed cat is another matter: r. 80-3-6-.13(1) bars any animal "infected with, or that has been recently exposed to, any infectious or transmissible disease" without the State Veterinarian's written permission.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[511]
  • WILD CROSSES ARE BARRED. AGI, under "Other Feline & Canine Species": "it shall be illegal to own, maintain, sell, or trade any canidae or felidae for which there is not a USDA licensed rabies vaccine." That is Code of Ala. § 3-8-1. ADPH's rules treat a cross with a wild species as wild: "Crosses between wild animal species and domestic animals are considered to be wild animals." (r. 420-4-4-.01(10)). A wolf-dog or a Savannah or other wild-cross cat aboard should not be landed in Alabama without asking the State Veterinarian first.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[126]

THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC IS HIGH RISK, AND THIS FILE SAID OTHERWISE UNTIL 2026-10-03. CDC's list is headed "These countries and political units are considered high risk for importing dog rabies into the United States" and it names the Dominican Republic. Eight destinations on this site are on that list: Belize, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Suriname and Venezuela. The Bahamas, Turks & Caicos and the BVI are not on it, and neither is Nicaragua. US territories are not foreign countries for this purpose. The claim this replaces grouped the Dominican Republic with the not-high-risk islands and told a cruiser returning from there that the titer "does not normally apply" — it does, and a US-vaccinated dog also needs the Certification of U.S.-issued Rabies Vaccination form endorsed before it leaves the United States, which cannot be arranged afterwards.[3]

Sources

  1. 1

    9 CFR 93.600, Importation of dogs — subpart F. Paragraph (a) carries the screwworm certificate requirement; paragraph (b) the tapeworm inspection for livestock-handling dogs. Text read from the 2026 annual edition. — United States — Code of Federal Regulations, Title 9 (Animals and Animal Products), APHIS/USDA

    legalAccessed 2026-08-13no archive yet

  2. 2

    Bringing a Dog into the United States — US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

    healthAccessed 2026-08-10archived copy

  3. 3

    High-Risk Countries for Dog Rabies — US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

    healthAccessed 2026-10-03no archive yet

  4. 4

    Frequently Asked Questions on Dog Importations — US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

    healthAccessed 2026-08-22archived copy

  5. 5

    Ala. Admin. Code ch. 80-3-6, Livestock Sanitary Rules (revised 14 April 2025). Cited for r. 80-3-6-.13 (certificate of veterinary inspection; 30-day validity; quarantine of uncertified livestock; written permission for diseased or exposed animals), r. 80-3-6-.22 (Requirements For Dogs And Cats Imported Into Alabama, last amended 21 February 1990) and r. 80-3-6-.24 (authority to issue and approve health certificates). — Alabama Legislative Services Agency — Alabama Administrative Code (Department of Agriculture and Industries, Animal Industry)

    legalAccessed 2026-10-09no archive yet

  6. 6

    Ala. Admin. Code ch. 420-4-4, Rabies Control Program. Cited for r. 420-4-4-.06 (rabies vaccine requirements; one-year interval at public clinics) and r. 420-4-4-.07 (evidence of immunization; NASPHV Form 51). — Alabama Legislative Services Agency — Alabama Administrative Code (State Committee of Public Health, Department of Public Health)

    legalAccessed 2026-10-09archived copy

  7. 7

    Code of Ala. Title 2, Chapter 15, Article 7 (control and eradication of livestock diseases), §§ 2-15-150 to 2-15-174, with § 2-4-1 (State Veterinarian). Cited for § 2-15-150(5) (definition of livestock as any animal maintained in captivity), § 2-15-155 (livestock brought into Alabama to be accompanied by a certificate of health), § 2-15-170 (rule power) and § 2-15-174 (penalty). — Alabama Legislature — Code of Alabama 1975 (ALISON)

    legalAccessed 2026-10-09no archive yet

  8. 8

    Code of Ala. Title 3, Chapter 7A, Rabies Control, §§ 3-7A-1 to 3-7A-16. Cited for § 3-7A-1 (definitions, including quarantine for rabies observation), § 3-7A-2 (immunization at three months and per the vaccine's license; contents of the certificate), § 3-7A-4 (tag on collar or harness), § 3-7A-6 (penalty for no tag or certificate), §§ 3-7A-8 and 3-7A-9 (impoundment; bite quarantine and costs) and § 3-7A-14 (municipal powers). — Alabama Legislature — Code of Alabama 1975 (ALISON)

    legalAccessed 2026-10-09archived copy

  9. 9

    Code of Ala. Title 3, Chapter 6A (Emily's Law), dangerous dogs, §§ 3-6A-1 to 3-6A-8. Cited for § 3-6A-3(4) (breed-neutral definition of a dangerous dog) and § 3-6A-7(c) (county and municipal ordinances). — Alabama Legislature — Code of Alabama 1975 (ALISON)

    legalAccessed 2026-10-09archived copy

  10. 10

    Code of Ala. § 3-1-5 — Permitting dogs to run at large — Alabama Legislature — Code of Alabama 1975 (ALISON)

    legalAccessed 2026-10-09archived copy

  11. 11

    Dogs — entry requirements for dogs and domesticated cats moved into Alabama — Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, Animal Industries (Office of the State Veterinarian)

    agricultureAccessed 2026-10-09no archive yet

  12. 12

    Import Requirements — general requirements, official Certificate of Veterinary Inspection, species list, and the New World screwworm entry update of 5 June 2026 — Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, Animal Industries (Office of the State Veterinarian)

    agricultureAccessed 2026-10-09no archive yet

  13. 13

    New World Screwworm — Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, Animal Industries

    agricultureAccessed 2026-10-09no archive yet

  14. 14

    Interstate Movement Requirements for New World Screwworm Detection — Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, Office of the State Veterinarian (Tony Frazier, DVM)

    agricultureAccessed 2026-10-09Published 2026-06-05no archive yet

  15. 15

    Rabies — Alabama Department of Public Health, Infectious Diseases and Outbreaks

    healthAccessed 2026-10-09archived copy

  16. 16

    ADPH continues taking measures to prevent potential human exposure after kitten confirmed positive for rabies (news release) — Alabama Department of Public Health

    healthAccessed 2026-10-09Published 2024-10-28archived copy

  17. 17

    Rabies is serious; precautions are advised (news release) — Alabama Department of Public Health (State Public Health Veterinarian)

    healthAccessed 2026-10-09Published 2026-09-14no archive yet

  18. 18

    Pleasure boat reporting — Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi locations — US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

    customsAccessed 2026-10-09archived copy

  19. 19

    Bringing Pets and Wildlife into the United States — US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

    customsAccessed 2026-10-09archived copy

Last checked October 2026 · 1 high-priority open question · Sources & questions

What the dots mean

confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer. official-backed, awaiting human reviewconfidence: Conflicting. Sources disagree — verify before you rely on it. sources disagreeconfidence: Unknown. Not located in any source yet. not yet documented· How we grade