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

Greater Antilles

Dominican Republic

No import permitRabies vaccine neededNo titer testVet certificate within 10 days of arrivalNo quarantine

Before you sail

  • Rabies vaccine at least 30 days before arrival; at least 3 months old when vaccinated
  • Veterinary health certificate issued within 10 days of arrival, endorsed by the exporting country's veterinary authority
  • Parasite treatment — internal and external
  • Microchip (ISO 11784/11785 (15-digit))
  • Dogs vaccinated against: Rabies (required)
  • Cats vaccinated against: Rabies (required)
  • Dogs and cats at least 4 months old
Not requiredImport permit · Rabies titer test · Quarantine

Fees

Permit

Nothing to pay, on a commercial source alone: "An import permit is not required for pets entering the Dominican Republic with their owners. Up to five personal pets can be imported to the Dominican Republic without an import permit." Six or more animals, or a commercial import, does need a permit, and no fee is published for that one.confidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]

Other

Nominal fee reported at the quarantine office at the airport for issuing the health certificate and exit permit on departure — an exit cost, not an entry one. No amount is given.confidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]

NOTHING ABOVE IS OFFICIAL. The only official document this file has is the USDA/APHIS bilateral health certificate, and it carries no fee content at all — its three certification statements are about rabies vaccination, the vaccine's validity and the veterinarian's power to certify non-vaccination for insufficient age, and the form has no fee, tariff or payment field anywhere. The figures and the absences above rest entirely on a commercial site, and are graded secondary for that reason rather than because the amounts look plausible.[21]

No arrival fee for personal pets was located in either source. That is what was searched, not a finding that arrival is free — DIGEGA's own regulations were never retrieved, and they are where an entry or inspection charge would be set.[12]

Timeline

  1. 30 days before arrivalRabies vaccine given by now at the latest
  2. 4 weeks before arrivalHave the US rabies certification form endorsed before you sailGetting home again — a rule of where you sail from, not Dominican Republic's (Leaving from the United States) · See it on the departure countdown

    ONLY NEEDED IF your route touches a country CDC treats as high risk for dog rabies — and it cannot be arranged once you have left. CDC readmits a US-vaccinated dog from a high-risk country on a Certification of U.S.-issued Rabies Vaccination form, and "The form must be submitted to USDA and endorsed BEFORE the dog leaves the United States". "USDA endorsement of the form may take several weeks", so this is the step to start first. WITHOUT IT, YOUR DOG CANNOT COME HOME ON THE BOAT. It falls under the rules for foreign-vaccinated dogs from a high-risk country, and those close every seaport: such a dog "Can only enter at a U.S. airport with a CDC-registered animal care facility where the dog has a reservation". Land borders are closed to it as well. The only sea exception is a qualifying service dog with a titer, travelling with the person it assists. The alternative CDC used to accept — a USDA-endorsed export health certificate — covers only certificates issued "no later than July 31, 2025", so it is closed to anyone arranging travel now. Eight destinations on this site are on CDC's high-risk list — Belize, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Suriname and Venezuela — and the Dominican Republic is the one most likely to catch an eastern-Caribbean itinerary. The Bahamas, Turks & Caicos and the BVI are not on it.

  3. 10 days – arrivalVeterinary health certificate issued in this window
  4. ArrivalPresent the certificate; clear the animal before going ashore.

On arrival & aboard

Advance notice
SECONDARY ONLY, AND WRITTEN FOR AN AIRPORT. pettravel.com states, in its "Entering the Dominican Republic by Air" section, that "Importers should notify veterinary officials of their pet's arrival 48 hours ahead of time to allow for inspection of your pet and its pet passport documentation." No official source cited here sets any notice period — the APHIS export certificate is a form and says nothing about arrival — and nothing states who is notified, or how, by a vessel.confidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]
Veterinary inspection
On arrivalconfidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]
At the dock
Animals must be free of evidence of disease communicable to humans on entry. If a further veterinary examination is needed, the cost falls to the owner.
Carrier or crate
No carrier or crate rule is published for a vessel. The only carriage requirement found anywhere is the commercial source's, and it is scoped to the airlines — "In all cases, pets must travel in a crate or carrier in accordance with the International Air Transport Association", in its section on entering by air. Nothing states what is expected of an animal brought ashore from a dinghy.confidence: Unknown. Not located in any source yet.[1]
Confinement
Nothing published addresses confining an animal aboard, or landing it. Neither cited document mentions a vessel of any kind: the APHIS bilateral certificate is an export form whose content is consignment fields and three veterinary certifications about rabies, and the commercial source is written throughout for arrival by air. This is what was searched and not found, not a finding that an animal may come and go as it pleases — DIGEGA's own regulations were never retrieved, and they are where such a condition would sit.confidence: Unknown. Not located in any source yet.[12]
Leash
Nothing published addresses leashing or otherwise restraining an animal ashore, at a marina or anywhere else. Neither cited document contains the word.confidence: Unknown. Not located in any source yet.[12]
Muzzle
Nothing published requires a muzzle, for any breed or in any place. Neither cited document contains the word.confidence: Unknown. Not located in any source yet.[12]
Stay aboard
Not yet documentedconfidence: Unknown. Not located in any source yet.
Going ashore
Not yet documentedconfidence: Unknown. Not located in any source yet.
By yacht
No yacht-specific animal procedure was located. Clear in through an official port of entry and raise the animal with the Armada/customs and DIGEGA representatives at check-in. Confirm the process before you sail — this is the least-documented jurisdiction on the route.

Quarantine

Quarantine
None requiredconfidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]
Duration
8 days (Only for non-compliant arrivals — reported as 8 to 30 days depending on the country of origin. Compliant animals are not quarantined.)confidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]
If your papers are not in order

No quarantine when the import requirements are met. Animals arriving without correct documentation face a reported 8–30 days depending on origin.confidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]

Open questions

  1. Establish the health-certificate issue window; sources conflict between roughly 15 days and "several weeks".
  2. Confirm the rabies titer rule — whether it applies to animals leaving the US, the Bahamas or the Turks & Caicos, or only from countries the DR treats as high-risk.
  3. Confirm the 5-pet threshold above which an import permit becomes necessary.
  4. Establish the arrival procedure for a private vessel, including which authority inspects the animal at a port of entry.
  5. Nothing addresses an animal that stays aboard and never lands, so no transit section is authored here.

About this page’s sources

  • HIGHEST PRIORITY ON THE ROUTE — every requirement on this page is secondary-sourced. Retrieve the USDA APHIS export health certificate for the Dominican Republic and DIGEGA's own regulations, then re-grade the whole file.

Page status

Greater Antilles · Sovereign republicDataset status Secondaryconfidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.Last checked 2026-08-10 Recently checkedfreshness: Recently checked. Sources were last re-read 63 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: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]
What it costs

No permit fee for personal pets. A nominal fee is reported at the quarantine office when an exit permit is issued on departure. Both halves rest on one commercial source; nothing official was found that prices either.confidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]

Rabies

Vaccination
Requiredconfidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]
Min. age at vaccination
90 days (The animal must be at least 3 months old when vaccinated.)confidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]
Min. before travel
30 days (ON THE US EXPORT FORM, IT APPLIES TO A FIRST VACCINATION ONLY AND IS COUNTED TO DEPARTURE. The form's second certification statement reads: "The vaccination is current according to the vaccine period of validity, and in the case of first time vaccination, was given at least 30 days prior to departure." So an animal certified in the United States that is on a booster serves no wait at all, and its thirty days run to the date it sails rather than the date it arrives. For an animal certified ANYWHERE ELSE nothing official is in hand, and the commercial source's figure — thirty days between vaccination and ENTRY, with no first-vaccination limit — is the only one published. Plan to that.)confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[21]
Max. before travel
same day (FOR AN ANIMAL CERTIFIED IN THE UNITED STATES, NO FIXED CEILING — the product's own validity governs. The APHIS export form requires only that "The vaccination is current according to the vaccine period of validity", so a three-year vaccine is current for three years and a cruiser on a multi-year product need not revaccinate. That form binds only animals exported from the US. For an animal certified ANYWHERE ELSE nothing official is in hand, and the only published figure is the commercial source's: vaccination no more than twelve months old on entry.)confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[21]

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 requiredconfidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]
Test after vaccination
30 days (Where a titer does apply (arrivals from countries the DR treats as high-rabies), the sample is drawn no sooner than 30 days after vaccination, at a WOAH-approved laboratory. A titer does not replace proof of vaccination.)confidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]

Veterinary health certificate

Certificate
Requiredconfidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]
Completed within
10 days (FOR AN ANIMAL CERTIFIED IN THE UNITED STATES, counted from ISSUANCE rather than arrival. The APHIS export form settles what the commercial source could not: "This certificate is valid for 10 days after issuance." That form exists only for animals exported FROM the United States, so it binds a boat whose animal was certified there, and ten days from the vet's signature to the dock is short for a passage — plan the visit around the last US port. For an animal certified in ANY OTHER COUNTRY nothing official is in hand: the one commercial source says only that the certificate must be completed "within several weeks of entry".)confidence: AI-vetted. An AI read the cited document and quoted the text it found; where the wording differed from ours, an AI judged the two equivalent. Not yet checked by a human — read the quote.[21]
Evidence for Completed within
This certificate is valid for 10 days after issuance.
Gov. endorsement
Requiredconfidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]
Form
USDA APHIS Health Certificate for the Exportation of Dogs and/or Cats to the Dominican Republic (endorsed by a government veterinarian)
What the certificate must say

FOR AN ANIMAL CERTIFIED IN THE UNITED STATES, THE APHIS FORM IS THE AUTHORITATIVE TEXT — and it is the only official document on this page, so for an animal certified in any other country no official wording is in hand at all. "Health Certificate for the Exportation of Dogs and/or Cats from the United States of America to the Dominican Republic", carrying three certification statements: "1. The animal/s was/were vaccinated against rabies. 2. The vaccination is current according to the vaccine period of validity, and in the case of first time vaccination, was given at least 30 days prior to departure. 3. The veterinarian may certify the failure to implement the rabies vaccine because of insufficient age according to the vaccination schedule for the species." It is signed twice, by the Accredited Veterinarian and by the USDA Veterinarian, which is what makes the endorsement requirement official rather than reported. Two further lines on the form are worth reading: "This certificate is valid for 10 days after issuance", and "Consulate endorsement is not required for personal dogs or cats" — a step travellers are often told to take. An import permit from the Dirección General de Ganadería is required only "para importar a escala comercial", for commercial importation. Note what the form does NOT certify: no parasite treatment, no species vaccinations, no clinical examination attestation beyond rabies.confidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer.[2]

Parasite treatment

Internal

Internal parasite treatment shortly before entry, recorded on the health certificate.confidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]

External

External parasite treatment shortly before entry, recorded on the health certificate.confidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]

Timing

"Shortly prior to entering" — no precise window is published in the sources located.confidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]

Both treatments should be written onto the health certificate by the veterinarian. The commercial source offers an alternative it is worth knowing about: the administering veterinarian "can record these treatments on the health certificate or issue you a signed and stamped record of treatment".[1]

NOTHING ABOVE IS OFFICIAL, AND THE OFFICIAL DOCUMENT IS SILENT. The USDA/APHIS bilateral health certificate for the Dominican Republic was read in full: its three certification statements cover rabies vaccination, the vaccine's validity, and the veterinarian's power to certify non-vaccination for insufficient age. There is no parasite field, no deworming attestation and no place to record either treatment. The requirement above rests entirely on a commercial site.[21]

Identification

Microchip
Requiredconfidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]
Standard
ISO 11784/11785 (15-digit)confidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]

The microchip number must appear on the health certificate and should be implanted by a veterinarian and registered.[1]

Animals & vaccinations

Dogs

Min. age
120 days (Minimum 3 months old to receive the rabies vaccine, then a 30-day wait before entry — so roughly 4 months old at the earliest.)confidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]

Vaccinesconfidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]

  • Rabies (required)

Cats

Min. age
120 days (Minimum 3 months old to receive the rabies vaccine, then a 30-day wait before entry — so roughly 4 months old at the earliest.)confidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]

Vaccinesconfidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel.[1]

  • Rabies (required)

Sources

  1. 1

    Dominican Republic Pet Import Requirements — PetTravel.com

    secondaryAccessed 2026-08-10archived copy

  2. 2

    Health Certificate for the Exportation of Dogs and/or Cats to the Dominican Republic — USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

    agricultureAccessed 2026-08-10archived copy

Last checked August 2026 · 5 open questions · Sources & questions

What the dots mean

confidence: AI-vetted. An AI read the cited document and quoted the text it found; where the wording differed from ours, an AI judged the two equivalent. Not yet checked by a human — read the quote. AI read the source and judged the match, awaiting human reviewconfidence: Inferred. Backed by an official source but not yet certified by a human reviewer. official-backed, awaiting human reviewconfidence: Secondary. From a non-government source; treat as a lead, not gospel. non-government sourceconfidence: Unknown. Not located in any source yet. not yet documented· How we grade