Country Guide
What your dog or cat needs to fly from the United States to Colombia and home again, including the papers you must get before you leave: certificates, vaccines, deadlines and the official sources, checked daily. Free.
An official Colombia page this trip depends on changed on October 14, 2026. We are checking what it means. Until we finish, confirm on the official page before you travel.
The steps people miss most: short windows measured back from the flight, and papers you can only get before you leave the US.
Both an internal (worming) and an external (flea and tick) treatment, within 60 days before the flight. The health certificate records each product's name, its active ingredient and the date given.
ICA (Colombia): entering with a dog or cat · USDA: health certificate for dogs and cats to Colombia
A USDA-accredited vet examines your dog and fills in the official USDA certificate for Colombia, then USDA endorses it (online is fine). Carry the original, one photocopy, and the rabies vaccination certificate.
USDA: health certificate for dogs and cats to Colombia · USDA: pet travel from the US to Colombia · ICA (Colombia): entering with a dog or cat
Because this trip includes Colombia, bringing your dog home needs CDC's "Certification of U.S.-issued Rabies Vaccination". A USDA-accredited vet fills it in and USDA endorses it. It is not the ordinary rabies certificate, and it cannot be arranged once you are abroad. After a first-ever rabies shot, wait at least 28 days. You can reuse the form on later trips while the rabies shot is valid. Carry 3 printed copies. Instead of this form, CDC also accepts a USDA-endorsed export health certificate issued on or before July 31, 2025, if it shows the microchip, the dog's age, and a rabies shot still valid that was given after the microchip.
CDC: US-vaccinated dogs coming home from high-risk countries · CDC: high-risk countries for dog rabies
Colombia's animal health authority, ICA, needs you to register online, then request the inspection certificate (called the CIS) in its SISPAP system and pay. Print the request and the payment receipt to show on arrival. Dogs and cats need separate requests; up to 10 animals of the same kind can share one. The US health certificate does not mention this step.
The US only accepts a rabies vaccination given after the microchip went in. If the shot came first, it has to be given again. Dogs coming home also need a microchip a universal scanner can read.
Must be current. The certificate has to show the vaccine's name, its batch (lot) number, the date given and the date it expires. A first-ever rabies shot must be at least 21 days before the flight.
USDA: health certificate for dogs and cats to Colombia · ICA (Colombia): entering with a dog or cat
Distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, parainfluenza, leptospirosis and canine coronavirus, each recorded with the vaccine name, batch number, date given and expiry date. Canine coronavirus is not routine in the US, so ask your vet early.
The Official Sources Differ. USDA's certificate says a vaccine your dog is not currently protected by can be given after arrival in Colombia, at your cost. ICA's page lists them all as required.
ICA (Colombia): entering with a dog or cat · USDA: health certificate for dogs and cats to Colombia
Colombia's minimum age for entry is 15 weeks.
The Official Sources Differ. USDA's certificate lets animals under 15 weeks in, unvaccinated, if they do a home quarantine and are vaccinated in Colombia. ICA's own page just gives 15 weeks as the minimum.
ICA (Colombia): entering with a dog or cat · USDA: health certificate for dogs and cats to Colombia
On landing, take your dog and your papers to the ICA office at the airport. An inspector checks the documents and your dog, then issues the entry certificate. Cards only, no cash. The fee was 64,200 Colombian pesos when last seen on real paperwork (January 2025); ICA's fee list has the current amount.
A vet registered with ICA examines your dog and issues a health certificate, no more than 5 days before you leave. Vaccinations must be current, and any treatment your next country asks for must be done. Dogs under 12 months also need a readable 15-digit microchip.
ICA (Colombia): the exit inspection certificate · ICA (Colombia): leaving with a dog or cat
The same vet files the request for the exit certificate in ICA's SISPAP system and gives you its number. The request is only good for 5 days. Pay online, or by card at the airport ICA office. You need your own ICA registration too.
ICA (Colombia): registering and requesting the exit inspection · ICA (Colombia): the exit inspection certificate · ICA (Colombia): paying for the exit inspection
Dogs flying to the US from Colombia need a health certificate from an official government vet there, saying they were inspected for screwworm within 5 days of travel and are free of it. A private vet's signature is not enough.
USDA: screwworm rules for travelling with a pet (February 2026)
Before your flight, the ICA office at the airport issues the exit certificate. Cards only, no cash. Outside normal office hours you must ask in writing 48 hours ahead.
ICA (Colombia): paying for the exit inspection · ICA (Colombia): the exit inspection certificate
Free, online, and filled in by you. Every dog needs its own form. Because this trip includes Colombia, the receipt covers one arrival only, so each trip home needs a new form.
CDC: how to fill in the Dog Import Form · CDC: bringing a dog into the United States · CDC: US-vaccinated dogs coming home from high-risk countries
Your dog needs a microchip a universal scanner can read, and the CDC rabies form from before you left the US. Carry the ordinary rabies certificate as well.
CDC: bringing a dog into the United States · CDC: how to fill in the Dog Import Form
At the customs counter, hand the officer the CDC Dog Import Form receipt, the CDC rabies form and the screwworm certificate, and have the rabies certificate with you in case they ask. There is no separate office to visit. Your dog must look healthy and be at least 6 months old. The arrival airport must match the one on the receipt.
CDC: bringing a dog into the United States · CDC: US-vaccinated dogs coming home from high-risk countries
The steps people miss most: short windows measured back from the flight, and papers you can only get before you leave the US.
Both an internal (worming) and an external (flea and tick) treatment, within 60 days before the flight. The health certificate records each product's name, its active ingredient and the date given.
ICA (Colombia): entering with a dog or cat · USDA: health certificate for dogs and cats to Colombia
A USDA-accredited vet examines your cat and fills in the official USDA certificate for Colombia, then USDA endorses it (online is fine). Carry the original, one photocopy, and the rabies vaccination certificate.
USDA: health certificate for dogs and cats to Colombia · USDA: pet travel from the US to Colombia · ICA (Colombia): entering with a dog or cat
Colombia's animal health authority, ICA, needs you to register online, then request the inspection certificate (called the CIS) in its SISPAP system and pay. Print the request and the payment receipt to show on arrival. Dogs and cats need separate requests; up to 10 animals of the same kind can share one. The US health certificate does not mention this step.
Must be current. The certificate has to show the vaccine's name, its batch (lot) number, the date given and the date it expires. A first-ever rabies shot must be at least 21 days before the flight.
USDA: health certificate for dogs and cats to Colombia · ICA (Colombia): entering with a dog or cat
ICA lists feline panleukopenia, feline viral rhinotracheitis and feline calicivirus, each recorded with the vaccine name, batch number, date given and expiry date.
The Official Sources Differ. USDA's certificate only asks about panleukopenia, and says it can be given after arrival at your cost.
ICA (Colombia): entering with a dog or cat · USDA: health certificate for dogs and cats to Colombia
Colombia's minimum age for entry is 15 weeks.
The Official Sources Differ. USDA's certificate lets animals under 15 weeks in, unvaccinated, if they do a home quarantine and are vaccinated in Colombia. ICA's own page just gives 15 weeks as the minimum.
ICA (Colombia): entering with a dog or cat · USDA: health certificate for dogs and cats to Colombia
On landing, take your cat and your papers to the ICA office at the airport. An inspector checks the documents and your cat, then issues the entry certificate. Cards only, no cash. The fee was 64,200 Colombian pesos when last seen on real paperwork (January 2025); ICA's fee list has the current amount.
A vet registered with ICA examines your cat and issues a health certificate, no more than 5 days before you leave. Vaccinations must be current, and any treatment your next country asks for must be done. Dogs under 12 months also need a readable 15-digit microchip.
ICA (Colombia): the exit inspection certificate · ICA (Colombia): leaving with a dog or cat
The same vet files the request for the exit certificate in ICA's SISPAP system and gives you its number. The request is only good for 5 days. Pay online, or by card at the airport ICA office. You need your own ICA registration too.
ICA (Colombia): registering and requesting the exit inspection · ICA (Colombia): the exit inspection certificate · ICA (Colombia): paying for the exit inspection
Before your flight, the ICA office at the airport issues the exit certificate. Cards only, no cash. Outside normal office hours you must ask in writing 48 hours ahead.
ICA (Colombia): paying for the exit inspection · ICA (Colombia): the exit inspection certificate
We have not finished researching the US rules for cats coming home yet. USDA's page is the place to check until we have.
Airlines set their own rules, separate from the government's. These Latin American airlines count the pet and the carrier together in the cabin. Confirm with the airline before you book.
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We restate the rules in our own words. The official pages are what count.
Compass & Collar explains the rules; your vet issues the certificates and border officials make the decisions. Rules change, so check the official pages and call your airline before you travel.