The US Minor Outlying Islands are the row in my spreadsheet with the most blank cells and the firmest rules. An import permit is required, which already puts this ahead of most destinations for admin. Luna has never been, and if she were going I would start with the permit and work outward from it, because nothing else can be booked around a permit that has not arrived.

Bringing a pet to US Minor Islands requires three documents in the right order: a microchip, a rabies vaccine within the destination's wait window, and a government-endorsed health certificate. The table below lays out exactly what's required, what's not, and where each rule comes from.

Who sets the rules here

US Minor Islands applies the rules of the United States unchanged — the same requirements, administered locally.

Relationship to the United States
inherits unchanged

How US Minor Islands handles your pet

Each fact comes straight from the operator’s published policy. Tap the to read the exact wording; the opens the source page.

Health & documents

Microchip · Required Yesverified 2026-07-20
Microchip · Must be done before vaccination Yesverified 2026-08-01
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Test must follow vaccination days30 daysverified 2026-08-01
Import permit · Required Yesverified 2026-07-20
Health certificate · Required Yesverified 2026-08-28
Health certificate · Government endorsed Yesverified 2026-07-20
Rabies vaccination · Required Yesverified 2026-08-01
Rabies vaccination · Waiting period after vaccination84 daysverified 2026-07-15
Screwworm treatment · Required Yesverified 2026-08-01

Service & assistance animals

Fee waived Yesverified 2026-08-28
Recognized Yesverified 2026-08-28
Breed restrictionsservice animal is “a dog, regardless of breedverified 2026-08-28

Timing chain

Day -90 microchip implant · Day -84 rabies vaccine deadline · Day 0 arrive at customs

Conditional requirements

These rules apply only to some travellers — where the pet is departing from, where it has been, or who is travelling with it. Most people can ignore them, but if one applies to you it can change what you need, or mean denied entry if you skip it.

Dog arriving from a CDC high-risk rabies country — If your pet has been in one of 114 higher-risk countries in the last 6 months:

  • Quarantine: CDC: a dog vaccinated in a high-risk country and arriving without a valid rabies serology titer is quarantined for 28 days at a CDC-registered animal care facility. The period can be shortened if certain criteria are met.
The microchip must be implanted before the rabies vaccine is given, or the vaccination is invalid. Invalid means it does not exist for entry purposes: it has to be administered again after the chip, and every interval measured from the vaccination date restarts with it. Check the chip date against the vaccination date on the record before booking a flight.
This is a destination where the paperwork sets the timeline and the timeline sets the trip. Import permit first, then the chip, then the vaccine, in that order and no other. Build your plan around the permit's lead time rather than around the flight, and confirm the health certificate requirement with the issuing authority directly, because the published detail here is thinner than for most destinations.
Get YOUR personalized plan for US Minor Islands →

Glossary

ISO chip
ISO 11784/11785 — the universal microchip standard.
FAVN
Fluorescent Antibody Virus Neutralization — a rabies serology test required by rabies-free destinations.
Brachycephalic
Snub-nosed breeds (French Bulldogs, Pugs, Persians, Himalayans) with restricted airline acceptance due to heat-stress risk.
AVIH
Animal Vehicle In Hold — IATA's term for cargo pet shipment, with fees that vary by carrier and route.