Taking a dog out of Colombia: what ICA, the European Union and the United States require

What does ICA require to take a dog out of Colombia?

A Sanitary Inspection Certificate (Certificado de Inspección Sanitaria, CIS), which ICA (Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario, Colombia’s agricultural and animal-health authority) issues at the port, airport or border crossing after checking the documents and the animal. The rule in force is Resolution 100164 of 2021. Its Article 7 asks for a health certificate from a private veterinarian, current vaccinations as required by the destination country, and internal and external deworming.

The veterinarian’s certificate, according to Resolution 100164, must:

• be signed by a veterinarian licensed by COMVEZCOL, Colombia’s professional council for veterinarians, and be no more than five calendar days old at departure;
• describe the dog: species, breed, sex, age, weight, color and microchip;
• certify a clinical exam with no signs of infectious, contagious or parasitic disease, and no recent wounds;
• record the internal and external parasite treatment, with brand name, batch, active ingredient and date;
• state that the animal is fit to be transported.

In addition, every dog under twelve months old leaving the country must be identified with a 15-digit microchip readable with HDX or FDX-B technology (point 7.1.3). How to choose and register one is explained in dog microchip and registration in Colombia.

How do you get the Sanitary Inspection Certificate, step by step?

The procedure starts at the veterinary clinic and ends at the ICA office at your point of departure. An ICA-registered veterinarian creates it on ICA’s online platform, SISPAP; you pay the fee and show up with the dog and the documents. The application and the certificate last five calendar days: everything happens in the week of the trip.

1. Find out what the destination country requires. This is the step that takes the most time: it can take months.
2. Visit an ICA-registered veterinarian. They issue the health certificate and check vaccinations and deworming.
3. The veterinarian creates the application in SISPAP with your details and the dog’s, and attaches the supporting documents.
4. Pay the fee. You receive the application number and the payment link by email.
5. Go to the ICA office at the airport, port or border crossing you chose, with the dog and the additional documents of the destination country.
6. Receive the CIS if the document review and the physical inspection are satisfactory.

The details are on ICA’s page on issuing the CIS (in Spanish).

How much does the certificate cost and how long does it last?

The CIS is valid for up to five calendar days from the date of issue (Article 8 of Resolution 100164). ICA sets the fee each year: the one for 2026 is in Resolution 34487 of December 23, 2025, under service code 03039. We do not reproduce the amount, which is charged in Colombian pesos (COP), because it changes every January.

ICA’s payment page makes clear that cash is not accepted: you pay through PSE (Colombia’s online bank-transfer system), by card at the point of departure or through the payment partners listed there. There is a separate special-service fee for attention outside normal hours, which must be requested in writing 48 hours in advance.

What do the European Union and Great Britain require of a dog arriving from Colombia?

A microchip, a rabies vaccine and a rabies antibody test, because Colombia is not on the list of countries exempt from that test. The blood sample is taken at least thirty days after the vaccine and about three months before the trip; that is why ICA works out a minimum age of seven months.

The European Commission now cites Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/705 as the legal basis; guides that still mention Regulation 576/2013 are out of date. The requirements, in order:

The microchip goes in before the rabies vaccine. Finland, Ireland, Malta, Northern Ireland and Norway also require a treatment against the tapeworm Echinococcus between 24 and 120 hours before arrival; confirm it with the destination country. These are the rules for a pet traveling with its owner: a dog that is going to be sold or handed over to someone else at destination, or that travels more than five days apart from its owner, falls under the commercial import rules, which are different.

Great Britain has rules of its own, and ICA lists the United Kingdom and Switzerland in the same section, with forms of their own. Colombia is not a listed country for Great Britain either. According to GOV.UK, the dog needs a microchip, a rabies vaccine given at twelve weeks or later, a blood test taken at least 30 days after the vaccine, a three-month wait from the date of the sample, a Great Britain pet health certificate used within 10 days of issue, and a tapeworm treatment given by a veterinarian between 24 hours and 5 days before arrival. It must come in on an approved route, and by air that means as cargo. The effective minimum age is again about seven months. Northern Ireland has its own rules.

What does the United States require?

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classify Colombia as a high-risk country for dog rabies. A dog vaccinated in Colombia must be at least six months old, have a microchip implanted before the vaccine, CDC forms and a reservation at a registered animal care facility, and arrive at the airport where that facility is located.

According to the CDC and ICA’s summary:

• CDC Dog Import Form, filled in online.
• Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip, completed by the veterinarian and endorsed by an official ICA veterinarian no more than 30 days before the dog travels.
• Rabies antibody titer from a CDC-approved laboratory: the sample is taken at least 30 days after the first vaccination and 28 days before entry. Without that result, the dog goes through a 28-day quarantine at the facility.
• Documents in English or with a certified translation.

Three details decide many trips. The six-month minimum applies to every dog entering the United States, whatever its origin, so a puppy of 8, 12 or 16 weeks cannot go. The first rabies vaccination only counts if it was given at 12 weeks of age or later, and the dog must arrive by air, not through a land border, according to the CDC’s frequently asked questions. And what matters is not where the dog lives but where it has been in the last six months.

There is also an agricultural requirement. USDA APHIS asks that a dog coming from a region affected by screwworm travel with a certificate signed by a full-time salaried veterinary official of that region, stating that the dog was inspected within the five days before shipment and is free of screwworm; Colombia is on its list of affected regions. Ask ICA how that certificate is issued: we could not confirm whether the CIS covers it.

If your dog was vaccinated in the United States and is only visiting Colombia, the route home is simpler, but the paperwork is done before you leave: a Certification of U.S.-issued Rabies Vaccination completed by a USDA-accredited veterinarian and endorsed before the dog departs the United States, plus the import form, the microchip and the six-month minimum age. That dog needs neither the titer nor the registered facility.

Colombia remains on the high-risk list as updated on April 15, 2026. Check both pages before planning the trip.

Are there countries that do not accept dogs from Colombia?

Yes. ICA’s page on requirements by country warns that Australia and New Zealand do not allow dogs and cats coming from Colombia, and that Aruba restricts entry for animals from South America. Other destinations add steps: Panama asks for an apostilled CIS and a minimum age of four months.

Canada, according to the same page, has since September 28, 2022 prohibited the entry of commercial dogs from countries at high risk for dog rabies. Colombia is on the list kept by the CFIA, Canada’s food inspection agency, and its notice counts as commercial any dog meant to be given or transferred to another person, resold, adopted, fostered, bred, shown or used in research. A puppy sent from a Colombian breeder to a family in Canada changes hands, so it cannot enter. For any country that does not appear on ICA’s page, ICA says you must ask the official veterinary service, the embassy or the consulate.

What do I need to return to Colombia with my dog?

A health certificate issued or endorsed by the official health authority of the country of origin, no more than ten calendar days old, and a current vaccination record. ICA checks the documents and the animal on arrival and issues an entry CIS, with its own fee. The minimum age to enter is 15 weeks.

Article 4 of Resolution 100164 and ICA’s entry page ask for:

• Current vaccinations against rabies, distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvovirus, coronavirus and parainfluenza. A first rabies vaccine must be at least 21 days old.
• Internal and external parasite treatment within the previous 60 days.
• An application in SISPAP before you arrive, and payment of the fee.

If the trip was to a country of the Andean Community and lasted less than thirty days, the same departure CIS is accepted. If something is wrong, ICA can hold the animal, order home quarantine of at least fifteen days or have it sent back.

Can a puppy that has just come home travel abroad?

Almost never right away. The destination sets the minimum ages: six months for the United States, about seven for the European Union and Great Britain, four for Panama. On top of that, the vaccination schedule must be complete. If your family lives outside Colombia, plan the travel date with the veterinarian from the first checkup. An ad that offers to ship a two- or three-month-old puppy to the United States is offering something the CDC rules do not allow: treat it as a warning sign.

In the meantime, the puppy can make progress on what does depend on you: a microchip before the rabies vaccine, vaccines and deworming up to date and getting used to traveling in a crate. The rules for each destination, with dates and sources, are laid out more fully in the guide taking a dog from Colombia to the US, Canada and Europe. For trips inside the country, the rules are different and simpler: they are in traveling with your dog in Colombia and in the guide flying with a puppy in Colombia. The specific health plan is set by each dog’s veterinarian.