Flying with a dog or cat to Texas
Texas does not ask for a veterinary certificate when you travel with your own pet. The state distinguishes that from sale, adoption and exhibition — one of only 11 that do.
What this state requires
No certificate required for personal travel
- Validity window
- Not specified by the state
The rule in detail
Only rabies vaccination is required, for any dog or cat of 12 weeks or older, with the vaccination certificate dated and signed. Texas law asks for no certificate of veterinary inspection — most airlines ask for one anyway, issued within seven to ten days. A separate regime applies when LEAVING a screwworm-infested zone; it is set out further down this page.
Why this state is an exception
Most consumer guides state that a health certificate is always required in the US. It isn't: there is no federal rule for a domestic flight with your own pet, and Texas is one of the 11 states that say in writing that personal travel is not a sale. That does not excuse you from rabies vaccination, nor from whatever your airline asks on its own account.
Departing this state: New World screwworm
Texas is the only state with confirmed New World screwworm detections. The consequence is not at arrival in Texas but at DEPARTURE: most other states have added requirements for animals coming from it — a certificate issued within five to seven days declaring the animal free of larvae, sometimes a preventive treatment or an entry permit forty-eight hours ahead. These apply even in states that normally require nothing: Vermont then demands a certificate less than five days old. Check the destination state; the picture shifts almost weekly.
What the airline asks, separately
A carrier can require a document no state does. Most US airlines ask for a certificate issued within seven to ten days, whatever the state rule says. The two stack: satisfying one does not satisfy the other.
Dog breeds
Texas prohibits its cities and counties from adopting breed-specific regulation. 22 states do. No municipality can therefore turn your dog away on its type — subject to the state-specific caveat our pivot page carries for Washington State.
Where you come in
9 airports in our catalogue serve Texas.
- AUS
- CRP
- DFW
- ELP
- HOU
- IAH
- LBB
- MAF
- SAT
Documented routes into this state
35 routes in our catalogue arrive here, with the airlines that accept the animal and their constraints.
- JFK → DFW
- EWR → DFW
- MIA → DFW
- LAX → DFW
- ORD → DFW
- SFO → DFW
- BOS → DFW
- ATL → DFW
- SEA → DFW
- IAD → DFW
- DEN → DFW
- PHX → DFW
- LAS → DFW
- MCO → DFW
- CLT → DFW
- PHL → DFW
- MSP → DFW
- BOG → DFW
- MDE → DFW
- CLO → DFW
- UIO → DFW
- GYE → DFW
- LIM → DFW
- GRU → DFW
- EZE → DFW
- SCL → DFW
- MVD → DFW
- ASU → DFW
- VVI → DFW
- PTY → DFW
- MEX → DFW
- SJO → DFW
- BOG → IAH
- MDE → IAH
- CLO → IAH
Source
Rule read at the state's own official source, verified on 2026-09-12. dshs.texas.gov
Common questions
- Do you need a health certificate to take a dog or cat to Texas?
- No. Texas does not require one when you travel with your own dog or cat: the state distinguishes that from sale, adoption and exhibition. Rabies vaccination is still required, and your airline may ask for a certificate of its own.
- Can a dog breed be refused in Texas?
- Not by a municipality: Texas prohibits its cities and counties from adopting breed-specific regulation.
The other states that require nothing
Other states
The rule changes at every state line. Each page below carries its own state’s rule, with its source.