USA to Spain
Pet Shipping from the USA to Spain
We provide international pet transport from the USA to Spain, planned around the EU’s entry rules, the season and your move date.
Book door-to-door pet relocation, or only the parts you need.
- Airline booking
- The travel crate
- The export and import paperwork
- Check-in at your US airport
- Pickup in Spain with delivery to your new address
Spain at a glance
Full requirementsSpain’s agriculture ministry wants the EU animal health certificate signed by an official veterinarian of the country of departure and presented in Spanish at least, so the certificate’s language is settled before USDA endorses it.
- Microchip
- ISO 11784 and 11785, fitted before the rabies vaccination, or another type with a scanner you bring
- Rabies vaccination
- After the chip; a first shot needs 21 days, a booster with no lapse none
- Rabies titer
- Not asked of pets from the United States, an Annex II country under Implementing Regulation 2026/636
- Health certificate
- EU animal health certificate, endorsed by USDA within 10 days of arrival in the EU, presented at least in Spanish
- On arrival
- A designated point of entry, and a declaration to the Guardia Civil’s tax office
Pet Shipping from the USA to Spain
A pet goes to Spain on the EU’s sequence: the microchip, then the rabies vaccination, then the EU animal health certificate, each in that order. For a plain overview of international moves first, start with our international pet relocation page, and for a pet coming the other way, into the United States, see our US import guide.
Which route does a pet take into Spain?
A pet from the United States has to land at one of Spain’s designated travelers’ points of entry, and on arrival you declare it to the Guardia Civil’s tax office there and show its documents, Spain’s agriculture ministry says. The airline and the routing are chosen around those points, your pet’s size and the season.
Route details: USA to Spain
- Route
- USA to Spain
- Arrival airports
- A travelers’ point of entry on MAPA’s list (26 Oct 2026), e.g. Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, Málaga, Valencia, Palma, Seville
- How the pet flies
- With the owner (cabin or hold) or an authorized person, the owner traveling within 5 days either side; up to 5 pets. Otherwise commercial
- Advance notice
- Commercial moves: one working day’s notice to the EU border control post. With the owner, MAPA asks for a declaration on arrival
- Health certificate
- EU certificate from a USDA-accredited vet, valid 30 days; USDA endorses it in ink within 10 days of EU arrival. In Spanish at least (MAPA)
- Quarantine on arrival
- Declared to the Guardia Civil, chip and papers checked. A failing pet can be quarantined, sent back or put down at the owner’s cost (MAPA)
- Time to get ready
- At least 21 days: chip, then rabies shot at 12 weeks or older, then 21 days; no titer from the USA; Spain admits no pet under 15 weeks
From official sources, read October 29, 2026: Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, Travelling with dogs, cats and ferrets; MAPA, Lista de puntos de entrada de viajeros autorizados para el control de animales de compañía en movimientos no comerciales / List of travellers’ points of entry, PDF; MAPA, Travelling with dogs, cats and ferrets: more information and FAQ; European Commission, Travellers’ points of entry; MAPA, Viajar con perros, gatos y hurones; European Commission, Dogs, cats and ferrets: FAQs; European Commission, Bringing a pet into the EU from a non-EU country; USDA APHIS, Pet Travel From the United States to Spain; European Commission, Entry into the EU; USDA APHIS, Model Animal Health Certificate for Non-Commercial Movements of Pet Dogs, Pet Cats or Pet Ferrets into a Member State 2026/131 Article 18), United States; European Commission, Listing of territories and non-EU countries.
What are the entry requirements for pets going to Spain?
The short answer
Spain applies the EU’s rules for a pet from a listed country, and the United States is one, so a dog or cat needs a microchip, then a rabies vaccination, then an EU animal health certificate that USDA endorses for an arrival in the EU inside the following 10 days, without the titer test an unlisted country’s pets need.
Which pets can enter Spain?
Dogs, cats and ferrets come from the United States on the EU paperwork, up to five with their owner, once their rabies vaccination is valid. That vaccination cannot be given before 12 weeks of age, so the youngest pet Spain admits is 15 weeks old, and the agriculture ministry’s FAQ, read October 29, 2026, says Spain makes no exceptions and lets in no unvaccinated pet.
Royal Decree 287/2002 lists eight breeds as potentially dangerous, with their crosses: the Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Rottweiler, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Tosa Inu and Akita Inu. Keeping one in Spain takes a license from the municipality, valid five years, and the dog’s entry on the municipal register, and in public places it wears a muzzle.
What vet work and documents does a pet need for Spain?
Your pet needs a microchip fitted before the rabies vaccination, ISO 11784 and 11785 compliant or read with a scanner you bring, a rabies vaccination that has had 21 days to take effect if it is a first shot, and the EU animal health certificate, issued by a USDA-accredited veterinarian, valid for 30 days, endorsed by USDA within 10 days of your pet’s arrival in the EU and presented at least in Spanish. The pet flies with you, or with a person you authorize, and then you make the same trip no more than 5 days before or after it, according to Spain’s agriculture ministry, on the Spanish version of its travel page, and the European Commission, both read October 29, 2026. Before travel, microchip numbers, dates, names and signatures are checked against each other across the paperwork.
| Requirement | Spain, from the United States |
|---|---|
| Microchip | ISO 11784 and 11785, fitted before the rabies vaccination, or another type with a scanner you bring |
| Rabies vaccination | After the chip; a first shot needs 21 days, a booster with no lapse none |
| Rabies titer | Not asked of pets from the United States, an Annex II country under Implementing Regulation 2026/636 |
| Health certificate | EU animal health certificate, endorsed by USDA within 10 days of arrival in the EU, presented at least in Spanish |
| On arrival | A designated point of entry, and a declaration to the Guardia Civil’s tax office |
The export side follows USDA APHIS guidance for US to Spain travel and the EU entry rules the European Commission’s pages on moving pets. Spain’s own rules come from its agriculture ministry’s page on traveling with dogs, cats and ferrets and Royal Decree 287/2002.
Planning Timeline for Pet Shipping to Spain
A straightforward Spain move takes about a month to six weeks once the chip and the rabies shot are current; a shot that has to be redone adds three weeks, since the 21-day wait restarts. The last step is the certificate, which USDA endorses within 10 days of your pet’s arrival in the EU, so the endorsement and the flight are booked together.
Planning the budget? See what shipping a pet from the USA to Spain costs, fee by fee.
Rule change
The EU Rewrote These Rules in 2026
None of this changes what Spain asks of your pet. It changes which form your accredited veterinarian completes and which form the APHIS endorsement office will accept, so we confirm the version in force before the vet appointment is booked. APHIS dates the new non-commercial certificate from 1 October 2026 and the new commercial one from 17 October 2026.
Read the full regulation history
Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 and its companion 577/2013 set the rules for moving a pet into the EU until 21 April 2026. Recital 1 of the act now in force records that 576/2013 was repealed in 2021 but that Article 277 of Regulation (EU) 2016/429 kept it applying to non-commercial pet movements until that date. The framework in force is Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131, with the country lists in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636 and the document models in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/705, both applying from 22 April 2026.
Two consequences matter to a move booked now. The animal health certificate model is now Part 1 of Annex III to 2026/705, and a certificate on the older Annex IV model counts as compliant only if it was issued before 1 October 2026, and then only for a transitional period ending 31 March 2027. And once your pet has been checked at the point of entry, the same certificate covers onward movement inside the EU for up to six months, or until the rabies vaccination expires if that comes sooner.
Every Pet Travels
Differently
Different destinations, different routes, different challenges.
Because timelines, airline rules, and the EU’s entry requirements can vary, we build a plan that fits your pet and your move date.
Destination-Focused Planning
We use Spain’s official EU import guidance as the baseline, then turn it into a simple checklist and timeline you can follow.
Smart Routing and Logistics
We help choose practical routes, travel windows, and handoff procedures so your pet’s trip is safer and more predictable.
Personalized Support
Pet Travel Advisors assigns a move coordinator who keeps you updated and checks details before travel so nothing important is missed.
Questions about moving a pet to Spain
Request a QuoteWhat does it cost to ship a pet from the USA to Spain?
It depends on your pet’s size and crate, the airline, the season and which parts of the move you book. Our full cost breakdown for this route lists every government fee with the authority that publishes it, and a quote gives the figure for your move.
What crate does my pet need to fly to Spain?
The airline sets the crate rules, building on IATA’s container standard, and your pet has to be able to stand, turn round and lie down in it. Our crate size calculator works out IATA’s minimum inside size from four measurements of your pet.
How can Pet Travel Advisors help with a USA to Spain move?
With any part of it, or all of it: the airline booking, the travel crate, the USDA paperwork with its Spanish version, check-in at the departure airport, and pickup at the Spanish airport with delivery to the new address. Learn more about our services or contact us.
Ready to start?
Book door-to-door pet relocation, or only the parts you need.