Import restrictions for the USA 🇺🇸

Updated: July 2026

Customs rules can change. Before sending a parcel or travelling, check the current requirements on the customs authority's website. This material is for reference only and is not legal advice.

General information

These rules are useful both for people carrying items across the border themselves and for those sending a parcel with a fellow traveller. Laws vary from state to state, so it is worth checking the import rules for specific goods in advance — for example, through the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) portal on the "Locate a Port of Entry" page.

If the value of the goods subject to declaration does not exceed the duty-free allowance, the baggage can be imported duty-free. For most countries the allowance is USD 800 per person. Amounts above the allowance are subject to duty (the first USD 1,000 over the allowance at a flat rate of about 3%).

✅ Allowed with restrictions

💰 Cash

You may bring in any amount of cash, but amounts of USD 10,000 or more (in any currency, including monetary instruments) must be declared. You can file the declaration online.

🍷 Tobacco and alcohol

Only persons aged 21 and over may import alcohol and tobacco. Within the duty-free allowance, the following is permitted:

• 1 litre of alcohol (any type);
• 200 cigarettes (1 carton);
• 100 cigars.

Larger amounts can be imported but are subject to duty and taxes, and alcohol is additionally limited by the laws of the specific state. Cuban cigars are subject to separate sanctions restrictions.

🍕 Food

Many foods, including rice and raw meat, are restricted or prohibited. Without permits, you can usually import bread, condiments, vinegar, vegetable oils, packaged spices, honey, coffee and tea. All food and agricultural goods must be declared to a CBP agriculture officer.

💊 Medicines

Foreign medicines must be declared and carried in their original packaging. It is advisable to have a prescription from your doctor (issued in the name of the person carrying the medicine) and to bring only as much as you need for the trip (usually up to a 90-day supply).

Importing medicines that contain painkillers and tranquillisers (controlled substances) is strictly limited. For questions about the ongoing use of sleeping pills, analgesics and similar medicines, contact the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

🐶 Pets

Pets include amphibians, some bird species, cats, dogs, ferrets, hedgehogs, rabbits, reptiles and rodents. Animals outside this list are declared as agricultural products. Bats and monkeys may not be imported.

Dogs (new CDC rules from 1 August 2024): every dog must have a CDC Dog Import Form receipt, appear healthy, be at least 6 months old and have a readable microchip.

If a dog has been in the last 6 months in a country classified by the CDC as a high-risk country for dog rabies (Russia is on this list), additional requirements apply: a Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip (endorsed by a government veterinarian), a valid rabies antibody titer from a CDC-approved laboratory (otherwise a 28-day quarantine), a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility and entry by air only. The microchip must be implanted before vaccination.

Cats do not require a rabies vaccination certificate at the federal level, but they may be inspected on arrival; check state and airline requirements. Birds go through quarantine and require a permit from the US Department of Agriculture (Form VS 17-129).

You can get advice on importing animals at CDCAnimalImports@cdc.gov.

🌸 Plants

All plants must be declared regardless of quantity. This also applies to most vegetables and fruit.

❌ Prohibited without special permits:

• weapons and ammunition (hunting weapons — through a licensed dealer or an ATF permit);
• meat products (depending on the country and diseases);
• cat and dog fur;
• drugs and paraphernalia for using them;
• goods from Cuba and Iran (without an OFAC licence);
• pre-Columbian cultural objects and other cultural property of significant historical value.

This service provides information for reference purposes only, is not a customs authority, and does not guarantee its completeness or accuracy. Responsibility for complying with customs rules and for the contents of the goods being moved lies with the person importing or exporting them. Before moving goods, check the current requirements in official sources.

Sources:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (goods classification)

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

U.S. Department of Agriculture (APHIS)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — dog import

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)