Import Horses from Panama
Horses imported to the United States from screwworm-free regions transiting screwworm-affected regions via air, land, or sea will require a minimum of 7 days in quarantine at an APHIS Animal Import Center.
General Information
Generally, horse owners will enlist the services of a broker/shipping agent to bring a horse into the United States. While APHIS does not require the use of a broker/shipping agent for importing horses, experienced brokers can coordinate the efforts of airlines, customs brokers, APHIS, and other partner government agencies to ensure the safety of the animals, facilitate clearance of the shipment, and schedule a timely arrival. These agents are familiar with the documents and processing associated with import and export regulations. Learn more about using a broker/shipping agent.
Horses Importing into the United States From Countries Affected With Screwworm
The fly species that lay screwworm larvae in living tissue has been eradicated from the United States but is found in Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, India, and Africa.
- Any horse importing from screwworm-affected regions must have a veterinarian treat the horse with ivermectin 3 to 5 days prior to the date of import into the United States according to the recommended dose prescribed on the product's label.
- Horses must be examined for screwworm by a full-time salaried veterinary official of the exporting country within 24 hours prior to shipment to the United States. The official must fully examine the horses, including their external genitalia. If horses are found to be infested with screwworm, they must be treated until free from infestation.
- At the time horses are loaded onto a means of conveyance for export, a veterinarian must treat any visible wounds on the animals with a solution of coumaphos dust at a concentration of 5% active ingredient or an appropriate alternative.
- Horses must be accompanied to the United States by a certificate signed by a full-time salaried veterinary official of the exporting country. The certificate must state that the horses, including their external genitalia, have been thoroughly examined and found free of screwworm.
- Horses must be quarantined upon arrival in the United States at an APHIS animal import center for at least 7 days.
- Horses must be examined for screwworm by a veterinarian within 24 hours after arrival at an APHIS animal import center in the United States. The examining veterinarian must examine horses, including their external genitalia, to determine whether the horse is infested with screwworm.
- Horses must be held at the animal import center for a minimum of 7 days. On day 7, prior to the horses' release, the horses must be examined by a veterinarian at the expense of the owner or broker. For this examination, male horses must be tranquilized or sedated so that the external genitalia of the horses can be thoroughly examined. If screwworm is found during this examination, the horses must be held in quarantine and treated until free of infestation.
Health Certificate
An official hard copy of a valid health certificate, written in English, is required for entry. The official health certificate must be issued by an authorized veterinarian in the exporting country and endorsed by a full-time salaried veterinarian of the agency responsible for animal health of the national government of the exporting country of origin.
Certification and testing is described in the following Health Certificates
Please Note: The original health certificate MUST accompany the shipment upon arrival.
Certification and testing are described in the Horse Import 7-Day Screwworm Sample Health Certificate (56.58 KB).
Available Ports
Air and Sea Ports Accepting Horses From Overseas
Ports that APHIS maintains oversight for physical inspections, cleaning and disinfection of containers:
Quarantine Information
Horses coming from this country are at higher risk of harboring and spreading Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (VEE) and require a minimum of 7 days in quarantine before entering the United States. Countries affected by VEE can be found at Animal Health Status of Regions.
Import requirements include a minimum 7-day observation period in an APHIS-approved permanent quarantine facility and blood tests for dourine, glanders, equine piroplasmosis, and equine infectious anemia. Horses must test negative for all these diseases and must show no signs of illness to be released from quarantine. If originating from a country APHIS considers to be free of contagious equine metritis, they will be released after completing the initial quarantine without any further testing.
To officially enter the United States, horses from this country will require:
- An official health certificate, issued by the exporting country.
- An import permit, issued by the National Import Export Services.
- A reservation at an animal import center and at an approved CEM quarantine facility, if applicable.
Fees and Permitting
The processes and fees involved with importing horses and other equine, as well as equine germplasm (semen, embryos, and cloning tissue), depend on the conditions of entry.
APHIS charges a fee for the application of an import permit and for amending and renewing a permit if applicable.
Applications for import permits may be submitted by mail to the National Import and Export Services at the following address:
Live Animal Import Permits
USDA-APHIS-Veterinary Services
National Import Export Services
4700 River Rd. Unit 39
Riverdale, MD 20737
Applications may be submitted to the National Import and Export Services via the dedicated email address laipermits@usda.gov.
Online Submission Process for Live Animal Import Permits
Importers with an existing Level 2 eAuthentication can now access eFile to create and submit a completed application (VS Form 17-129) for an import or transit permit for APHIS-regulated live animals and their germplasm (genetic resources). Apply now in APHIS eFile.
Costs are associated with providing services for importing and transiting horses at airports, ocean ports, rail ports, land border ports, and southern border port and animal import center quarantines.
The fees billed are per individual horse. Charges for combined shipments may be split between brokers.
Overtime rates apply for after duty hours, weekends, and holidays for inspection services. 9 CFR 130.30
There is a comprehensive fee for horses staying at a Federal quarantine center with a decreasing scale: days 1 to 3, days 4 to 7 and 8 through subsequent days. The daily rate includes all administrative costs conducted during normal business hours: examination on arrival, routine veterinary care, lodging costs for feed and bedding, obtaining test samples and processing them for shipping to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory, supervision of cleaning and disinfection of trailers and stalls, receiving and releasing horse shipments, identification of each horse on arrival and release, reviewing health certificates and issuing import permits to ensure compliance with import regulations, monitoring horses while they are in quarantine, release of paperwork in Veterinary Services Process Streamlining (VSPS), and oversight of horses shipping under APHIS seal to State CEM quarantine facilities. 9 CFR 130.2
Private quarantine facilities will bill user fees directly to importers on a quarter hour to hourly rate. APHIS factors cost in these instances by the time spent for each service, which includes travel time to ports and airports for veterinary inspections.
Hourly rates also cover the costs of monitoring in-bond or transiting horses passing through the United States and exporting to other countries.
Animal semen, embryos and cloning tissue may not be imported into the United States from a region other than where it was collected.
Any semen and embryo shipments should be routed directly to the United States with no stops other than those designated on the import permit.
Requirements for Importation of Equine Semen and Embryos into the United States.
An import permit is necessary for import of equine semen, embryos, and cloning tissue into the United States. Animal semen, embryos, and cloning tissue may not be imported into the United States from a region other than where it was collected.
An official health certificate, written in English, is required for the importation of semen, embryos, and cloning tissue. Collection should follow the regulations of the respective country’s approved artificial collection centers for export of equine semen to the United States. The official health certification must be endorsed by a full-time salaried veterinarian of the agency responsible for animal health of the national government of the exporting country of origin.
Donor stallions not native of New Zealand may need to be tested for dourine (Australian horses are exempt from testing) using a complement fixation test. Exemptions apply. Please contact Live Animal Imports and Exports at laie@usda.gov.
The donor stallion must also be free from any quarantine or movement restriction for not less than 60 days prior to semen collection.
Generally, importers will use a broker/shipping agent to bring equine semen and embryos into the United States. Learn more about using a broker/shipping agent.
Importing Semen, Embryos from Non CEM-affected Countries
Animal semen, embryos, and cloning tissue may not be imported into the United States from a region other than where it was collected. The certified semen must be collected in a country free of African horse sickness. It should be routed directly to the United States with no stops other than those designated on the import permit.
Collection should follow the regulations of the respective country’s approved artificial collection centers for export of equine semen to the United States.
An import permit will accompany the shipment. The APHIS Riverdale, MD, office issues the permits. Submit applications for the import permits by ePermits, or by filling out the application form electronically and downloading it. Then fax, mail, or scan and email the form to the office directly.
An official health certificate, written in English, is required for entry. The official health certificate must be issued by a full-time salaried veterinarian of the agency responsible for animal health of the national government of the exporting country of origin.
Sample Health Certificate for Equine Semen (62.14 KB)
Certification and testing are described in the attached health certificate. A phantom teaser is preferred over a live teaser mare. All animals must be tested with negative results for dourine within 30 days of the date they enter into the semen collection unit. Subsequent testing must be conducted at 180-day intervals if the stallions and mares remain in the semen collection unit. Stallions must not be used for natural breeding for a period starting 15 days prior to the initial tests for dourine, while the stallion is in the collection unit and while semen is being collected for export to the United States.
All equipment used for collection, processing, and shipping semen must be new equipment or sanitized prior to use. Collected semen must be processed with a semen extender with milk from a country free of foot-and-mouth disease at the time of collection or with egg originating from a country recognized by USDA to be free of Newcastle disease or reportable avian influenza.
Available Ports
Ports listed have APHIS oversight for physical inspections and cleaning and disinfection of containers.
- Atlanta, GA
- Dallas, TX (DFW)
- Houston, TX
- Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
- Memphis, TN
- Miami, FL
- Minneapolis, MN
- Newark, NJ
- New York, NY (JFK)
- San Francisco, CA
Fees and Permitting
The processes and fees involved with importing horses and other equine, as well as equine germplasm (semen, embryos, and cloning tissue), depend on the conditions of entry.
APHIS charges a fee for the application of an import permit and for amending and renewing a permit if applicable.
Applications for import permits may be submitted by mail to the National Import and Export Services at the following address:
Live Animal Import Permits
USDA-APHIS-Veterinary Services
National Import Export Services
4700 River Rd. Unit 39
Riverdale, MD 20737
Applications may be submitted to the National Import and Export Services via the dedicated email address laipermits@usda.gov.
Online Submission Process for Live Animal Import Permits:Importers with an existing Level 2 eAuthentication can now access eFile to create and submit a completed application (VS Form 17-129) for an import or transit permit for APHIS-regulated live animals and their germplasm (genetic resources). Apply now in APHIS eFile.
Costs are associated with providing services for importing and transiting horses at airports, ocean ports, rail ports, land border ports, and southern border port and animal import center quarantines.
The fees billed are per individual horse. Charges for combined shipments may be split between brokers.
Overtime rates apply for after duty hours, weekends, and holidays for inspection services. 9 CFR 130.30
There is a comprehensive fee for horses staying at a Federal quarantine center with a decreasing scale: days 1 to 3, days 4 to 7 and 8 through subsequent days. The daily rate includes all administrative costs conducted during normal business hours: examination on arrival, routine veterinary care, lodging costs for feed and bedding, obtaining test samples and processing them for shipping to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory, supervision of cleaning and disinfection of trailers and stalls, receiving and releasing horse shipments, identification of each horse on arrival and release, reviewing health certificates and issuing import permits to ensure compliance with import regulations, monitoring horses while they are in quarantine, release of paperwork in Veterinary Services Process Streamlining (VSPS), and oversight of horses shipping under APHIS seal to State CEM quarantine facilities. 9 CFR 130.2
Private quarantine facilities will bill user fees directly to importers on a quarter hour to hourly rate. APHIS factors cost in these instances by the time spent for each service, which includes travel time to ports and airports for veterinary inspections.
Hourly rates also cover the costs of monitoring in-bond or transiting horses passing through the United States and exporting to other countries.