Reducing the Red Tape for Horse Entry into the U.S.
Effective May 11, 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) will no longer require that horses imported into the United States be accompanied by documentation of a pre-export examination conducted within 48 hours of departure from the port of embarkation.
USDA-APHIS determined that logistical barriers have prevented affected parties from meeting this requirement at the time of embarkation. This action removes the requirement while preserving other importation regulations to ensure horses entering the U.S. are free of communicable diseases.
Regulatory Background
USDA amended the horse import regulations on September 14, 2023, to better align with international standards and improve flexibility for both the equine industry and APHIS1. One of the changes made in that final rule was to require that horses offered for importation into the U.S. be accompanied by documentation of a pre-export examination conducted within 48 hours of the horse's departure from the port of embarkation and endorsed by a salaried veterinary medical officer (the Requirement).
Since the publication of that 2023 final rule, APHIS determined that logistical barriers have prevented affected parties from meeting the Requirement as stated. Accordingly, on June 20, 2025, USDA-APHIS began the regulatory process2 to remove it. The comment period for this proposal ended on August 19, 2025.
Key Points
APHIS originally intended the pre-export inspection obligation to serve as one of multiple measures addressing the issue of sick and injured horses arriving at a U.S. port of entry. Only horses found free of communicable disease or exposure thereto at the mandatory port-of-entry inspection are allowed to enter the U.S. However, current regulations already provide that horses are quarantined at the port of entry until negative test results are obtained and the port veterinarian certifies that the animals are free of clinical evidence of disease.
Thus, the government's stated goal of preventing the arrival of sick horses with communicable diseases at the port of entry is mitigated by the existing port-of-entry inspection and quarantine protocols, which will remain unchanged by the current proposed rule change.
In this final rule, APHIS is also strengthening import regulations to address the issue of sick or injured horses arriving at the port of entry by clarifying the horses' mandatory health certificate requirements to help confirm their legitimacy. The agency also made additional requirements to help reduce the risk of disease, such as prohibiting the gelding of a horse shortly before importation.
Finally, APHIS added shipping container requirements, including measures to ensure that horses are transported safely. These provisions, as well as all other requirements related to the importation of horses into the U.S., will remain in place and unchanged by the removal of the Requirement.
For more information, please contact the authors.
Notes
1 A final rule published in the Federal Register (88 FR 62993-63004).
2 A proposed rule published in the Federal Register (90 FR 26224-26225, Docket No. APHIS-2025-0018).
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