Cabin pets, current carrier sizes, route exceptions and US-outbound documents.
Ordinary pets: cabin only; PetSafe is no longer available
Dog / Cat · In the cabin / Accompanied hold baggage / Separate cargo service
United no longer accepts ordinary pets through PetSafe. The public policy limits pets to cats/dogs in the cabin, subject to space; do not book ordinary checked-baggage or cargo carriage from an old directory record. Cargo exceptions for certain active-duty military/State Department travellers are separate eligibility programs and not a general public pet service. Assistance animals have separate rules.
Selected ordinary private dog/cat rules on the actual operating carrier’s service. The mode filter may show a prohibition or conditional route; it does not grant carriage. Confirm pet space, aircraft, cabin class, every operating segment and origin/transit/destination requirements separately. Assistance animals, military/diplomatic exceptions and commercial shipments are outside this ordinary path.
Confirmed pet booking and current USD150 each-way fee
Dog / Cat · In the cabin
The current public pet ticket is USD150 each way. Add “Travel with a pet” during united.com booking or through My Trips; the app does not add the pet. For international travel call United to add the pet. Quotas vary by aircraft/cabin; the old USD125 and universal four-pets-per-flight assumptions are not current rules. Confirm space and charges for the actual itinerary and each separate operating carrier, including partners.
Selected ordinary private dog/cat rules on the actual operating carrier’s service. The mode filter may show a prohibition or conditional route; it does not grant carriage. Confirm pet space, aircraft, cabin class, every operating segment and origin/transit/destination requirements separately. Assistance animals, military/diplomatic exceptions and commercial shipments are outside this ordinary path.
Up to two pets with two seats, except listed aircraft
Dog / Cat · In the cabin
Most flights allow up to two pets per person; buy two seats next to each other for two pets. A319, A320, A321neo, 737-800/MAX 8 and 737-900/MAX 9 instead allow only one pet per person because of limited under-seat space. Two purchased seats do not override that aircraft restriction or the cabin’s total animal quota. Confirm the operating aircraft after any schedule change.
Selected ordinary private dog/cat rules on the actual operating carrier’s service. The mode filter may show a prohibition or conditional route; it does not grant carriage. Confirm pet space, aircraft, cabin class, every operating segment and origin/transit/destination requirements separately. Assistance animals, military/diplomatic exceptions and commercial shipments are outside this ordinary path.
United publishes a hard-sided maximum of 9×17.5×12 in, with metric equivalents 22×44×30 cm. Keep the carrier under the seat, ventilated and suitable for the actual animal. These figures are the airline’s published rounded pairs, not permission to round up exact inch limits. Do not use the old 11-inch hard-carrier height or substitute the soft-carrier allowance. United states no general pet weight/breed cap here, but fitting the carrier and route approval still apply.
Selected ordinary private dog/cat rules on the actual operating carrier’s service. The mode filter may show a prohibition or conditional route; it does not grant carriage. Confirm pet space, aircraft, cabin class, every operating segment and origin/transit/destination requirements separately. Assistance animals, military/diplomatic exceptions and commercial shipments are outside this ordinary path.
Soft carrier 11×18×11 in; MAX aircraft height 10 in
Dog / Cat · In the cabin
The soft-sided published maximum is 11×18×11 in, shown as 27×45×27 cm; do not replace with a more generous 46×28×28 cm old reference. The FAQ gives Boeing 737 MAX a tighter ten-inch carrier-height maximum. Confirm the actual under-seat space, aircraft and seat; fitting a generic soft-bag maximum does not override the MAX limit or seat restrictions.
Selected ordinary private dog/cat rules on the actual operating carrier’s service. The mode filter may show a prohibition or conditional route; it does not grant carriage. Confirm pet space, aircraft, cabin class, every operating segment and origin/transit/destination requirements separately. Assistance animals, military/diplomatic exceptions and commercial shipments are outside this ordinary path.
Carrier closed under the seat; seat and Express limits differ
Dog / Cat · In the cabin
Keep the pet in its closed carrier under the seat throughout the flight. No emergency-exit row, United Premium Plus seat or front row of a cabin. The published seat/cabin-capacity table is for United flights; contact United for United Express specifics instead of applying the same table automatically. Therapy/emotional-support dogs/cats follow ordinary pet rules, not service-animal exemptions; strollers count toward checked-baggage allowance.
Selected ordinary private dog/cat rules on the actual operating carrier’s service. The mode filter may show a prohibition or conditional route; it does not grant carriage. Confirm pet space, aircraft, cabin class, every operating segment and origin/transit/destination requirements separately. Assistance animals, military/diplomatic exceptions and commercial shipments are outside this ordinary path.
Domestic two months; international dogs six months, cats four
Dog / Cat · In the cabin
United’s policy gives domestic puppies/kittens at least two months of age; international dogs at least six months, international kittens at least four months. These are the airline’s stated carriage limits, not a claim that every country’s law is identical. Preserve months rather than replacing with eight/sixteen weeks. Destination vaccination, permit and minimum ages may be stricter.
Selected ordinary private dog/cat rules on the actual operating carrier’s service. The mode filter may show a prohibition or conditional route; it does not grant carriage. Confirm pet space, aircraft, cabin class, every operating segment and origin/transit/destination requirements separately. Assistance animals, military/diplomatic exceptions and commercial shipments are outside this ordinary path.
International flights need health and vaccination certificates
Dog / Cat · In the cabin
United requires health and vaccination certificates for dogs/cats on all international flights, including Canada and Mexico. This airline document rule remains even if a destination authority has a narrower exemption. The domestic US health certificate is encouraged in the page rather than universally mandated by this paragraph; local arrival rules may still require it. CDC/USDA import, screwworm, state/territory and return requirements must be assessed separately.
Selected ordinary private dog/cat rules on the actual operating carrier’s service. The mode filter may show a prohibition or conditional route; it does not grant carriage. Confirm pet space, aircraft, cabin class, every operating segment and origin/transit/destination requirements separately. Assistance animals, military/diplomatic exceptions and commercial shipments are outside this ordinary path.
US departures internationally: rabies vaccine at least 28 days before travel
Dog / Cat · In the cabin
For dogs and cats departing the United States to international destinations, United’s FAQ requires health/rabies certificates and rabies vaccination completed at least 28 days before travel. Do not use the old 21-day directory value or automatically apply this US-outbound clause to all foreign departures/domestic US trips. Check destination booster/first-dose rules and the actual origin export documents separately.
Selected ordinary private dog/cat rules on the actual operating carrier’s service. The mode filter may show a prohibition or conditional route; it does not grant carriage. Confirm pet space, aircraft, cabin class, every operating segment and origin/transit/destination requirements separately. Assistance animals, military/diplomatic exceptions and commercial shipments are outside this ordinary path.
United lists no pet travel to/from/through Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, French Polynesia, Greenland, Guyana, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Jamaica, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Morocco, New Zealand, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Philippines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Dubai/UAE, United Kingdom and Vietnam. Guam, Spain and Taiwan have separately stated route exceptions, not a blanket national ban. Treat the airline list as United carriage policy, not every country’s pet-entry law. Confirm every connection and the current route list before purchase.
Selected ordinary private dog/cat rules on the actual operating carrier’s service. The mode filter may show a prohibition or conditional route; it does not grant carriage. Confirm pet space, aircraft, cabin class, every operating segment and origin/transit/destination requirements separately. Assistance animals, military/diplomatic exceptions and commercial shipments are outside this ordinary path.
Guam one-way exception; Bilbao and Taiwan city pairs
Dog / Cat · In the cabin
United permits pets from Guam to Tokyo Narita or the US mainland, not the reverse flight into Guam; Guam→US mainland is international under this policy. Spain’s restriction is Bilbao only, not all Spain. Taiwan’s stated cabin restrictions are Kaohsiung↔Tokyo Narita and Taipei↔Guam, not every Taiwan itinerary. Do not turn an outbound exception into reciprocal permission, or a city-pair restriction into a whole-country ban; all other carrier/entry conditions still apply.
Selected ordinary private dog/cat rules on the actual operating carrier’s service. The mode filter may show a prohibition or conditional route; it does not grant carriage. Confirm pet space, aircraft, cabin class, every operating segment and origin/transit/destination requirements separately. Assistance animals, military/diplomatic exceptions and commercial shipments are outside this ordinary path.
Mexico dog segment: conditional NWS certificate and exceptions
Dog · In the cabin
United’s Mexico dog paragraph asks for an NWS inspection certificate signed by a USDA-accredited vet no more than five days before travel, certifying healthy, no internal/external parasites and no wounds. It exempts Mexico-origin dogs carrying Mexican-issued health/vaccine records and dogs from another country merely flying through the US. This direction/history condition is not a global certificate for every dog or a cat requirement. Confirm origin/history and current Mexico/USDA instructions with United before applying the paragraph.
Selected ordinary private dog/cat rules on the actual operating carrier’s service. The mode filter may show a prohibition or conditional route; it does not grant carriage. Confirm pet space, aircraft, cabin class, every operating segment and origin/transit/destination requirements separately. Assistance animals, military/diplomatic exceptions and commercial shipments are outside this ordinary path.
United publishes USD150 each way for an ordinary in-cabin cat or dog. Confirm the final charge for the actual itinerary when adding the pet; partner carriers and separate operating segments have their own policies. Payment and a passenger seat alone do not guarantee available pet space. Military/diplomatic cargo exceptions are outside this ordinary cabin fee.
Selected ordinary private dog/cat rules on the actual operating carrier’s service. The mode filter may show a prohibition or conditional route; it does not grant carriage. Confirm pet space, aircraft, cabin class, every operating segment and origin/transit/destination requirements separately. Assistance animals, military/diplomatic exceptions and commercial shipments are outside this ordinary path.
