Moving Cattle Across State Lines to Georgia: CVI Paperwork, RFID Tags, and Entry Rules Explained

Georgia tightened its animal import rules in 2026, and if you’re hauling cattle across the state line without checking the current requirements first, you risk a quarantine hold at your own expense. Moving cattle across state lines to Georgia involves more than a bill of sale and a trailer hitch — it means matching your herd’s class, purpose, and health paperwork to rules that can shift depending on where the animals originate and what disease activity is happening elsewhere in the country.

This breakdown walks through what Georgia’s Department of Agriculture (GDA) and federal regulators expect before cattle cross into the state, from RFID identification to the certificate of veterinary inspection that has to travel with the load. Requirements change, so treat this as a starting checklist and always confirm specifics with GDA before you load the trailer.

Cattle Class and Purpose of the Move Into Georgia

Georgia’s entry requirements hinge on two variables: what class of cattle you’re moving and why you’re moving them. Beef cattle, dairy cattle, breeding stock, feeder cattle, and rodeo or exhibition animals each trigger different combinations of testing, identification, and paperwork under Georgia’s interstate movement rules. A load of steers headed straight to a Georgia sale barn faces a very different checklist than lactating dairy cows relocating to a new dairy operation.

Purpose matters just as much as class. Interstate cattle movement often happens because a producer is buying cattle from another state or selling to an out-of-state buyer, and drought conditions frequently push producers to move cattle to states that still have grass. Before you book a hauler, identify whether your animals are breeding stock, feeders, slaughter cattle, or show animals — that classification determines which sections below actually apply to your load. If you’re sourcing specific genetics, understanding the different types of cattle breeds can also help you anticipate breed-specific health program requirements some sellers attach to registered animals.

Official Identification and RFID Tags for Interstate Cattle

Federal identification rules apply on top of anything Georgia requires at the state line. As of November 5, 2024, cattle tags applied after that date must be both visually and electronically readable, meaning a standard metal dangle tag alone no longer satisfies official ID requirements for covered animals. This electronic identification (RFID/EID) mandate came from a final rule amending the animal disease traceability regulations to require that eartags be both visually and electronically readable in order to be recognized for use as official eartags for interstate movement of cattle and bison.

Not every animal needs an official RFID tag. The types of cattle required to be identified when moving interstate remain dairy cattle, sexually intact beef cattle 18 months or older, and rodeo and exhibition cattle. Feeder cattle and animals moving directly to slaughter are generally exempt from this individual ID requirement. One practical relief: official metal tags that conform to the National Uniform Eartagging System and were applied before the November 5, 2024, deadline will continue to be accepted, so you don’t need to retag an animal that already carries a compliant metal tag from before that date.

Pro Tip: Order RFID tags well before your planned move date. Supply and vet-appointment backlogs are common during peak shipping seasons, and a missing tag can hold your load at the state line.

Disease Tests and Vaccinations Georgia May Require

Georgia’s disease testing requirements depend heavily on where your cattle originate. For brucellosis, the tests accepted for interstate movement of livestock into Georgia are the Tube Test, Official Card Test, PCFIA, and BAPA. Georgia-origin cattle themselves face no in-state brucellosis testing burden — there are no brucellosis or tuberculosis test requirements for intrastate movement of Georgia cattle — but that exemption doesn’t automatically extend to animals arriving from other states.

Tuberculosis testing follows a similar origin-dependent pattern. Historically, Georgia’s rules have distinguished sharply between classes: dairy cattle six months of age and older need a negative TB test within sixty days of shipment regardless of the status of the state of origin, while beef cattle originating from a TB-free state do not require a TB test. Because the list of states triggering additional beef TB testing changes, don’t rely on an old list — confirm current status directly with GDA before you ship.

Georgia also added a disease-specific entry rule in 2026 tied to New World Screwworm activity. Under state regulation, any animal originating from a state or area where screwworms have become established shall not be transported into Georgia unless the State Veterinarian has issued a prior permit. This rule sits on top of standard brucellosis and TB testing, not in place of it.

Extra Rules for Dairy Cattle, Including HPAI / H5N1 Testing

Dairy cattle carry the heaviest testing load of any class moving into Georgia. Beyond the TB testing noted above, a federal order now governs avian influenza testing for lactating cows. Effective April 29, 2024, all lactating dairy cattle must test negative for H5N1 avian influenza before being moved across state lines, under a federal order the USDA issued April 24, 2024.

In practice, this means milk samples must be collected and tested within seven days prior to moving lactating cows across state lines, and all samples must be collected by a Georgia licensed, accredited veterinarian. Georgia scales the testing burden by herd size: for groups of more than 30 animals moving across state lines, only 30 animals total must be tested, while for groups of less than 30 animals, each animal must be tested. If a cow comes back positive, you must wait 30 days before retesting that animal.

If you’re planning a dairy move, contact the Georgia Department of Agriculture Animal Health team at 404-656-3667 or animalhealth@agr.georgia.gov before you schedule sampling, since testing logistics and lab turnaround can affect your shipping window.

Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI / ICVI)

No interstate cattle shipment into Georgia moves legally without a certificate of veterinary inspection. Every interstate livestock shipment requires a CVI, also called health papers or a health certificate, issued by a USDA-accredited veterinarian within 30 days of transport — though you should verify Georgia’s specific window, since some states shorten that to 14 days. Skipping this step carries real financial risk: livestock entering Georgia without a proper certificate of veterinary inspection or permit, or both when required, will be held in quarantine at the owner’s risk and expense until released by the State Veterinarian.

Your CVI needs to list every test result relevant to the animal’s class — brucellosis, TB, H5N1 for lactating dairy cows — along with official ID numbers that match the RFID tags in the animals’ ears. Mismatched numbers between the CVI and the physical tags are one of the most common reasons loads get flagged at inspection.

Entry Permits From Georgia Animal Health

Georgia doesn’t require a blanket entry permit for every cattle shipment, but certain origin conditions trigger a mandatory permit before you leave the origin state. The clearest example is the screwworm-related rule: animals from an established screwworm area cannot cross into Georgia without prior State Veterinarian authorization, as noted above. Georgia’s broader 2026 enhanced-requirements announcement extended similar caution to animals from screwworm surveillance zones. Warm-blooded animals imported into Georgia from outside an infested zone, but originating from a surveillance zone or a high-risk county — currently a defined set of Texas counties — must be accompanied by a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection, and that CVI is valid for no more than seven days from the date of inspection and must certify the animals were inspected and found free of New World Screwworm.

General interstate logistics guidance applies here too: some destination states require an import permit before cattle can enter, obtained from the destination state’s veterinarian office and which must be in hand before the cattle leave the origin state. Call the GDA State Veterinarian’s office before you load if your cattle originate anywhere with active disease surveillance, and don’t assume last year’s permit rules still apply — Commissioner Tyler Harper’s office has stated these enhanced measures may be updated as new information becomes available.

Brand Inspection and Proof of Ownership

Unlike many western cattle states, Georgia does not operate a statewide mandatory brand inspection program tied to interstate entry the way Wyoming or Montana do. That doesn’t mean ownership documentation is optional. Georgia still expects a paper trail — a bill of sale, registration papers for purebred stock, or a brand recorded under Georgia’s own branding statute — to accompany cattle that change hands across a state line. For the specifics of how Georgia records and recognizes livestock brands, and what that means if a dispute over ownership ever arises, see this breakdown of cattle branding laws in Georgia.

Ownership documentation becomes especially important if cattle wander or mix with a neighboring herd shortly after arrival. Georgia’s trespass framework determines who’s liable and how ownership gets sorted out, which is worth reviewing alongside your import paperwork — see cattle trespass laws in Georgia for how that plays out once animals are on the ground.

Direct-to-Slaughter, Market, and Other Limited Pathways

Not every load faces the full identification and testing checklist. Feeder cattle and animals moving directly to slaughter are generally exempt from the individual RFID identification requirement that applies to breeding and dairy stock, since they’re not staying in the herd long enough to need long-term traceability at the individual level. That said, exemption from RFID tagging doesn’t mean exemption from a CVI or applicable disease testing — those requirements still travel with the animal regardless of its final destination.

Exhibition and rodeo cattle follow their own pathway with added paperwork. All exhibitions of livestock except equine exhibitions require a permit, which management must obtain from the State Veterinarian at least 21 days prior to the opening of the exhibition. All animals being exhibited in any type of livestock show must be individually identified and accompanied by a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection, and rodeo cattle require a CVI issued within 30 days of the exhibition, while rodeo bulls must have a negative brucellosis test. If your load is headed to a fair, jackpot, or rodeo rather than a farm or feedlot, plan for this separate permit timeline well in advance.

Papers That Must Travel With the Load

Every load crossing into Georgia should carry a consistent packet of documents, even though the exact contents shift by cattle class. The table below summarizes what typically accompanies beef versus dairy shipments.

Document	Beef / Feeder Cattle	Dairy Cattle
Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI)	Required for breeding/exhibition stock; often waived for direct slaughter	Required, listing H5N1 and TB results
Official RFID/EID tag record	Required if sexually intact and 18+ months, rodeo, or exhibition	Required for all dairy cattle
Brucellosis test results	Origin-state dependent	Origin-state dependent
TB test results	Required only from listed states	Required regardless of origin state status
H5N1 test results	Not applicable	Required within 7 days of movement
Screwworm-area permit/CVI	Required if from an affected zone	Required if from an affected zone
Bill of sale / ownership proof	Recommended	Recommended

Keep both physical and digital copies. Drivers should have paper copies in hand at inspection points, while a digital backup protects you if papers are lost in transit. For the trucking side of the equation — trailer weight limits, hours-of-service exemptions, and rest-stop rules — review transporting livestock laws in Georgia before you finalize your route.

Pre-Load Checklist Before You Cross Into Georgia

Work through these steps in order, ideally starting at least two to three weeks before your planned shipping date:

1. Confirm the class and purpose of each animal (breeding, dairy, feeder, slaughter, rodeo/exhibition) since this determines every downstream requirement.
2. Verify official RFID/EID tags are in place for any dairy cattle, sexually intact beef cattle 18 months or older, or rodeo/exhibition animals.
3. Schedule brucellosis and TB testing based on your state of origin’s current status with Georgia.
4. For lactating dairy cattle, arrange H5N1 milk sample collection with a licensed, accredited veterinarian within seven days of the move.
5. Book your CVI appointment with a USDA-accredited veterinarian, timed so the certificate stays valid through your shipping date.
6. Call Georgia Animal Health to confirm whether a screwworm-related permit or CVI applies to your origin location.
7. Gather ownership documentation — bill of sale, registration papers, or brand records — to travel with the load.
8. Cross-check that every ID number on the CVI matches the physical tags in the animals’ ears.
9. Plan rest stops in line with the Twenty-Eight Hour Law if your haul will exceed that federal transport window.
10. Print and pack physical copies of every document, with a digital backup accessible to the driver.

Important Note: Georgia’s screwworm-related entry rules were introduced in 2026 in response to detections outside the state and may change as the situation develops. Confirm current status before you ship rather than relying on last season’s paperwork.

Where to Confirm Current Georgia Cattle Import Rules

Regulations shift, sometimes quickly, so verify everything above against a live source before you commit to a shipping date. The Georgia Department of Agriculture’s State Veterinarian’s office is your primary contact, reachable at 404-656-3667 for animal health questions and testing coordination. Beyond direct calls, the National Institute of Animal Agriculture and the United States Animal Health Association partnered to create InterstateLivestock.com, which provides current rules and regulations for anyone shipping cattle across state lines, covering all 50 states in one searchable resource.

Industry advice backs up this call-first approach: all animals must meet the minimum interstate requirements for livestock movements set by USDA, and each state can also require more stringent requirements than what USDA requires, according to Mary Luedeker of the Texas Animal Health Commission. Her recommendation applies just as much heading into Georgia: producers and haulers should always call the state of destination to ensure they meet all entry requirements. If your operation regularly ships cattle to multiple states, comparing requirements side by side helps — see how the process differs when moving cattle across state lines to Wyoming or moving cattle across state lines to Wisconsin, since brand inspection and testing expectations vary widely by region.

Moving cattle across state lines to Georgia rewards preparation over speed. Lock in your CVI, RFID tags, and origin-specific test results early, confirm any screwworm-related permit needs directly with GDA, and keep every document matched and ready before the trailer ever reaches the state line. That groundwork is what keeps a shipment moving instead of sitting in quarantine.