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A federal order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will require every passenger on every international flight to the United States to sign a sworn health attestation saying they have not been physically present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo within 21 days before departure. The rule, signed October 22, 2026, takes effect at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on November 3, 2026, and was issued in response to the large Bundibugyo strain Ebola outbreak in the DRC.
What passengers must sign
The form, titled the Passenger Disclosure and Attestation to the United States of America, requires each traveler to certify in writing that they were not in the DRC at any point during the 21 days before the flight to the U.S. departs. The CDC’s description of “presence” includes airport connections in the DRC even if a traveler never left the transit area; simply overflying Congolese airspace without landing is not considered presence under the rule.
The attestation is available in paper and digital formats and may be signed electronically or by hand. Passengers younger than 18 must have the form completed and signed by a parent, guardian, or other authorized adult.
Airlines’ responsibilities and recordkeeping
The CDC’s technical instructions require airlines and aircraft operators to verify that every passenger has submitted a completed and signed attestation before boarding. Travelers at the gate without a valid form must be denied boarding, and carriers face legal liability for non-compliance. Airlines must retain copies of all passenger declarations for at least 42 days after a flight lands in the United States and make them available to the CDC on request.
The agency has encouraged carriers to integrate the attestation into online check-in systems to reduce gate delays. Carriers may accept foreign-language versions of the form provided the airline assumes responsibility for translation accuracy.
Who is covered and what is excluded
The order applies broadly: commercial airlines, charter flights, private jets and general aviation, and it covers U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, foreign nationals, and all visa categories. Passengers who are merely transiting through a U.S. airport en route to another country are also subject to the attestation if their flight lands on U.S. soil.
The rule does not apply to arrivals by land or sea, and U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands are not treated as foreign countries for the attestation’s purposes.
Public-health context and legal background
The CDC’s outbreak summary recorded 9,735 confirmed Ebola cases and 4,690 deaths globally as of October 21, 2026, with the DRC accounting for 9,704 confirmed cases and 4,687 deaths, making this the second-largest Ebola event in recorded history, according to the agency. The Congolese Ministry of Public Health declared the outbreak on May 15, 2026, in Ituri Province. On May 17, 2026, the World Health Organization announced a Public Health Emergency of International Concern; a WHO disease outbreak bulletin dated October 20 documented active transmission across 66 health zones in eight DRC provinces.
U.S. measures earlier in the outbreak included a May 18, 2026, CDC invocation of Title 42 authority to bar entry to certain non-citizens who had been in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan within 21 days of planned arrival. That policy was later broadened to remove exemptions for lawful permanent residents and eventually to include U.S. citizens who had been in the DRC. The October 22 attestation order overlays a documentary requirement on top of those existing entry restrictions, creating a signed travel-history record that can be audited during public-health investigations.
Practical implications for travelers
The attestation is a travel-history statement, not a medical screening, vaccine certificate, or diagnostic test. The CDC notes that knowingly submitting false information to a U.S. government authority may violate federal law (18 U.S.C. § 1001) and could expose passengers to criminal penalties; airlines that knowingly board passengers without completed forms also face legal exposure.
The order is scheduled to remain in force through December 18, 2026, although the CDC may extend, modify, or lift it depending on outbreak developments. Limited exemptions may be granted for authorized U.S. government medical evacuations or specific humanitarian operations cleared by the CDC. Travelers should check with their airline in advance about how the attestation will be captured — online during check-in or on paper at the gate — and allow extra time before departure.
