In this article
This guide covers ordinary pet travel from Great Britain, meaning England, Scotland and Wales, to EU countries. Assistance dogs follow the rules too; non-EU destinations and commercial movements have different requirements. Guidance checked on 23 October 2026.1
If you live in Great Britain, you need an animal health certificate for EU entry. GOV.UK now explicitly says that you cannot use a pet passport for that journey even if it was issued in the EU. Northern Ireland residents have different arrangements.1
Start with the microchip and rabies vaccination
Your dog must be microchipped before, or at the same time as, their rabies vaccination. Otherwise, the vaccination must be repeated. The vet needs proof that the dog is at least 12 weeks old before vaccinating them.2
After the first vaccination, or the last dose in the initial course, you must wait at least 21 full days. Day one is the day after vaccination. Some vaccines take longer, so ask the vet for your dog's actual earliest travel date rather than calculating an automatic three-week departure.2
An on-time booster does not require another wait if vaccination cover has remained uninterrupted. Missing the booster means restarting vaccination, which can delay travel. Check the due date with the practice instead of assuming that a previous holiday's paperwork proves everything is current.2
Bring the proposed itinerary to that conversation: where you enter the EU, any other countries you will visit and the intended return date. Ask the practice to write down which appointments are needed. This is a good moment to discover a scheduling problem, while you still have choices about the booking.
Book the certificate appointment at the right time
You must take your dog to a vet for the animal health certificate, and an official veterinarian must sign it. Check that your practice can provide this service. Take evidence of the microchipping date and vaccination history. Up to five pets can be included on a certificate.3
A planning order
- Speak to the practiceAgree which records and appointments you need for your proposed itinerary.
- Confirm vaccination coverGet the vet to confirm the earliest travel date and any booster due during the trip.2
- Schedule the certificateEU entry must fall within its ten-day window, counting issue day as day one.3
- Plan the returnPut your intended arrival home into the same calendar, rather than organising only departure.
GOV.UK currently gives the following certificate periods. These are different purposes, rather than three interchangeable deadlines. A certificate issued on 1 June has its tenth day on 10 June.3
A new departure from Great Britain to the EU needs a new certificate, even if the previous one is still within six months.3
Rabies vaccination must remain valid: if it expires during the trip, the certificate cannot be used for onward travel or re-entry.1
Check the dates printed on the finished document before you leave the practice. Keep the document somewhere you can reach at a check-in desk, rather than under the luggage at the back of the car. A shared calendar reminder is useful; it does not replace checking the actual paperwork.
Arrange tapeworm treatment in both directions
A vet must give and record tapeworm treatment before entry to Finland, Ireland, Malta and Norway. Northern Ireland also requires it unless you have a Northern Ireland pet travel document. The window is no less than 24 hours and no more than five days, or 120 hours, before arrival.4
The treatment record needs the product name and manufacturer, treatment date and time, and the vet's stamp and signature. For short trips, treatment before leaving Great Britain may also cover the return, provided you wait at least 24 hours and return within 120 hours of treatment. Ask your vet to check the itinerary.4
For returning to Great Britain from most countries, a vet must also treat the dog within that same 24-to-120-hour arrival window and record it in the travel document. Treatment is not required when coming directly from Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta or Norway.5
For example, a planned return from France on a Friday needs a suitable veterinary appointment before that arrival, not a treatment given whenever convenient at the start of a long holiday. Write down the appointment's local date and time and your expected arrival time, then ask the practice to check the window with you.
Delays matter. If you will arrive more than 120 hours after treatment, GOV.UK says another treatment may be needed; check with the travel company. Return travel normally needs an approved route, with exceptions including travel from Ireland. Failure to meet the entry rules can mean quarantine for up to four months, or refusal by sea, at your expense.5
Northern Ireland has a separate scheme
For a GB resident travelling with a dog from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Pet Travel Document scheme has operated since 4 June 2025. The document is free, lasts the pet's lifetime and does not require a vet visit to apply. Your dog must be microchipped; the document and chip are checked at the port or airport.6
This is for that journey, not a way to enter Ireland or another EU country without the appropriate paperwork. DAERA says an animal health certificate is needed for onward travel to Ireland or the EU. Include the whole route when asking for advice, even if the first overnight stop is in Northern Ireland.6
If flying from Great Britain into Northern Ireland with a pet or assistance dog, notify DAERA at least ten working days beforehand. Northern Ireland residents returning from Great Britain do not need the Northern Ireland pet travel document, but their pet must be microchipped.6
The distinction is worth making when someone recommends “the free document”. Ask which journey and which resident they mean. Save the official instructions alongside your booking so everyone travelling with the dog is working from the same arrangement.
What about the proposed return of pet passports?
The government intends the UK–EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement to take effect in mid-2027, subject to negotiations. Its veterinary-sector guidance describes a future multiuse passport for EU travel. It also explicitly says an animal health certificate remains necessary in the meantime for travel from Great Britain to the EU.7
The exact timing and detailed arrangements were still being negotiated in the guidance checked for this article. Treat the proposal as something to recheck for a future holiday, rather than permission to reuse a passport now.7
GOV.UK normally allows up to five pets per private vehicle or foot passenger, with exceptions for events or commercial movements. If someone else accompanies the dog, give written permission and travel within five days to the same destination. Use an EU travellers’ point of entry. Ask APHA about unusual arrangements.1
Plan a holiday your dog can enjoy
Dogs Trust recommends considering whether the journey and activities suit the individual dog. Ask your vet about fitness to travel, existing medical needs and destination-specific parasite protection. Usual flea or worming treatment may not cover every disease-carrying insect encountered abroad. A travel certificate does not answer those separate health questions.8
Find a local veterinary practice and emergency service at the destination, and keep your dog's veterinary history available. Check any existing insurance for overseas cover. Familiar bedding, a routine close to normal and realistic rest opportunities can help make the stay more manageable.8
Before paying, ask the travel company exactly where the dog will stay during the crossing, what access you will have and what its current pet requirements are. Dogs Trust advises checking transport arrangements and acknowledges that travelling abroad may not be the right choice for every dog.8
Give yourself one final review of the plan: the dog's needs, confirmed appointments, paperwork, crossing arrangements and return window. A trip that works on paper still needs to work for the dog. If it does, you can head for the departure queue with the important questions already answered.
Sources and further reading8 sources
The small numbers in the article link to the source behind each fact. Sources open on their own websites.
- Taking your pet dog, cat or ferret abroad: Travelling to an EU country
- Taking your pet dog, cat or ferret abroad: Rabies vaccinations and boosters
- Taking your pet dog, cat or ferret abroad: Getting an animal health certificate
- Taking your pet dog, cat or ferret abroad: Tapeworm treatment for dogs
- Bringing your pet dog, cat or ferret to Great Britain
- Great Britain to Northern Ireland Pet Travel Guidance
- Veterinary sector: preparing your business
- Everything you need to know about taking your dog on holiday