PGµç×Ó

These rules apply if you’re bringing pet dogs, cats or ferrets into Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). They also apply if you’re travelling with your guide or assistance dog.Ìý

There’s different guidance:

• for Ìý
• if you’re bringing other types of pets into Great BritainÌý
• if you’re travelling from Ukraine with your pets

How to bring your pet to Great Britain

You must complete certain steps to enter or return to Great Britain with your pet cat, dog or ferret.Ìý

1. Check your route is approved for pet travel. You do not need to use an approved route if you’re travelling within the UK or from Ireland.ÌýThere are more approved routes for people travelling with guide or assistance dogs.

2. Microchip your pet. They must be microchipped before they get their rabies vaccination.Ìý

3. Vaccinate your pet against rabies. You must wait at least 21 days after the primary vaccination (or the last of the primary course of vaccinations) before bringing your pet to Great Britain.

4. Get a pet travel document from your vet. The type of document you need will depend on the country you’re travelling from.Ìý

5. If you have a dog, you may need a vet to give them tapeworm treatment. Your dog must be treated no less than 24 hours before (and no more than 5 days before) you arrive in Great Britain.

6. You also need to fill in a declaration if you’re not going to sell or transfer the ownership of your pet.

7. Check the guidance for taking your pet dog, cat or ferret abroad if you’re taking them out of Great Britain, for example on a return journey.

Check if you need to follow extra rulesÌý

ÌýYou must follow extra rules (known as Balai rules) if any of the following apply:Ìý

• you’re going to sell, rehome or transfer the ownership of the petÌý
• your pet is arriving more than 5 days before or after you arriveÌý
• you’re bringing more than 5 pets and are not attending or training for a competition, show or sporting event

You must still follow the rules on microchipping, rabies vaccination, and tapeworm treatment.

Authorising someone else to travel with your pet

Your pet can travel with someone else if you’ve authorised it in writing.

You can only use certain travel routes and companies to enter Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland).

Check the ‘approved routes’ before you travel - they can change or may only operate at certain times of the year.

There are more approved routes for people travelling with guide or assistance dogs.

Check your travel company’s rules

Before you book your travel, check if the company you’re travelling with:Ìý

• will accept your pet for travel - and how many they’ll accept if you have more than oneÌý
• needs any proof that your pet is fit and healthy to travel, for example a letter from a vet or certain information in your pet passport or health certificate

When pets have to travel as cargo

How your pet can travel depends on how you are travelling.

If you’re travelling by plane

Pets have to travel as cargo on a plane unless:

• you’re flying on a chartered private plane
• you’re travelling with a guide or assistance dog

If you’re travelling by sea or Eurotunnel

Check if the company you’re travelling with allows you to bring pets before you travel.

You can only bring a pet into Great Britain by private boat if you’re travelling from Ireland or Northern Ireland.

Travelling to and from Northern Ireland and Ireland

Contact the if you’re travelling to Northern Ireland.

You do not have to use an approved route or company if you’re travelling from Ireland to Great Britain.

You must get your pet microchipped before, or at the same time as, their rabies vaccination. If you do not, they’ll need to be vaccinated again.

Microchipping for pet travel can only be done by:

• a vet
• a vet nurse, student vet or student vet nurse (directed by a vet)
• someone trained in microchipping before 29 December 2014, and with practical experience
• someone who has been assessed on an approved training course - if the course was in Northern Ireland

Reading the microchip

If you travel by air, train or ferry on approved routes, staff will check your microchip if it meets International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards ISO 11784 and ISO 11785.

If your pet’s microchip does not meet ISO standards, you may have to bring your own microchip reader when you travel. You should check with your travel company before you leave.

If the microchip cannot be read

You’ll have to do all the preparation again if your vet cannot read the microchip. This means you’ll have to ask your vet to:

• rechip your pet
• revaccinate your pet
• take new blood tests if you’re travelling from country that is not ‘listed’
• issue a new pet passport or health certificate
• record the old and new microchips in the ‘Marking of animals’ section of the new passport

If the microchip can only sometimes be read

Your vet should try to read the microchip. If they get a reading, they can rechip your pet (the original chip is not removed).

This must be recorded in the current pet passport or a new passport with:

• the number of the old and new chips
• the date they were read
• the date the new chip was inserted

The vet must sign and stamp the page in the pet passport.

Your vet should record in the ‘Others’ section of the pet passport that your pet has been rechipped.

Tattoo

You do not need to have your pet microchipped if it’s been tattooed with an identification number and all of the following are true:

• your pet was tattooed on or before 3 July 2011
• the tattoo is clearly legible
• your pet was vaccinated against rabies after it was tattooed

Your vet must record the date of tattooing, the tattoo number and the date of the rabies vaccination in the pet passport or health certificate.

You must get your dog, cat or ferret vaccinated against rabies before it can travel.

If you’re coming from a country that’s not part of the EU and not listed your pet also needs a rabies blood test.

When to get the rabies vaccinations

Your vet needs proof that your pet’s at least 12 weeks old before vaccinating them.

You must get your pet microchipped before, or at the same time as, their rabies vaccination. If you do not, they’ll need to be vaccinated again.

You must wait at least 21 days after the primary vaccination (or the last of the primary course of vaccinations) before bringing your pet to Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales).

You’ll have to wait longer before travelling if your pet needs a rabies blood test.

What vaccinations your pet needs

The rabies vaccine must be an inactivated vaccine or recombinant vaccine that’s approved in the country of use.

Your pet must have had their first rabies vaccinations (the ‘primary course’). This can be given in more than one dose.

Your pet may need to restart the primary course if they do not have all doses or a booster at the right time. Your vet can tell you if your pet’s rabies vaccinations are up to date.

If your pet has had the Canvac R vaccination

If your dog, cat or ferret has had the Canvac R vaccination, they must have had the right number of doses of the primary course.

They’ll need:

• 1 dose if they were vaccinated over the age of 5 months
• 2 doses if they were vaccinated under the age of 5 months - the doses must have been 2 to 4 weeks apart

All pets with the Canvac R vaccination must be at least 17 weeks old before they travel.

If your dog has had the Canvac DHPPiL+ R vaccination

If your dog has the Canvac DHPPiL + R vaccine, both of the following must apply:

• your dog has had 3 doses of the primary course of the vaccine
• each vaccine dose was 3 weeks apart

Your dog must also be at least 21 weeks old before they travel.

Booster vaccinations

You must get regular booster vaccinations for your pet. Check when the booster vaccination is due on your pet’s vaccination record. This can be found in either their:Ìý

• pet passport
• Animal Health Certificate (AHC)
• Great Britain pet health certificate

Get an Animal Health Certificate if your pet needs a booster vaccination while you’re in Great Britain.

Vaccination record

Your pet’s vaccination record in their pet passport or health certificate must show:

• your pet’s date of birth
• microchip number, date it was put in or read, and where it is on your pet’s body
• vaccination date
• vaccine manufacturer and product name, for example Nobivac
• vaccine batch number
• date the vaccination is valid until
• the vet’s signature and contact details

Your pet can be stopped from travelling if:

• the details in their pet travel document are in the wrong place
• the vaccination details were added to their passport by a vet in Great Britain after 31 December 2020.

Pet passports issued from 29 December 2014

If you’re travelling from the EU or a country that issues pet passports accepted in Great Britain, the vet only needs to fill in the ‘valid from’ date for the first vaccination (or revaccination if you missed a booster).

If the rabies vaccination record is a sticker, it must be covered by a laminated strip (included with the pet passport).

Your pet only needs a rabies blood test if you’re travelling from a country that is:

• not part of the EU
• not listed

Check if a country is not listed.

How to get your pet a rabies blood test

1. Your pet must have a blood sample taken at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination.

2. Your vet must send the blood sample to an EU-approved blood testing laboratory from either or .

3. The results of the blood test must show that the vaccination was successful (rabies antibody level of at least 0.5 IU/ml).

4. The vet must give you a copy of the test results and enter the day the blood sample was taken in a pet passport or Great Britain health certificate.

5. You must wait 3 months from the date the blood sample was taken before you travel.

The blood test will continue to be valid as long as your pet’s rabies vaccinations are kept up to date.Ìý

A vet must treat your dog for tapeworm every time you want to bring it to Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). They must record it in either the:

• pet passport
• animal health certificate
• Great Britain pet health certificate

Your dog can be refused entry or put into quarantine if you do not follow this rule.

The treatment must both:

• be approved for use in the country it’s being given in
• contain praziquantel or an equivalent proven to be effective against the Echinococcus multilocularis tapeworm

Information your vet needs to record

Check the vet has put the following details in the ‘Echinococcus treatment’ section of your dog’s pet passport or health certificate:

• the name and manufacturer of the product
• the date and time they treated your dog
• their stamp and signature

When to give the tapeworm treatment

The treatment must be given:

• no less than 24 hours before you enter Great Britain
• no more than 5 days (120 hours) before you enter Great Britain

If your journey is delayed

If you’re delayed and arrive more than 5 days (120 hours) after the treatment, your dog may need a new treatment before you return to Great Britain.

Check with your travel company what you need to do (for example your airline).

Short trips of 5 days or less

If you’re leaving Great Britain and returning within 24 hours, you must get your dog treated by a vet before you go.

If you’re returning within 5 days, you can also get your dog treated before you go.

You must:

• wait 24 hours after the treatment before you re-enter Great BritainÌý
• return within 5 days (120 hours) of the treatment

If you’re not sure when to give the treatment, ask your vet before you travel.

If you do not travel within these times, you’ll need to get another treatment abroad.

You’ll need to treat your dog again within 28 days of returning to Great Britain

The document you need to bring your pet cat, dog or ferret into Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) depends on what country you’re coming from.

If you’re travelling from an EU country

If you’re travelling from an EU country your pet must have one of the following documents:

• a pet passport issued in an EU country or certain other countries
• an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) issued in Great Britain in the last 4 months
• a Great Britain pet health certificate
• a pet passport issued in Great Britain before 1 January 2021

If you’re travelling from Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man

Your pet dog, cat or ferret will not need a pet passport or health certificate to enter Great Britain.

If you’re travelling from the rest of the world (listed and not listed countries)

Countries in the rest of the world are either ‘listed’ or ‘not listed’.

Listed countries

Find your country in this table to see which documents you need to travel.

Countries that are not listed

If the country you’re travelling from is not listed, your pet needs a Great Britain pet health certificate.

As well as the usual pet travel rules, your pet will also need a rabies blood test.

Cats from Australia

To bring a cat into Great Britain from Australia, you must have a certificate from the confirming your cat has not been exposed to the Hendra virus in the 60 days before you left.

Dogs and cats from Peninsular Malaysia

You must have a certificate from the Malaysian government veterinary health services to bring your dog or cat into Great Britain from Peninsular Malaysia. The certificate must show your pet:

• has not had contact with pigs in the 60 days before you left
• has not been on a holding where Nipah disease has been found in the 60 days before you left
• has a negative blood test result for Nipah virus antibody - the test must be carried out by a laboratory approved for Nipah virus on a blood sample taken no more than 10 days before you leave

If you’re travelling from the EU or a country that issues pet passports, your pet will be allowed to enter Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) if it has a valid pet passport.

Where you can get a pet passport

Your pet passport must be issued by an authorised vet.

You can get pet passports in the following countries:

• EU countries
• Andorra
• Azores and Madeira
• Canary Islands
• French Guiana
• Gibraltar
• Greenland and the Faroe Islands
• Guadeloupe
• Iceland
• Liechtenstein
• Martinique
• Mayotte (French territory)
• Monaco
• Norway
• Réunion (French territory)
• Saint Barthélemy (French Territory)
• San Marino
• Saint Martin (French part of the island - French territory)
• Switzerland
• Vatican City State

If you’re travelling from a country that does not issue pet passports

You can either:

• get a Great Britain pet health certificate instead
• use a pet passport from Great Britain if it was issued before 1 January 2021

Getting your pet passport from a vet

When you get a pet passport you’ll need to take:

• your pet
• your pet’s identity and vaccination records
• rabies blood test results, if your pet needs them

If your vet does not issue pet passports, ask them for the nearest one that does.

What your pet passport must say

Your pet will only be allowed into Great Britain if the pet passport is filled in correctly and your pet meets the entry requirements.

Check that the vet has filled in the following sections in the pet passport:

• details of ownership - you must sign section I if your pet passport was issued on or after 29 December 2014
• description of animal
• marking or identification of animal
• vaccination against rabies
• rabies blood test (if needed)
• details of the vet issuing the passport (for passports issued from 29 December 2014)
• your dog’s tapeworm treatment (if needed)

You’ll need to get a new pet passport when all the treatment spaces are full.

Travelling with a pet passport

You must bring originals of all your pet’s documents, not photocopies.

You should travel with previous pet passports in some cases, for example if your pet has had a blood test. Ask your vet if you think this applies to your pet.

Your pet can enter Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) with an animal health certificate (AHC) if all the following apply:

• the AHC was issued in Great Britain
• you’re travelling from the EU or another country where you can use an AHC
• it’s less than 4 months since the date you entered the EU or a country that accepts AHCs

If your AHC expires when you’re abroad

If you stay abroad for more than 4 months, to bring your pet back to Great Britain you’ll need either:

• a pet passport if you’re in an EU country or another country that can issue pet passports
• a Great Britain pet health certificate

Getting an AHC in Great Britain

Find out more about getting an AHC.

You can enter Great Britain with a Great Britain pet health certificate from any country.

Ask your vet if they can complete the certificate for you.

The certificate must be signed, stamped and dated by an official veterinarian (OV) who has authority from their government to issue it.

If your vet is not an OV they need to contact their local authority to get the certificate signed, stamped and dated.

Your pet must enter Great Britain within 10 days of the pet health certificate being issued.

When you arrive in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland), your pet’s microchip and documents will be checked. Your pet might be checked before you board, for example if you’re travelling by sea or Eurotunnel.

Your pet could be put into quarantine or sent back to the country it travelled from if:

• you do not have the correct documents
• it has not been properly prepared for travel

Entering Great Britain from outside the EU

You can only collect your pet after it’s been taken through customs. You can usually pay an agent, travel company or airline to do this for you.

If you cannot get someone to do this for you, you should either:

• contact customs where you’re arriving before you travel
• ask the National Clearance Hub at nch@hmrc.gov.uk for more information

If you have a ‘recognised assistance dog’ you can:

• travel on more routes than people with pets

• use forms of transport where other animals are not allowed, for example you can bring your dog into the aircraft cabin

Eligibility

A ‘recognised assistance dog’ is a dog that’s trained to actively help their owner with needs related to their disability or health condition.

This usually includes:

• autism assistance dogsÌý
• guide dogsÌý
• hearing dogsÌý
• medical alert assistance dogsÌý
• physical disability assistance dogsÌý
• post-traumatic stress disorder assistance dogsÌý
• psychiatric assistance dogsÌý
• allergy alert dogs
• dementia assistance dogs

Dogs that only provide emotional support are not usually considered recognised assistance dogs.

Check with your travel company whether they consider your dog to be an assistance dog.

Travelling by air

Your airline must allow you to travel with your assistance dog if either:

• your flight departs from inside the EU
• you’re flying with a UK or EU airline

Tell your airline that you’ll be travelling with a recognised assistance dog at least 48 hours before you travel. You may need to tell them earlier - check with your airline to find out how much notice they need.

If you cannot tell your airline before you travel, they must still make all reasonable efforts to allow you to travel.

There are some rare situations where you might not be allowed to travel, for example, if there is no safe way to transport your dog.

You can enter these airports in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) with your assistance dog.

There may be additional rules to follow if your flight departs from outside the EU. Check with your airline before you travel.

Travelling by sea

You must be allowed to travel to Great Britain with your assistance dog on:

• ferry services that leave from any EU country
• cruise services that leave from any EU country

Check with the ferry or cruise company if your journey is different to this.

Tell your travel company that you’ll be travelling with a recognised assistance dog at least 48 hours before you travel. You may need to tell them earlier - check with your travel company to find out how much notice they need.

If you cannot tell your travel company before you travel, they must still make all reasonable efforts to allow you to travel.

There are some rare situations where you might not be allowed to travel, for example, if there is no safe way to transport your dog.

Travelling by rail

Rail companies operating within the UK must accept assistance dogs, but they may have extra conditions.

Check with the rail operator before you travel.

You cannot bring more than 5 pets to Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) unless you’re attending or training for a competition, show or sporting event. You’ll need written evidence of registration for the event when you travel.

All your pets must:

• be attending the event or training
• be over 6 months old
• meet the pet travel rules

You must also fill in a declaration confirming that you meet these requirements.

You’ll have to follow extra rules if you want to travel with more than 5 pets that are not attending or training for a competition, show or sporting event.

Contact the Pet Travel helpline if you need more information about pet travel.

Make a complaint

Contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency to make a complaint.

Report an illegally imported pet

Contact your local Trading Standards Office if you think that an animal has been imported illegally.

In London contact the City of London Animal Health and Welfare Team.