Taking your dog from the UK to France and Europe: the Animal Health Certificate explained

Since Brexit, a GB pet passport no longer gets your dog into the EU. You need an Animal Health Certificate for every trip, a rabies jab done at the right time and, depending on where you’re going, a worming treatment. Here is the order to do things in, so you don’t get turned back at Dover.

By Jérôme Mascarin, dog trainer and founder of Canibest updated 11 November 2026

Beagle in a harness sitting in a car, taking your dog to Europe — Photo: Slyronit, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped and titled by Canibest

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The order matters: microchip, then rabies vaccine, then wait at least 21 days, then an Animal Health Certificate from your vet no more than 10 days before you cross. Plan at least a month ahead for a first trip.

1. Microchip

Your dog must be microchipped before, or at the same appointment as, the rabies vaccination. If the chip goes in after the jab, the vaccine has to be done again. In Britain, dogs must be chipped by eight weeks old anyway, so most already are.

2. Rabies vaccination

Your dog must be at least 12 weeks old. After the first vaccination, you must wait at least 21 full days before travelling. Keep boosters up to date: if cover never lapses, there’s no new wait.

3. The Animal Health Certificate (AHC)

Your vet issues it after checking the chip and vaccination records. Book early, not every practice has an official vet available at short notice, and there is a fee.

It must be issued no more than 10 days before you arrive in the EU.
Once you’re in, it covers onward travel within the EU and your return to Great Britain, within the validity shown on the certificate.
You need a new certificate for every trip.
A pet passport issued to a resident of England, Scotland or Wales can’t be used to enter the EU, even if it was issued in an EU country.
If someone else is travelling with your dog, they must cross within five days of you, with your signed declaration.

4. Tapeworm treatment, for some destinations

Dogs going to Ireland, Northern Ireland, Finland, Malta or Norway need a tapeworm treatment given by a vet 1 to 5 days (24 to 120 hours) before arrival, recorded on the certificate.

Coming back to Great Britain, the same treatment is needed 1 to 5 days before you return, unless you’re coming straight from one of those countries. On a short break to France, that means finding a French vet before the ferry home.

On the day

Cross at an approved point of entry (Dover, the Eurotunnel at Folkestone and the main ferry ports all are) and have the certificate, vaccination record and proof of worming ready. No more than five pets per vehicle, unless you’re going to a show or competition with proof of entry.

During the trip: water, regular breaks, and never leave your dog in a parked car, even in mild weather.

Travel questions

Is my old GB pet passport still valid?

Not for entering the EU if you live in England, Scotland or Wales. You need an Animal Health Certificate.

How far ahead should I plan?

For a first trip, at least a month: chip and rabies jab, then the 21-day wait, then the certificate in the last 10 days.

Do the rules change often?

They have changed several times since 2021. Always check GOV.UK before you book.

Sources: GOV.UK, taking your pet dog, cat or ferret abroad