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Pet Travel Documents for Germany

Microchip, rabies vaccination, the EU pet passport, Germany's federal ban on four dog breeds at the border, and the state-by-state Listenhunde rules that take over once you're in.

Flat lay of a pet passport, vaccination record, microchip scanner and leash on a wooden table

Guides in this topic

6 guides · updated October 2026

  • Blue passports with a toy airplane resting on a travel map

    Bringing a Pet into Germany: The Overview

    The usual three EU steps — microchip, rabies vaccine, pet passport — plus one Germany adds that nowhere else in this guide has: a federal ban on four named dog breeds crossing the border at all.

  • Vet scanning a French bulldog for a microchip with a handheld reader

    Microchip & Rabies Vaccination Timing

    Chip first, rabies vaccine next, then a hard 21-day wait — and Germany's own 15-week minimum entry age, which gives a young puppy's owner no shortcut at all.

  • Vet with a clipboard and a smiling owner beside a husky in a bright clinic

    EU Pet Passport & Non-EU Travellers

    EU residents use a pet passport for Germany like anywhere in the bloc. Travellers from outside the EU need a health certificate instead, under the EU-wide framework BMLEH's own guidance sets out.

  • Three small dogs on leashes walking together on a paved path

    Federal Import Ban: Four Breeds Can't Cross the Border

    Unlike the state-by-state Listenhunde rules covered elsewhere in this section, this one is federal and absolute: four named breeds, and any cross involving them, cannot be brought into Germany at all.

  • Ginger and white kitten receiving an injection from a gloved vet

    Listenhunde: Dangerous-Dog Rules Vary by State

    Once a dog is legally in Germany, which breeds need a permit, a muzzle or extra insurance is decided state by state — NRW's list and Bavaria's list aren't identical, and the other fourteen states run their own versions again.

  • Vet examining a dachshund with a stethoscope

    Hundesteuer: Germany's Dog Tax, and Who It Actually Affects

    A genuinely unique German quirk: municipalities tax dog ownership. For a traveller passing through on a normal trip, it's worth knowing about mainly so you can stop worrying about it.