Bringing a Pet to Great Britain: What You Need

At a glance

Microchip: ISO-compliant, required for dogs, cats and ferrets.

Rabies vaccination: pet must be at least 12 weeks old; 21 days before travel if it's a first (primary) vaccination.

Travel document: a valid EU-issued pet passport is accepted as-is — no AHC needed. No passport? An Animal Health Certificate (AHC), issued by an EU-accredited vet no more than 10 days before travel, works instead.

Tapeworm treatment (dogs only): 24–120 hours before arrival, vet-administered.

This guide covers Great Britain only — Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland run different schemes.

Bringing a dog, cat or ferret into Great Britain — England, Wales and Scotland, treated as one rule set — comes down to four requirements that have to happen in the right order. First, an ISO-compliant microchip. Second, a rabies vaccination, given once the pet is at least 12 weeks old. Third, a valid travel document — either a pet passport issued in an EU country (or certain other listed countries) that you already have, or, if you don't have one, an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) issued by an EU-accredited vet no more than 10 days before travel. Fourth, for dogs only, a tapeworm treatment given by a vet between 24 and 120 hours before arrival.

The document step is where owners most often overpay by assumption: if you already hold a genuine, in-date EU-issued pet passport, it's still accepted for entry into Great Britain — you don't also need an AHC. The AHC exists for everyone travelling without a valid passport, which in practice is mostly GB residents, since Great Britain stopped issuing EU pet passports after Brexit. If that's you, your AHC has to be freshly issued, timed to that 10-day window before you travel, for every single trip.

None of this is quarantine-era bureaucracy for its own sake — Great Britain has been rabies-free for over a century, and these checks are what keeps it that way. Miss a step and the realistic consequences range from a delay at the border to the pet being refused entry or placed into quarantine at the owner's expense, so it's worth treating the sequence as fixed rather than flexible.

Quick answers

Can I use an EU pet passport to enter Great Britain?

Yes. A genuine, in-date pet passport issued in an EU country is accepted for entry into Great Britain — you don't need to get an Animal Health Certificate as well. The AHC is for travellers who don't have a valid passport, which is mostly GB residents, since the UK no longer issues EU pet passports.

Does this apply to Northern Ireland too?

No. This page covers Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) specifically — Northern Ireland has its own separate scheme, covered in its own article.

Rules, fees and policies change. Check the official sources linked in this guide and confirm with your vet, airline or property before you travel. Last updated October 2026. How we use sources.