Animal Health Certificates (AHCs)

Your pet must be microchipped and have a valid rabies vaccination. The rabies vaccination must have been administered at least 21 days before your AHC appointment, and you’ll need to provide documentary proof of the vaccination. The rabies vaccine does not need to be given by the vet issuing the Animal Health Certificate – it can be administered by any registered vet. We accept proof of rabies in several forms, including a vaccination card, vaccination certificate, previous pet passport, or your pet’s clinical history from your vet. The evidence must clearly confirm that the vet scanned and verified the microchip before administering the rabies vaccination, so please ensure this is stated on the documentation. Routine annual vaccinations are not required for travel to the EU, although we do recommend keeping these up to date for your pet’s general health.

If your pet’s rabies vaccination has expired, it is no longer valid for travel. This means the rabies vaccination course must restart, and you will need to wait 21 days from the date of the new vaccination before an Animal Health Certificate can be issued. A rabies vaccination only counts as a booster if it was administered before the previous vaccination expired. If you’re unsure whether your pet’s rabies vaccination is still in date, please check with your vet before booking an appointment.

The timescale for issuing an Animal Health Certificate can vary between veterinary practices. However, all vets must legally wait 21 days after a rabies vaccination before an AHC can be issued, unless the rabies vaccination was a valid booster given before the previous vaccination expired. At PassPets, we’ve issued thousands of Animal Health Certificates and have streamlined the process to make it as quick and straightforward as possible: 1. Check eligibility – ensure your pet meets the requirements above. 2. Book an appointment (https://www.passpets.co.uk/animal-health-certificate-book-an-appointment)– this must be at least 21 days after the rabies vaccination and within 10 days of your planned travel date. 3. Complete the pre-appointment form – we’ll email this to you after booking. 4. Provide rabies evidence – ask the vet who administered the rabies vaccination to email us your pet’s clinical history. 5. Attend your appointment – we’ll issue the Animal Health Certificate during the appointment.

If you are travelling with a dog directly to Ireland, Northern Ireland, Finland, Norway or Malta, your dog must receive an approved tapeworm treatment from a UK vet between 1 and 5 days (24–120 hours) before arrival. This treatment must be recorded in the Animal Health Certificate. At PassPets, we can administer and record the tapeworm treatment at the same appointment as issuing the AHC, provided your appointment falls within the required 1–5 day window before entry into one of these countries. If you are travelling with a dog to any other EU country, no additional treatment is required before travel beyond the Animal Health Certificate. If you are travelling with a cat or ferret, no additional steps are required other than obtaining the Animal Health Certificate.

If you are returning to the UK with a dog, your dog must receive an approved tapeworm treatment from a vet in the EU between 1 and 5 days (24–120 hours) before arrival in the UK. The treatment must be recorded in the Animal Health Certificate, which you will be asked to present at the UK border. This requirement does not apply if your dog is returning directly from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Finland, Norway or Malta, as tapeworm treatment will already have been administered before departure. If you are returning with a cat or ferret, there are no additional requirements. You will simply need to present the Animal Health Certificate at the UK border. For more detailed guidance, please see our page on returning to the UK.(https://www.passpets.co.uk/animal-health-certificates-returning-to-the-uk)

From the date the Animal Health Certificate is issued, you have 10 days to begin your journey, with day 1 being the date of issue. Once you have entered the EU, the Animal Health Certificate remains valid for up to 4 months for onward travel within the EU, or until the rabies vaccination expires – whichever comes first. If you leave the EU (for example, to return to the UK), you will need a new Animal Health Certificate to re-enter. Your pet does not need a repeat rabies vaccination for each trip, provided the rabies vaccination remains valid and in date. For more details, please see our page on Animal Health Certificate validity.(https://www.passpets.co.uk/how-long-is-an-animal-health-certificate-valid-for)

No. An Animal Health Certificate is valid for one entry into the EU only. Once you leave the EU (for example, by returning to the UK), the certificate can no longer be used to re-enter the EU and a new AHC will be required for any subsequent trip.

The cost of an Animal Health Certificate can vary between veterinary practices. At PassPets, our standard AHC service is £99 for the first pet, plus £55 per additional pet. We do not charge a separate consultation fee. For full details, please see our pricing page.(https://www.passpets.co.uk/pricing)

If your pet is travelling with a pet transport company: You must provide details of the transport company to the vet before the AHC appointment. It is compulsory that you are reunited with your pet within 5 days of departure, and the transport company must carry documentation proving this (for example, a flight booking confirmation). If your pet is travelling with a friend or family member: You will need to provide the vet issuing the AHC with a written declaration confirming that you authorise the named person to travel with your pet (we can provide a template). You must be reunited with your pet within 5 days of departure, and the named traveller must carry documentation proving this (such as a flight booking confirmation). Please note that where the owner is not travelling with the pet, a £40 administration fee applies in addition to the cost of the AHC, due to the extra paperwork involved. If you will not be reunited with your pet within 5 days, or if the move is commercial (for example, a change of ownership), an Export Health Certificate (EHC) is required instead. Please contact us for further guidance.

An Animal Health Certificate normally covers a maximum of 5 pets. You may travel with more than 5 pets if you are attending or training for a competition, sporting event or show. In these cases, you must provide the official veterinarian issuing the certificate with written evidence of registration for the event. Please note that many UK ports do not allow more than 5 pets per vehicle, regardless of certification. If you plan to travel with more than 5 pets, you should check with the relevant port or carrier before travelling.

No. An Animal Health Certificate cannot be issued online or by post. The Official Veterinarian must physically scan your pet’s microchip at the appointment before issuing the certificate. Any company claiming to issue an Animal Health Certificate without a face-to-face appointment should be treated with caution, as this would not meet legal requirements.

When travelling, you will be asked to present your Animal Health Certificate at the port, airport or border crossing. Officials will also scan your pet’s microchip to check it matches the documentation. When returning to the UK with a dog, border officials may check that the tapeworm treatment has been correctly recorded in the AHC where required.

If you have a GB-issued pet passport, it is no longer valid for travel to the EU. You will need an Animal Health Certificate instead. If you have an EU-issued pet passport, it can still be used provided the most recent rabies vaccination was administered by an EU-based vet and remains in date. If the rabies vaccination has lapsed, or if it was administered by a UK vet, the passport is not valid and you will need an Animal Health Certificate.

Rabies vaccination validity depends on both the vaccine manufacturer and the country where the vaccine was administered. If your pet’s rabies vaccination was administered in the UK: • Nobivac, Canigen or Versiguard are valid for 3 years from the date of vaccination. • Rabisin is valid for 1 year, unless it was given as a booster before the previous Rabisin vaccination expired, in which case it is valid for 3 years. If your pet’s rabies vaccination was administered in the EU, it is usually valid for 1 year, regardless of the vaccine brand used. If you’re unsure whether your pet’s rabies vaccination is still in date, please contact your vet practice, as they will be able to confirm this from their records.

Terms such as dog health certificate, pet health certificate and pet travel certificate are general, non-technical terms often used to describe paperwork confirming that a pet is fit to travel. These terms can refer to different documents, depending on the journey. An Animal Health Certificate (AHC) is the document required for dogs, cats and ferrets travelling to the EU on a non-commercial basis. An Export Health Certificate (EHC) is required for travel outside the EU, or for commercial travel to the EU (for example, a change of ownership or pets travelling without their owner outside the permitted timeframe). A Fit to Fly / Travel Certificate is sometimes requested by airlines or transport companies to confirm that a pet is healthy to travel. This is separate from an AHC or EHC and does not replace them. Because these terms are often used interchangeably, it’s important to check which certificate applies to your trip. To find out exactly what you need, please visit our services page.