Red Tape Travel

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Flying a dog from Canada to Great Britain

Last verified Sources checked 28 primary sourcesSite-wide weekly check due

Scope and research limits

UK — Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales. Guide and assistance dogs follow the same rules. Northern Ireland follows the EU pet travel scheme. See Northern Ireland.

This guide covers the journey and pathways stated here. Residence, travel history and connections may change which requirements apply. Confirm these before using the countdown.

Conditional: yes, with 3 hard deadlines

A dog must fly as cargo, with an approved airline into an approved airport, to enter Great Britain from Canada.

Plan your deadlinesCheck airlines

To meet the entry rules

  • a microchip on or before the rabies vaccination
  • a rabies vaccination given at 12 weeks old or older, at least 21 days before departure
  • a Great Britain pet health certificate, completed by a licensed vet and endorsed by CFIA before departure, within 10 days before arrival
  • a tapeworm treatment by a vet between 24 and 120 hours before arrival
  • a signed declaration that the pet will not be sold or change owner

If a requirement is missed: Quarantine for up to 4 months, or refused entry if the pet came by sea. The owner pays any fees or charges.

Full answer

A dog must fly as cargo, with an approved airline into an approved airport, to enter Great Britain from Canada. Without quarantine, it needs a microchip on or before the rabies vaccination; a rabies vaccination given at 12 weeks old or older, at least 21 days before departure; a Great Britain pet health certificate, completed by a licensed vet and endorsed by CFIA before departure, within 10 days before arrival; a tapeworm treatment by a vet between 24 and 120 hours before arrival; and a signed declaration that the pet will not be sold or change owner. If any is missed: quarantine for up to 4 months. Last verified 8 October 2026.

Rules allow in cabin
Assistance dogs onlyBy plane, pets travel as cargo. Only a guide or assistance dog, or a pet on a chartered private plane, may travel otherwise.
Quarantine
Noneno quarantine when every rule is met
Rabies titer
Not requiredPart 2 listed country: Great Britain pet health certificate only
Lead time
23 days

Your deadlines, counted back from arrival

3 of these steps are hard deadlines. Each step says how long before arrival it falls. Pick an arrival date and your browser works out the calendar dates; it fetches nothing.

Lead time: 23 days

With no arrival time entered, hourly deadlines assume 12:00 local time. Use the local arrival time in Great Britain (Europe/London).

Pick an arrival date to see the calendar date of each step.

  1. No later than 107 days before arrival

    Birth

    The pet is at least 12 weeks old when it is vaccinated against rabies. Timing: at least 12 weeks before the rabies vaccination.

    Fails if: Done less than 12 weeks before the rabies vaccination.

    Official source · Bringing your pet dog, cat or ferret to Great BritainOfficial source · GB Pet Health Certificate - PDF format (model certificate and notes)

  2. No later than 23 days before arrival

    Microchip

    The pet is microchipped before, or at the same visit as, its rabies vaccination. Timing: on or before the rabies vaccination.

    Fails if: Done after the rabies vaccination.

    Official source · GOV.UK (Defra/APHA)

  3. No later than 23 days before arrival

    Rabies vaccinationHard deadline

    After the first rabies vaccination (or the last of the first course), the pet waits at least 21 full days before travelling; day 1 is the day after the vaccination. Timing: at least 21 days before departure.

    For this plan: GOV.UK counts 21 full days starting the day after the vaccination, so the first travel day is 22 days after it. APHA's checker guidance allows day 21; we plan with GOV.UK's count.

    Fails if: Done less than 21 days before departure.

    Official source · City of London Corporation (Heathrow Animal Reception Centre)Official source · GOV.UK (Defra/APHA)Official source · GOV.UK (APHA)

  4. 1 to 9 days before arrival

    Health certificate issued or endorsedHard deadline

    From a Part 2 listed country such as the USA, or a country that is not listed, the pet travels on a Great Britain pet health certificate and enters within 10 days of its issue. A pet passport or animal health certificate is refused. Timing: within 10 days before arrival.

    For this plan: GOV.UK does not say whether the issue day counts. For the animal health certificate it counts the issue date as day 1, so we plan to arrive no later than 9 days after issue.

    Fails if: Arriving on a pet passport or animal health certificate instead.

    Official source · City of London Corporation (Heathrow Animal Reception Centre)Official source · Pet travel: apply for a Great Britain pet health certificateOfficial source · Bringing your pet dog, cat or ferret to Great BritainOfficial source · GOV.UK (APHA)Official source · Taking your pet dog, cat or ferret abroad

    Have a licensed veterinarian complete the Great Britain pet health certificate and book CFIA endorsement before the pet leaves Canada. The endorsed certificate and supporting vaccination records travel with the pet. Timing: on or before departure.

    Fails if: Done after departure.

    Official source · Great Britain non-commercial pet health certificate HA3149Official source · Pets: export certificatesOfficial source · Dogs, cats and ferrets to Great Britain

    Note: Book the CFIA endorsement appointment well ahead of the certificate window. Ask the certifying vet to check the current British requirements against the Canadian certificate before completing it.

    Official source · Pets: export certificatesOfficial source · Dogs, cats and ferrets to Great Britain

  5. More than 24 and up to 120 hours before arrival

    Tapeworm treatmentHard deadline

    A vet treats the dog for tapeworm and records the date and time, no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 hours before it enters Great Britain. Timing: between 24 and 120 hours before arrival.

    For this plan: GOV.UK's example says to arrive after 1pm the next day, so we refuse exactly 24 hours.

    Fails if: Done less than 24 or more than 120 hours before arrival.

    Official source · GOV.UK (Defra/APHA)

  6. Arrival

    Arrival day

    Note: A service dog arriving at or transiting Heathrow needs HARC's pre-approval letter. HARC asks for the Stage 1 email at least seven days before the scheduled departure. Without the letter the dog could be quarantined or re-exported at the owner's cost.

    Official source · City of London Corporation (Heathrow Animal Reception Centre)

    Note: For a pet arriving at Heathrow through HARC, the shipper, exporter or airline can ask HARC to pre-check its documents. Send the request at least 72 hours before the pet departs, with evidence that the owner travels within 5 days of the pet's arrival. Without a pre-check number, extra charges apply.

    Official source · Heathrow Animal Reception Centre, City of London Corporation (PDF hosted by USDA APHIS)

Requirements without a countdown

These conditions still apply. Choosing an arrival date does not check them.

This plan assumes one air journey, with every step done before you leave. Unless you give a departure date, it assumes you leave the day before arrival or on arrival day. Times are local to Great Britain (Europe/London).

Which airlines carry dogs on this route

The only airline in our sources carries dogs on this route, as manifest cargo.

This is what airlines offer. An airline can offer less than the rules allow.

Hold means checked baggage. Manifest cargo is a separate booking, even when the animal travels in the same aircraft hold.

Fees are one direction; charging units vary by airline, as published on .
AirlineCabinHold (checked baggage)Manifest cargoFee fromSnub-nosed
British Airways
Assistance dogs only
Official source
No(Great Britain rule)
Official source
Yes
Official source
Quoted on request
Official source
Case by case
Official source

No rule changes recorded since

We have recorded no change to the rules on this page since , when our log began. See every recorded change.

Where every rule above came from

Rules change without notice. Confirm each item against the linked official page before you book: we date every check, but the official page is the authority.

See everything that applies in Great Britain, or what changed across the site.