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Flying a dog from the European Union to Great Britain

Last verified Sources checked 20 primary sourcesSite-wide weekly check overdue: 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 European Union to 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 2 hard deadlines

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

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 tapeworm treatment by a vet between 24 and 120 hours before arrival (unless from Finland, Ireland or Malta)
  • a pet passport, animal health certificate or Great Britain pet health certificate
  • 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 the European Union. 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 tapeworm treatment by a vet between 24 and 120 hours before arrival (unless from Finland, Ireland or Malta); a pet passport, animal health certificate or Great Britain pet health certificate; and a signed declaration that the pet will not be sold or change owner. If any is missed: Quarantine for up to 4 months, or refused entry if the pet came by sea. Last verified 24 September 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 requiredEU country
Lead time
23 days

Your deadlines, counted back from arrival

2 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. 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)

  5. 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

No airline in our sources carries this route yet.

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.