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Bringing a dog from France to the United Kingdom

Yes — the France to Great Britain crossing is one of the most travelled pet routes in Europe, and the rules are straightforward. France counts as an EU departure (Part 1 listed in Great Britain's system), and the French foreign ministry confirms the conditions for EU to Great Britain movement did not change with Brexit: a dog on an EU pet passport issued in France, microchipped and rabies-vaccinated, needs no blood test and no quarantine. Dogs must also have tapeworm treatment 24–120 hours before arrival.

21 days

Minimum wait

After a primary rabies vaccination

None

Titer test

EU departure — Part 1 listed

24–120 hrs

Tapeworm window

Dogs only, before entry to GB

None

Quarantine if compliant

Up to 4 months if rules are broken

Step-by-step checklist

Requirements — Dog · France → the United Kingdom
Step	What to do	When
Microchip	ISO 11784/11785 microchip, implanted before or at the same time as the rabies vaccination — a vaccination given before the chip does not count and must be repeated. If the chip is not ISO standard, travel with your own reader; an unreadable chip can mean refusal or quarantine. A clearly legible tattoo applied on or before 3 July 2011, with rabies vaccination after tattooing, is the only alternative.	Before vaccination
Rabies vaccination	At 12 weeks of age or older, with an inactivated or recombinant vaccine approved in France. After a first (primary) vaccination you must wait at least 21 full days before travel — day 1 is the day after vaccination, and some vaccines take longer to become valid, so check the datasheet with your vet. French guidance makes the same point from the other side: with the 12-week minimum age plus the 21-day wait, a puppy is at least 15 weeks old before it can travel. Boosters given in date need no new wait; a missed booster restarts the primary course.	≥21 days before travel
No titer test	France is an EU country, and Great Britain only requires a rabies blood test for departures from countries that are neither in the EU nor listed. No blood sample, no 0.5 IU/ml result and no 3-month wait apply on this route.	—
EU pet passport	Your dog's EU pet passport, issued in France by an authorised vet, is the normal travel document for entry to Great Britain — you do not need a new certificate for the trip. Only a vet in a country that can issue pet passports may enter rabies vaccination details in it, so a booster recorded by a vet in Great Britain would not count. If your dog has no EU pet passport, the alternative is a Great Britain pet health certificate signed, stamped and dated by an official veterinarian — your dog must then enter Great Britain within 10 days of it being issued. Bring originals, not photocopies.	Before travel
Approved route & carrier	You must enter on an approved route with an approved carrier — ferry and Eurotunnel checks happen at the departure port in France, before you board. Check the route is still approved before you book, as routes change and some are seasonal. On a plane your dog travels as cargo unless it is a recognised assistance dog or you charter a private plane. You cannot bring a pet into Great Britain by private boat from France.	Booking stage
Tapeworm treatment (dogs only)	A vet must give a treatment containing praziquantel (or an equivalent proven effective against Echinococcus multilocularis) no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 hours (5 days) before you enter Great Britain, and record the product name and manufacturer, the date and time, and their stamp and signature in the Echinococcus section of the passport or certificate. France is not on the exemption list — the French foreign ministry states the same 24–120 hour rule for dogs entering Great Britain from France.	24–120 hours before entry
Declaration & the 5-pet limit	This page covers non-commercial travel: you sign a declaration that your dog is not for sale or transfer of ownership, your dog travels with you or with a person you have authorised in writing, arriving within 5 days of you, and you bring no more than 5 pets unless you have written evidence of attending or training for a competition, show or sporting event. Anything else follows the extra (Balai / commercial) rules.	Travel day

Your preparation timeline

1Any time — Microchip (or check the existing chip reads and is ISO), then rabies vaccination
2≥21 days out — The 21-day wait after a primary rabies vaccination runs — no wait after an in-date booster
3Before travel — Check the EU pet passport is complete and correctly filled in; book an approved ferry, Eurotunnel or air route
4Final 24–120 hours — Tapeworm treatment by a vet, recorded in the passport
5Only if using a GB pet health certificate — Certificate issued by an official veterinarian — enter Great Britain within 10 days of issue
6Arrival — Checks happen before boarding in France on sea and Eurotunnel routes, or on arrival by air; compliant dogs go straight through

The mistake that causes trouble on this route: Missing the tapeworm window on a crossing that is checked before you board. The 24–120 hours are counted back from your arrival in Great Britain, and ferry and Eurotunnel staff check the passport in France — a dog treated too early for a delayed crossing is turned away at the departure port, not on arrival.

Costs you can plan for

Neither GOV.UK nor the French Ministry of Agriculture publishes a government fee for this route in the guidance checked: there is no British charge for entering on an EU pet passport, and no official fee schedule for the passport itself. Your real costs are your French vet's charges for the passport, vaccination and tapeworm treatment, plus the carrier's pet fare (ferry and Eurotunnel charge per pet — check the carrier) or cargo charge. The expensive scenario is non-compliance — quarantine for up to 4 months is at your expense.

✈️ Government rules are only half the trip. Airlines set their own pet carriage rules (crate size, breed limits, seasonal embargoes). Re-confirm carriage with your airline after you meet the rules above.

Questions people ask about this route

Did Brexit change the rules for bringing a dog from France to Great Britain?

For the EU to Great Britain direction, no — the French foreign ministry states the conditions for non-commercial movement from the EU to Great Britain have not changed following Brexit, and GOV.UK still accepts an EU pet passport issued in France. What changed is the other direction: pets leaving Great Britain for the EU need an animal health certificate.

Does my dog need an animal health certificate (AHC)?

No. An AHC is issued in Great Britain for pets leaving Great Britain for the EU, and it can only be used to come back to Great Britain within 6 months. For a dog starting in France, the entry document is the EU pet passport issued in France — or, if there is no passport, a Great Britain pet health certificate.

Are any dog breeds banned?

Yes — it is illegal to own Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro and XL Bully types in the UK, and a banned type cannot be brought in unless it already has a valid Certificate of Exemption. 'Type' is judged by appearance, not by the breed name on the paperwork.

What if the paperwork is wrong?

Your dog can be quarantined for up to 4 months at your expense, or refused entry if it arrived by sea — and on ferry and Eurotunnel routes the check happens in France, so a problem usually means you do not board at all.

Related guides

✓ Last verified: 2026-11-12

Official sources for this page

We check each rule against the exporting country's official page and the destination country's official page. If the two disagree, we show the disagreement instead of guessing.

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