Bringing a pet to United Kingdom (Great Britain)

• Microchip your pet (ISO 11784/11785)Must be implanted before the rabies vaccination, or the vaccine is not recognised.
• Rabies vaccinationPet must be at least 12 weeks old. Valid 21 days after the primary dose.
• Rabies antibody (titer) test — required from some origin countriesThe rabies antibody blood test must show a successful vaccination (verbatim 'rabies antibody level of at least 0.5 IU/ml'); blood must be drawn 'at least 30 days after' the rabies vaccination; from the blood-draw date you must 'wait 3 months' before entry. If you were vaccinated, blood-tested and documented in the EU before travelling to the unlisted country, the 3-month wait is waived.
• Official health certificate (Depends on where you depart from: from the EU you can use an EU pet passport or a GB-issued Animal Health Certificate (AHC) valid for 6 months from the date you first entered the EU or a country that accepts AHCs; from any country you can use a Great Britain pet health certificate (must be signed and stamped by an official vet (OV); entry within 10 days of issue); a GB-issued pet passport issued before 2021-01-01 is still valid for entry.)Endorsed by Official Veterinarian (OV); GB pet health certificate, verbatim 'must be signed, stamped and dated by an official veterinarian'. Enter within 10 days of endorsement.
• Tapeworm treatmentOnly dogs need tapeworm treatment, and it is required every time you enter GB (verbatim 'A vet must treat your dog for tapeworm every time you want to bring it to Great Britain'); the window is 'no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 hours (5 days)' before entry; it must contain praziquantel or an equivalent active ingredient effective against Echinococcus multilocularis. Pets entering directly from Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta or Norway are exempt. Cats do not need it (by inference — the tapeworm requirement is dogs-only).
• Check breed restrictionsSome breeds are banned or restricted — see the breed rules section.
• Travel through an approved point of entryThe mechanism (APHA-approved carriers/routes only; to England or Scotland; none to Wales; not needed within the UK or from Ireland) is confirmed verbatim by gov.uk (captured 2026-07-19). The itemised list of approved routes/transport companies is in a downloadable gov.uk publication 'Pet travel: approved air, sea, rail and charter routes' that changes seasonally, so check it for your specific route.

1. 1
   Before vaccination
   Microchip

   Implant the ISO microchip first — the rabies vaccine only counts once the pet is chipped.

2. 2
   Day 0
   Rabies vaccination

   Pet must be at least 12 weeks old.

3. 3
   After 21 days
   Rabies vaccine becomes valid

   Earliest eligible entry date for listed / low-risk origin countries.

4. 4
   Unlisted origins only
   Rabies antibody titer test + waiting period

   The rabies antibody blood test must show a successful vaccination (verbatim 'rabies antibody level of at least 0.5 IU/ml'); blood must be drawn 'at least 30 days after' the rabies vaccination; from the blood-draw date you must 'wait 3 months' before entry. If you were vaccinated, blood-tested and documented in the EU before travelling to the unlisted country, the 3-month wait is waived.

5. 5
   ≤ 10 days before entry
   Health certificate issued and endorsed

   Endorsed by Official Veterinarian (OV); GB pet health certificate, verbatim 'must be signed, stamped and dated by an official veterinarian'.

6. 6
   Arrival
   Entry checks at an approved point

   No routine quarantine when all requirements are met.

⚠Some fees not publishedTo be confirmed: gov.uk does not publish a fixed government fee for the AHC or the GB pet health certificate (charged by the issuing vet/OV, amounts vary); the costs of non-compliant quarantine/return are borne by the owner (verbatim). Domestic registration: a dog must be microchipped and registered before it is 8 weeks old (verbatim 'must be microchipped and registered by the time they're 8 weeks old'); for cats this is mandatory in England only, microchipped before 20 weeks (mandatory since 2024; the exact date is not on the tier-1 page); failure to comply is fined up to £500. (The start year of 'dog microchipping mandatory since 2016' is not on that tier-1 page, so it is marked .)

Banned: Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, XL Bully

Under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, the banned types (verbatim list) are: Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, XL Bully; whether a dog is banned is judged 'on how it looks rather than its breed or name'. XL Bully: you may only keep one with a valid Certificate of Exemption (verbatim 'You cannot own an XL Bully dog unless your dog has a valid Certificate of Exemption.'). The XL Bully timelines differ by jurisdiction (BSL is domestic law with different effective dates, and exemption certificates are not recognised across jurisdictions): England & Wales — it is a criminal offence to own or possess an XL Bully dog in England and Wales without a valid Certificate of Exemption; the exemption-application window has closed and new exemptions can only be authorised by a court order (historical background: breeding/selling/advertising/gifting/exchanging/abandoning was banned and public leashing + muzzling required from 2023-12-31, and the ownership offence took effect 2024-02-01). Scotland — under The Dangerous Dogs (Designated Types) (Scotland) Order 2024, from 2024-02-23 a dog must be leashed and muzzled in public and selling/gifting/exchanging is banned; it is a criminal offence to keep an XL Bully without a Certificate of Exemption (ownership offence from 2024-08-01), punishable by a fine of up to £5,000, up to 6 months in prison, or both. Northern Ireland — from 2025-01-01 owning one without a Certificate of Exemption is an offence. The exemption-application window has closed in all three jurisdictions (new exemptions only by court order).