Pet travel questions, sorted.

The microchip must be implanted before the rabies vaccination, or the EU and many other destinations won’t recognise the vaccination. A dose given before the chip doesn’t count: the pet needs a fresh rabies vaccination after chipping, and the 21-day wait runs again from the new dose. Getting the order right the first time saves a repeat vaccination and another three-week wait.

Yes. The chip should meet the ISO 11784/11785 standard, which is what most vets fit as standard. If your pet has an older or non-standard chip, you can travel with a compatible scanner so the border can read it. The chip also needs to be in place before the rabies vaccination, since that order is what makes the vaccination count.

Only for the first vaccination. Boosters given before the previous dose expires don’t restart the clock, so the pet stays cleared to travel. The wait only restarts if a booster is given after the initial vaccine expired. In this case, it counts as a first vaccination again, and a new 21-day clock starts.

It depends on the destination. For the EU, the rabies vaccination can’t be given before 12 weeks of age, and the 21-day wait runs from there, so the earliest a pet can usually enter is around 15 weeks. Other countries set their own floor: the United States, for example, requires every dog to be at least six months old. A few EU countries allow very young or not-yet-immune pets under specific conditions, so it’s worth checking the exact rule for your route.

Not for stays under six months. The UK-issued AHC covers the return journey from the EU to the UK within that window. For longer stays in the EU, a GB Pet Health Certificate issued by an authorised EU vet covers the return leg.

Tapeworm treatment is required when entering the UK, Ireland, Finland, Malta, or Norway. A vet must administer it 24 to 120 hours before arrival and record it in the AHC or pet health certificate. It isn’t required to enter most other EU countries from the UK.

For example: a trip from the UK to the Netherlands needs no tapeworm step on the outbound leg, but the UK return leg does. In this case, a vet in the Netherlands needs to administer the treatment before returning to the UK.

Cats are exempt. The tapeworm (Echinococcus) treatment is required for dogs only, everywhere the rule applies, including the UK, Ireland, Finland, Malta, and Norway. Ferrets are exempt too. For dogs, a vet still needs to give it 24 to 120 hours before arrival and record it in the travel document.

Not since 22 April 2026. GB residents (England, Scotland, Wales) must now use an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) issued within 10 days of arrival in the EU, and a new AHC is required for each separate trip. EU pet passports remain valid for residents of EU member states; Northern Ireland residents are also unaffected.

An AHC must be issued within 10 days of your EU arrival date. Once you’ve entered the EU it remains valid for onward travel within the EU for six months, and it covers the return to Great Britain for the same six-month window.

When the destination, or the country you’re returning to, classifies your origin as ‘non-listed’, ‘non-designated’, or higher-risk for rabies, a blood titre test (FAVN or RNATT) is required. A waiting period of 90 to 180 days then applies between the test result and travel. The most common cases are returning to the UK from a non-listed country, or travelling to Australia, New Zealand, or Japan from outside their listed groups.

Only some do. A rabies blood test (FAVN or RNATT) is needed when you’re travelling from a country the destination treats as non-listed or higher-risk for rabies. Trips between listed countries, such as the UK and the EU, don’t need one. When a test is required, a waiting period of 90 to 180 days applies between the result and travel, so it’s the one step worth sorting early.

Yes. Every result includes a breed-restriction notice for the destination if one exists. Examples include the UK’s Dangerous Dogs Act list, Australia’s restricted-breeds list, and US state or city-specific ordinances. If you’ve entered a breed in the search form, it’s checked against those lists.

Partly. The busiest corridors are checked by hand and badged ‘Human-verified route’ on the result. For other routes the checklist is composed by an AI model with web search, constrained to first-party government domains only. Every result is checked against a strict format before it’s shown, and the official URLs the model consulted are listed at the bottom of the result. The AI gets you a working checklist, with the official sources linked, so you can confirm any step yourself. A check before you book your vet appointment is always recommended.

Each result is stamped with the date it was checked. AI-checked routes refresh when a search runs after the 30-day cache window. Human-verified routes are reviewed frequently. The date stamp tells you how fresh the check is. If it’s been a while, it’s worth a quick look at the official pages before you book your appointment.

Yes, the core service is free. You can search any covered route, see the full checklist with its timings and official sources, and get a timeline built around your own travel dates, all at no cost.

We’re also adding a low-cost Personal Travel Pack and an annual tier to help cover the running cost of the service. These will include extras, such as a printable, vet-ready PDF for your appointments, email reminders, and automatic route change notifications.

Yes. Every result has its own web address, so the Copy link button on the page gives you a link to bookmark for yourself or send to your vet or travelling companion. Open it again and the same checklist loads, with no account needed.

No account is needed, and the breed or name you enter stays in your browser rather than being saved against you. To keep results fast, we cache requirements at the route level, country to country, not by person. If you flag an error, we receive the two countries, the pet type, and your message so we can look into it.

No, PetCleared is an independent service. We read the official government sources, the export authority of the country you leave and the import authority of the one you enter, and turn them into a plain checklist with every step linked back to its source. The result is a clear guide to what those sources say, and it’s always worth a last look at them before you travel.

The search covers the countries in the dropdown, currently the most-travelled pet destinations across Europe, North America, and beyond. Within that list you can pair any origin with any destination, and the checklist pulls from the export authority of the origin and the import authority of the destination (APHA in the UK and the NVWA in the Netherlands, for example; the full authority list is on the methodology page). More countries are added over time, so if you don’t see yours yet, it’s likely on the way.

Not yet. PetCleared covers dogs and cats today. Ferrets, parrots, reptiles, and other animals follow different regulatory tracks, so they’ll be added later, once specific routes prove straightforward.

Permanent relocations and imports aren’t covered yet. PetCleared handles two cases today: personal travel, for owners with their own dog or cat, and commercial movement, for breeders, rescues, and transport agents. Long-term moves are on the map: they add customs, residency proofs, and import permits, so they’ll get their own tool in a later phase rather than a footnote here.