How Do I Get a Pet Passport? Steps by Country and Document Type

How do I get a pet passport? A pet passport is the European Union’s standard travel ID for dogs, cats, and ferrets, issued by an authorised veterinarian to EU-resident owners after microchipping and rabies vaccination. As of September 2026, Great Britain residents usually need an Animal Health Certificate for EU entry instead, and the United States does not issue pet passports. Steps differ by residence; biometric livestock ID is separate.

Searchers asking how do I get a pet passport are almost always seeking a government travel document under the EU pet movement rules (often still called the PETS scheme in everyday language). That document is not the same product as the digital muzzle-biometric identity system published by Animal Passport. Below, rules are drawn from primary government sources and dated for September 2026.

What is a European pet passport?

A European pet passport is an identification document that follows an EU standard model and is mandatory for travel between EU countries for dogs, cats, and ferrets. According to the European Commission’s Your Europe portal (last checked September 2026), it records the animal’s description, microchip or eligible tattoo code, rabies and other health records, and contact details for the owner and the issuing veterinarian. It is issued only to pet owners who are resident in the European Union.

Your Europe states that a pet passport remains valid for life provided the animal’s health information—especially anti-rabies vaccination—stays in date. Passports issued in certain listed non-EU territories (for example Andorra, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, and others named on the Your Europe page) can also support entry to the EU or Northern Ireland under the conditions set out there.

How do I get a pet passport if I live in the EU?

If your main residence is in an EU Member State (or Northern Ireland for EU-aligned pet movement), the practical path is veterinary, not online self-issue.

1. Confirm species eligibility. European pet passports cover dogs, cats, and ferrets only. Your Europe’s FAQ (last checked September 2026) confirms other pets such as guinea pigs are not covered; national rules apply instead.
2. Microchip first. The animal must be microchipped to EU technical requirements, or have a clearly readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011, as summarised by Your Europe.
3. Rabies vaccination after identification. An authorised veterinarian must vaccinate against rabies only after (or with) compliant identification. The pet must be at least 12 weeks old for the first or primary vaccination. After that primary course, you must usually wait at least 21 days before travel so immunity can develop, Your Europe notes.
4. Ask an authorised veterinarian to issue the passport. Your Europe says any authorised vet permitted by national authorities to issue pet passports can provide one. Keep boosters timely; a late booster can restart waiting periods as a new primary vaccination.
5. Add tapeworm treatment when required. For dogs travelling to Finland, Ireland, Malta, Norway, or Northern Ireland, Your Europe requires treatment against Echinococcus multilocularis between 24 and 120 hours (1–5 days) before travel, recorded in the passport or certificate.

Enter the destination through a designated travellers’ point of entry when travelling from outside the EU, and expect identity and document checks. Your Europe warns that non-compliant animals may be returned, quarantined, or—if neither option is possible—euthanised.

Great Britain residents: Animal Health Certificate, not an EU pet passport

As of September 2026, owners in England, Scotland, and Wales should not rely on an EU pet passport to enter the European Union. GOV.UK guidance on taking a pet dog, cat, or ferret abroad states that if you live in England, Scotland, or Wales you cannot use a pet passport to enter the EU—even if it was issued in the EU—and that using a passport instead of an Animal Health Certificate may lead to refused entry. Northern Ireland residents can still enter the EU using an EU pet passport under the same GOV.UK page.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) news story published 21 April 2026 explains that from Wednesday 22 April 2026, new EU rules apply to non-commercial movements of pet dogs, cats, and ferrets entering the EU from Great Britain. That notice says EU pet passports may now only be issued to people whose main home is in the EU, should not be used by people who only have holiday homes or visit seasonally, and that passports issued to GB residents before 22 April 2026 may no longer be valid for EU entry. Defra and APHA advise GB residents to obtain an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) for travel from Great Britain to an EU country.

Steps to get an Animal Health Certificate from Great Britain

1. Microchip before or with the rabies vaccine. GOV.UK requires microchipping before or at the same time as rabies vaccination; otherwise the pet must be vaccinated again.
2. Complete rabies vaccination timing. The pet must be at least 12 weeks old at vaccination. Waiting time before travel depends on the vaccine used and is at least 21 full days after the first vaccination (or the last of the first course), according to GOV.UK.
3. Book an official veterinarian (OV). GOV.UK’s page on getting an animal health certificate says the certificate must be signed by an official veterinarian. Ask whether your practice can issue AHCs; if not, ask for an OV referral.
4. Bring proof of microchip date and vaccination history to the appointment, as GOV.UK instructs.
5. Travel inside the entry window. After issue, GOV.UK states the AHC is valid for 10 days for entry into the EU; for 6 months for onward travel within the EU after entry; and for 6 months for re-entry to Great Britain—provided rabies vaccination does not expire mid-trip. You need a new AHC for each separate trip from Great Britain to the EU. Up to five pets can share one certificate under the GOV.UK AHC guidance.
6. Sign the non-commercial declaration confirming you will not sell or re-home the pet while abroad, which GOV.UK says the vet will provide with the certificate.
7. Check tapeworm and destination extras on GOV.UK and the destination country’s rules before departure.

Defra and APHA (April 2026) also note a five-pet limit per private vehicle for non-commercial EU entry (exceptions for competitions, events, or training when conditions are met), and that if someone else travels with the pet, the animal must travel within five days of the owner with written permission accompanying the travel document.

United States: no pet passport—health certificates and CDC forms

If you are asking how do I get a pet passport from the United States, the short official answer is that you cannot. The United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS), in its pet-travel FAQ (last modified 12 January 2026), states that because pet entry requirements vary by country, the United States does not issue pet passports for international travel. Instead, USDA APHIS issues (or endorses) health certificates confirming the pet meets the destination country’s requirements and any transit-country rules.

USDA APHIS advises contacting a USDA-accredited veterinarian as soon as travel is planned. That veterinarian issues the health certificate; when the destination requires endorsement, USDA APHIS reviews and endorses it after the accredited veterinarian issues it. Timing can range from a few weeks to many months depending on destination requirements, USDA APHIS notes.

Separately, dogs entering or returning to the United States must meet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) import rules. CDC’s dog importation FAQ (updated 27 August 2026) states that all dogs entering or returning to the United States must be accompanied by a CDC Dog Import Form receipt. For dogs that have been only in dog rabies-free or low-risk countries in the six months before entry, CDC’s low-risk page (published 22 July 2024; rules described as applying from 1 August 2024) says that form is the only CDC documentation required, that the form is free, and that each dog needs its own form. Dogs must also appear healthy, be at least six months old at entry, and have a microchip detectable with a universal scanner, according to CDC.

Airlines and destination ministries may add kennel, breed, or timing rules beyond these federal documents. Always verify carrier policies and the destination country’s current entry page before booking.

EU pet passport vs Animal Health Certificate vs US health certificate

How Animal Passport differs from government pet travel papers

Readers who land on livestock-identity content while searching how do I get a pet passport should treat the two systems as separate categories. Government pet passports and certificates prove legal fitness for cross-border companion-animal movement. Animal Passport is a digital animal and livestock passport that uses muzzle biometrics—the nose print, unique like a fingerprint—captured on a phone. The record can bind owner, breed, estimated age, body condition, and vaccination history. Age can be estimated from a dental photograph with a confidence score, and body condition scored 1–5 from a side-profile photo.

Field use has included livestock flood rescue in Pakistan in August 2025, when farmers needed a way to reclaim animals after paper tags washed away. That operational story is about durable identity when physical tags fail—not about boarding an aircraft under EU Regulation pet-movement rules. For more product explainers, see the publisher’s Animal Passport blogs. Animal Passport does not replace an EU pet passport, a Great Britain Animal Health Certificate, a USDA APHIS export health certificate, or a CDC Dog Import Form, and it is not veterinary diagnosis or legal advice.

Practical timeline before you travel

• EU residents seeking a first passport: allow time for microchip, primary rabies vaccination, and the minimum 21-day wait Your Europe describes after primary vaccination, plus any tapeworm window.
• GB residents heading to the EU: complete rabies timing first, then book an OV so the AHC is issued within the 10-day entry window on GOV.UK.
• US residents exporting a pet: start with a USDA-accredited veterinarian early; USDA APHIS notes the process can take weeks to months.
• Anyone returning a dog to the United States: complete the CDC Dog Import Form and confirm whether the prior six months were only low-risk countries or included high-risk countries with extra documentation.

When official sources disagree—for example between older secondary blogs that still tell GB owners to “use your EU passport” and Defra/APHA’s April 2026 notice—prefer the government page dated closest to your travel date. As of September 2026, Your Europe, GOV.UK, USDA APHIS, and CDC are the authorities cited above.

Checklist: answering “how do I get a pet passport” in one view

1. Identify your residence and destination (EU internal, GB→EU, US export, US import).
2. Confirm species (passport rules focus on dogs, cats, ferrets).
3. Complete identification and rabies steps in the correct order.
4. Obtain the correct document type for that route from an authorised or official veterinarian—or USDA APHIS–linked process in the United States.
5. Add destination-specific treatments (for example tapeworm) and airline rules.
6. Keep digital backups of certificates and form receipts at the border.
7. Do not substitute a commercial biometric livestock ID product for border veterinary paperwork.

Published by Animal Passport · Last updated September 2026. Always re-check Your Europe, GOV.UK, USDA APHIS, and CDC immediately before travel; entry rules change.