Animal Health Certificates (AHCs) – Your Ticket for Pet Travel
An Animal Health Certificate (AHC) is essential for taking your dog, cat, or ferret from the UK to the EU. Issued by an Official Veterinarian (OV), it must be obtained within 10 days before your departure.
This certificate is valid for a single trip to the EU, and up to 5 pets can be included on the same AHC, provided they are not travelling for commercial purposes.
Animal Health Certificates (AHCs) replace Pet Passports for non-commercial movements of pet dogs, cats and ferrets to the European Union. They are also required for non-commercial movements to Northern Ireland.
To use an Animal Health Certificate for travel to the EU or Northern Ireland, your pet must either be travelling with you or must travel within five days of your departure. If this is not the case, then different export documentation will be required.
Your pet must have received a valid rabies vaccination at least 21 days prior to the date of travel, and the AHC is valid for a single entry into the EU or Northern Ireland within 10 days of signing.
Requirements for an AHC:
- Your pet(s) must be microchipped.
- A valid rabies vaccination is administered at least 21 days before the AHC can be issued.
Introduced in January 2021 after Brexit, AHCs have replaced GB-issued pet passports.
Important Notes:
- AHCs are only for dogs, cats, and ferrets travelling to the EU, Switzerland, or Norway.
- A different type of certificate is required for other species or travel destinations outside the EU, Switzerland, or Norway.
My Home Vet Animal Health Certificate Packages
- Animal Health Certificate £98.00
- Animal Health Certificate plus rabies vaccines (two separate visits ) £169.00
- Animal Health Certificate per additional pet (up to 5) £30.00
- Urgent Animal Health Certificates (less than 10 days notice) £198.00
- Rabies vaccine alone £79.00
- Repeat Animal Health Certificate (exact details as previous and location) £68.00
Delivery
- Collection from office (BD4) FOC
- Home delivery available for an additional fee
Animal Health Certificate (AHC) FAQs
What are the requirements to get an Animal Health Certificate?
Your pet needs to have been microchipped and had a rabies vaccination. The vaccination must have been administered at least 21 days before your appointment to get the AHC, and you will need a document showing proof of the vaccination. The rabies vaccination does not have to be administered by the vet that issues the AHC—any vet can administer the rabies vaccination.
Proof of rabies document can be a vaccination card, a vaccination certificate, an old pet passport, or your pet’s clinical history from your vet.
The routine, annual vaccinations are not required to travel to the EU, however we would advise keeping these up to date anyway.
How long does it take to get an Animal Health Certificate?
Please book an appointment with us as soon as possible—the appointment must take place within 10 days of your travel date. Booking as far in advance as possible is advised.
You must wait 21 days following the rabies vaccination before we can issue an AHC (unless it was a booster rabies vaccination given before the previous rabies vaccination had expired).
1. Check your pet is eligible
2. Book an appointment – at least 21 days after your pet’s rabies vaccination and within 10 days of your travel date.
3. Complete our pre-appointment form
4. Ask your vet practice that administered the rabies vaccination to email us your pet’s clinical history.
What else do I need to do before I travel?
If you are taking a dog directly to Ireland, Northern Ireland, Finland, Norway or Malta, your dog needs a tapeworm treatment administered by a vet between 24 and 120 hours (1 and 5 days) before arriving in the country. Here at My Home Vet, we are able to administer and record this tapeworm treatment in the AHC at the AHC appointment as long as you let us know in advance. The cost for this is £20.
If you are taking a dog to any other country in the EU, then you do not need anything else before you travel other than the Animal Health Certificate.
If you’re taking a cat or ferret, you need nothing besides the AHC.
What do I need to do before I return to the UK?
You will need to take dogs to a vet in the EU between 1 and 5 days (24 and 120 hours) before you are due to arrive back in the UK for the vet to administer tapeworm treatment and record this in the AHC. When you arrive back in the UK, you will be asked to show the AHC (with the tapeworm treatment recorded) at the border.
The above does not apply to dogs travelling directly from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Finland, Norway or Malta, as the dog will already have tapeworm treatment before going out.
There are no additional requirements for cats or ferrets to return to the UK. You will need to show the Animal Health Certificate at the border when you return.
How long is the Animal Health Certificate valid for?
You have 10 days from the day the Animal Health Certificate is issued to enter the EU, with day 1 being the date of issue.
The Animal Health Certificate is valid for 4 months of onward travel within the EU or until the rabies vaccination expires, whichever date is earlier. However, if you leave the EU (for example, to return to the UK), you would need another AHC to re-enter.
Your pet will not need to have a repeat rabies vaccination each time as long as it is up to date.
How much does an Animal Health Certificate cost?
For our standard AHC service (i.e. more than 10 days’ notice), we charge £98 for the first pet plus £30 per additional pet. We do not charge a consulting fee.
What if I’m not travelling with my pet?
If you are not travelling with your pet you can still be issued an Animal Health Certificate provided you are due to be reunited with your pet within 5 days of their travel date.
If your pet is travelling alone with a pet transport company, you must provide details of the transport company to your vet before the AHC appointment takes place. You must be reunited with your pet within 5 days of their departure date, and the pet transport company will need to carry documentation that proves this (e.g. a flight booking confirmation).
If your pet is travelling with a named friend or family member, then you will need to provide us with a written declaration that you are happy for the named person to travel with your pet (this is part of the pre-questionnaire). You must be reunited with your pet within 5 days of their departure date, and the named person travelling with your pet must carry documentation that proves this (e.g. a flight booking confirmation).
If you are not going to be reunited with your pet within 5 days of their travel date, or if the move is a commercial move (i.e., a change of ownership), you would need an Export Health Certificate instead.
What if I want to take more than 5 pets?
A maximum of 5 pets are allowed on an Animal Health Certificate. You can take more than 5 pets to the EU if you are attending or training for a competition, sporting event or show. You would need to show written evidence of registration for the event to the official veterinarian who is issuing the certificate.
Most UK ports do not allow more than 5 pets per vehicle, so check with the relevant port before travelling if you are taking more than 5 pets.
Can I get an AHC online or via post?
No, it is prohibited to issue an AHC online via post, as the Official Veterinarian issuing the document has to physically scan the pet’s microchip.
I have a pet passport, can I use it?
If you have a GB-issued pet passport, it is no longer valid; you would need an Animal Health Certificate instead.
If you have an EU-issued pet passport, these are valid provided the latest rabies vaccination was administered by an EU vet and is still in date. If the rabies vaccination has lapsed, or a UK vet administered the rabies vaccination, then this would not be valid, and an AHC would be needed instead.
How long do rabies vaccinations last for?
Rabies vaccination validity periods differ by the vaccine manufacturer and the country where it was administered.
If your pet’s rabies vaccination was administered in the UK using the brands Nobivac, Canigen, or Versiguard, it is valid for 3 years from the date it was administered. If the brand was Rabisin, it is only valid for 1 year unless it was a booster Rabisin rabies vaccination (i.e., administered before the previous Rabisin vaccination had expired), valid for 3 years.
If your pet’s rabies vaccination was administered in the EU, it is most likely valid for one year only, regardless of which brand it was administered.
If you are unsure whether your pet’s rabies vaccination is still current, contact your vet practice; they should have it on their record.
Is a dog health certificate, pet health certificate or pet travel certificate the same as an Animal Health Certificate?
Health certificates are a broad term referring to a certificate issued by a veterinarian certifying that an animal is safe to travel abroad.
Dogs, cats, and ferrets must have an “Animal Health Certificate” to travel to the EU non-commercially.
An “Export Health Certificate” is needed for dogs, cats, ferrets, and most other animals to travel outside the EU or to the EU on a commercial basis.
Airlines or travel companies sometimes require a Fit to Fly / Travel Certificate to certify that the pet is healthy enough to travel.
Dog health certificates, cat health certificates, pet health certificates, and pet travel certificates are all general terms that could relate to any of the above.
