Taking Your Dog to France: Rules, Documents and Checklist
From the vet visit before you leave to the tapeworm jab before you sail home, every step of taking a dog to France explained in the order you'll need it.
France is in the EU, so a dog going from the UK follows the EU entry rules, and the old pet passport no longer works for GB residents. These rules were checked in October 2026, so confirm them on gov.uk before booking. This page covers the paperwork, the crossing itself, what happens when you land, France’s rules on certain dog types, and the tapeworm treatment for the trip home.
The documents your dog needs
Your dog needs an animal health certificate (AHC), issued by a vet before you go. Our guide to the animal health certificate explains how to get one and what it costs, and our page on what happened to the pet passport after Brexit covers the background.
An AHC is valid for 10 days from the day it’s issued for entry into the EU, so book the vet appointment with your crossing date in mind. Once you’ve entered, the same certificate covers onward travel in the EU and the trip back to Great Britain for four months.
Two things sit behind the certificate. Your dog must be microchipped, and the chip must be in place before the rabies vaccination that goes on the certificate. If your dog isn’t chipped yet, our page on dog microchipping covers getting it done, and you can register the microchip with us.
After the rabies vaccination there’s a wait of at least 21 full days before you can travel, counting from the day after the jab. That wait is the main reason to start early.
Crossing the Channel with your dog
On LeShuttle, all pets check in at the Pet Reception, and it asks you to arrive at least 90 minutes before your booked departure. Pet Reception is open 24 hours. In the UK you park and walk into the terminal; in France it’s a drive-thru. At check-in, staff confirm that your dog’s microchip number matches the number on the paperwork. Our pet travel costs page breaks down what the crossing costs.
DFDS takes dogs on its UK to France ferries, but only if they’re at least 16 weeks old. Vehicle passengers check in at the vehicle booths, where the chip is scanned and the documents checked, and priority boarding doesn’t apply when you’re travelling with a pet. If you’re travelling on foot, DFDS takes foot passengers with pets only on the Newhaven to Dieppe route. Ferry rules change, so check DFDS’s current pet policy when you book.
Arriving in France
French customs say pets arriving from the UK go through documentary and identity checks on arrival, and you must declare and present your dog to customs yourself. There’s no appointment to book and nothing to send in advance: you simply present yourself to customs on arrival with the documents.
French customs also confirm that the rabies antibody blood test doesn’t apply to dogs coming from the UK. Guide and assistance dogs get no exemption either: they must meet the same EU rules as any other dog.
Dogs France restricts
Most dogs are unaffected, but check before you book if your dog is a bull type or a large guard breed. France’s agriculture ministry splits certain dogs into two categories.
Category 1 covers dogs of American Staffordshire terrier type (sometimes called “pit-bulls”), Mastiff type (“boerbulls”) and Tosa type. “Type” here means the dog resembles the breed but isn’t registered in a recognised pedigree book. Category 1 dogs cannot be imported into France at all, and that ban includes passing through in transit.
Category 2 covers pedigree American Staffordshire terriers, pedigree Rottweilers, Rottweiler-type dogs with or without a pedigree, and pedigree Tosas. These dogs can enter France, but in public they must be muzzled and on a lead held by an adult. The conditions for visitors include a French aptitude certificate, a behavioural assessment, liability insurance and a local permit. The ministry’s own summary says these requirements make it extremely difficult for foreign nationals to bring these dogs for short periods.
The ministry notes that Staffordshire bull terriers are a different breed and are not category dogs. If your dog has no pedigree but looks like a category 1 type, get a vet’s signed attestation before you travel, translated into French where needed. It should state the dog is not in a dangerous category, and you must be able to show it to French police on request.
Tapeworm treatment before you come home
Going out is easy on this one. Tapeworm treatment is only required for dogs entering Finland, Ireland, Malta, Northern Ireland and Norway, so France doesn’t ask for it. Coming home is different. Great Britain requires tapeworm treatment for dogs returning from most countries, including France. A vet must give the treatment no less than 24 hours and no more than 5 days (120 hours) before you arrive back in GB.
For a short trip, your own vet can treat your dog before you leave if you’ll be back within 5 days. Wait 24 hours before travelling, then get back within 120 hours of the treatment. Otherwise, book a vet in France a day or two before your crossing and have them record the treatment on the certificate.Common questions
What if we stay in France for longer?
Stays of under three months are excepted from registration in France’s national identification file. Beyond that, French law says an imported dog must be registered in the file within seven days. A vet does this by checking the existing chip and entering it in the file. Rules on longer stays can change, so check with your vet in France when you arrive.
What if my dog goes missing in France?
France’s national file, I-CAD, has online “Déclarer mon animal perdu” and “Déclarer un animal trouvé” routes, though the site is in French only. I-CAD says declaring the loss to the file is important. A person not yet registered in it can ask for a temporary registration of their contact details. Email [email protected] with your full name, postal address and the animal’s ID number. A UK chip your dog already carries doesn’t need replacing as long as a French reader can read it.
Make sure your dog’s chip record shows your current details before you set off. Register a pet.
