Relocating a dog or cat between France and Belgium: paperwork and organisation

At a glance

Belgium → France

Bringing a pet from Belgium to France

Between two Member States, the EU rules for non-commercial movements apply. A dog or cat living in Belgium enters France with:

• Its EU pet passport, issued in Belgium, where its owner habitually lives, and signed by the owner.
• Valid identification and rabies vaccination, recorded in the passport.
• No other health formality: titre tests, health certificates, tapeworm treatment and designated points of entry do not apply to movements between Member States.

Up to five pets can travel in one vehicle. If the pet is not travelling with its owner, the person accompanying it needs the owner's signed written authorisation, and the trip must take place within five days before or after the owner's.

French rules on dogs

After arrival: I-CAD

Unless the stay is shorter than three months, a dog, cat or ferret arriving from another Member State must be recorded in the French national identification database (I-CAD) within seven days. The vet transfers the details from the passport. A microchip implanted in Belgium is kept as long as an ISO-standard reader can read it. For cats, see also bringing a cat to France.

France → Belgium

Moving to Belgium with a dog or cat

At the Belgian border, a microchipped, rabies-vaccinated pet with its EU passport needs nothing else to enter. DogID and CatID, Belgium's identification databases for dogs and cats, point out that the EU passport is compulsory for travel. Belgium does not accept animals too young to be validly vaccinated.

Registration within 8 days: three Regions, three sets of rules

In Belgium, identifying and registering dogs and cats is a matter for the Regions. Dogs go into DogID and cats into CatID, and only a vet can register them. The deadline is 8 days after arrival everywhere, and stays of less than six months are exempt, but each Region words the exemption differently:

For a dog arriving from abroad, DogID asks you to book a vet, who does the registration. For a cat, CatID says the Belgian vet first checks that the microchip number matches the one in the passport. The Walloon rules are Walloon Government orders of 25 January 2024, in force since 1 June 2024.

Cats: neutering within 30 days in all three Regions

Cats must be neutered in Wallonia, Flanders and Brussels, and each Region covers the case of a cat that arrives unneutered:

• Wallonia: a cat over 5 months old brought into Wallonia must be neutered within 30 days of arriving.
• Flanders: an unneutered cat from abroad must be neutered before it turns 5 months if it is younger, or within 30 days of arrival if it is older. Cats born before 31 August 2014 are exempt unless they are sold or given away.
• Brussels: a cat that is over 5 months old when it arrives in the Region must be neutered within 30 days.

None of the three Regions' official pages says whether this applies to a temporary stay, so for a stay of a few months we check with the Region concerned. If you are moving for good, plan the operation with a Belgian vet in the first month, or have it done in France before you leave if you prefer. See also moving abroad with a cat.

Flanders: fold-ear cats

Since 1 October 2021, breeding and trading cats with folded ears, such as the Scottish Fold and Highland Fold, has been banned in Flanders. The Flemish government says an owner may keep such a cat but may not sell it or give it away, even for free. Its page does not cover a family arriving with one, so if your cat is a fold breed we check this before the move, as we do for the other Regions.

Brussels: tattooed dogs

A dog from abroad identified only by a tattoo must be re-identified with a microchip to be registered in Brussels. If your dog still has a pre-2011 tattoo and no chip, have one implanted before you leave: it saves an extra step on arrival.

Cropped ears and docked tails

Brussels has banned cosmetic amputations since 2001. An animal that has undergone a banned procedure cannot be sold or entered in shows or competitions, even if the procedure was carried out in a country where it is allowed. The Bruxelles Environnement page does not ban such animals from entering or being kept, so a dog with cropped ears can move to Brussels with its family; it just cannot be shown there.

Local rules

We were not able to verify Belgian municipal rules on particular dog breeds. If you have any doubt about your dog's breed, we ask the commune you are moving to before the move.

Identification and vaccination

In both directions, the pet must be identified with an ISO-standard microchip (or a clearly readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011) and then vaccinated against rabies. Microchip first, vaccine afterwards (or on the same day). The primary vaccination must be at least 21 days old on the day of travel; a booster given before the previous vaccine expired is valid immediately.

Puppies and kittens: neither France nor Belgium accepts animals too young to be validly vaccinated. The rabies vaccine can be given from 12 weeks, plus the 21-day wait: in practice, a pet cannot cross the border before about 15 weeks of age, in either direction.

Documents to prepare

• From France: the pet's EU passport with a valid rabies vaccination. After arrival, the Belgian vet uses it for registration.
• For a cat neutered before departure: we recommend bringing the neutering certificate from your French vet.
• From Belgium: the EU passport issued in Belgium. For a category 2 dog, its pedigree registration papers (except for the Rottweiler type) for the keeping permit.
• Authorised person: if the pet is not travelling with its owner, the owner's signed written authorisation, attached to the passport.
• In Brussels, for a formerly tattooed dog: the new microchip entry in the passport.

Rabies antibody titre test

It is not required in either direction: titre tests do not apply to movements between Member States. It may become necessary, however, if your pet stayed in an unlisted non-EU country before coming to France or Belgium: the rules of that country of origin then apply. See bringing a pet into France.

Typical timeline

1. Check the Region and commune as soon as you know the address

   Wallonia, Flanders or Brussels: the wording of the short-stay exemption and the local rules on dogs depend on it.

2. Microchip and rabies vaccine at least 21 days before departure

   No need to repeat anything if the vaccination is up to date and recorded in the passport.

3. Book a Belgian vet before the move

   We recommend booking the appointment before your moving date so the 8-day deadline is met, and planning the neutering of a cat that has not been neutered yet.

4. Travel

   Up to five pets per vehicle, with the owner or an authorised person.

5. After arrival 8 days (registration in Belgium) · 30 days (cat neutering) · 7 days (I-CAD in France)

   In Belgium, DogID or CatID registration and neutering of a cat over 5 months; in France, I-CAD registration for stays of three months or more.

Ways to travel

By car, there are no formalities attached to the vehicle itself: the rules only limit a movement to five pets in one vehicle.

On Eurostar, as of 4 November 2026, pets are welcome on trains between France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, except between Lille and Brussels. A pet under 6 kg travels free in a cage or carrier of up to 45 × 30 × 25 cm; a larger dog pays a €30 "dog" fare to the Train Manager and travels on a lead and muzzled. Dangerous dogs are not allowed.

On the TGV between Brussels and France, SNCB's conditions of carriage accept dogs on a lead and muzzled, and small animals under 6 kg in a container of up to 45 × 30 × 25 cm, with no more than two animals per passenger; animals considered dangerous are refused. SNCB and SNCF Connect quote different fares for the pet, and SNCF Connect gives Eurostar carrier dimensions that differ from Eurostar's own, so we check the conditions and fare of the train you book.

By air, each airline sets its own conditions (cabin or hold, minimum age, crate), which we check at booking time.

Border crossings, stations and airports

Between two Member States, there is no required point of entry: the designated points of entry and systematic document checks apply to arrivals from non-EU countries. Any road crossing or station will do, in either direction. The documents must still be in order and can be checked, so keep the passport to hand. For a journey that starts or ends with a long-haul flight, see airports in France.

What affects the cost

On this route, cost depends mainly on what is left to do at the vet (microchip, vaccine, passport update, neutering a cat), the steps after arrival (registration in Belgium, I-CAD in France) and how the pet travels: your own car, the train (€30 for a large dog on Eurostar as of 4 November 2026, an operator price) or transport arranged through a partner, subject to availability.

In Wallonia, the registration fee in force from 1 January 2026 is €6.05 for a cat, and €10.89 (electronic registration) or €13.31 (paper) for a dog. For Brussels and Flanders we check the current amount; I-CAD fees are set by the body that runs it. Our quote lists each item separately. See pricing.

Common mistakes

• Missing the 8-day registration in Belgium for want of a vet appointment.
• Assuming only Brussels requires cats to be neutered: Wallonia and Flanders also require a cat over 5 months to be neutered within 30 days of arrival.
• Booking a Eurostar between Lille and Brussels with a pet: that leg does not take them.
• Planning to show a cropped dog in Brussels, wherever the cropping was done.
• Forgetting I-CAD when moving back to France after several years in Belgium, or a mastiff-type dog's French category.

Frequently asked questions

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