Leaving France with a dog or cat: the steps on the French side

Two very different situations

To another EU country

A dog or cat that lives in France travels within the EU on its EU pet passport, issued in France because its owner lives there. It needs a microchip (or a readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011) and a valid rabies vaccination, given at 12 weeks or older and at least 21 days earlier if it is a primary vaccination. No titre test, no certificate, no border formalities.

• Dogs going to Finland, Ireland, Malta, Northern Ireland or Norway: tapeworm (Echinococcus multilocularis) treatment by a vet between 24 and 120 hours before arrival, recorded in the passport.
• Five pets at most per movement, in a single vehicle (unless it is public transport), with the owner or with someone the owner has authorised in writing.
• Breeds: some countries keep their own lists of banned or restricted breeds; check the one for the country, and sometimes the region, where you will live.

For a first passport, a lost one or one that needs updating, see the EU pet passport explained; for country-by-country travel rules, travelling in the EU with a pet.

Outside the EU: each country sets its own conditions

EU law sets no rules for a pet leaving for a non-EU country: the 2026 regulations cover only entry into the Union and movements within it. So the destination's authorities decide everything: minimum age, vaccinations, titre test and accepted laboratories, parasite treatments, import permit, quarantine, banned breeds, arrival airport, mode of transport and the certificate model.

These conditions change often and are not symmetrical: a country that treats France as rabies-controlled can be very strict on other points, and vice versa. We reread them on the destination authority's official website for every file.

The steps in France

1. Read the destination's requirements as soon as the destination is known

   On the website of the country's veterinary authority, and in the public Expadon 2 portal (see below). This is what sets the timetable: some countries require a titre test done six months before arrival, or a permit obtained weeks in advance.

2. The vet work often 3 to 6 months ahead

   Your vet, authorised by the state, implants or checks the microchip, gives the vaccinations, takes the blood sample for the titre test if required, gives the treatments and does the final clinical exam, then fills in the destination's certificate. The Paris DDPP advises seeing an authorised vet three to six months before the trip, because some tests take time.

3. Official certification depending on the country

   When the destination requires an official vet's signature, the certificate is endorsed by the state veterinary services: the departmental directorate for the protection of populations (DDPP or DDETSPP) for the département where the pet lives. In Paris, the DDPP takes appointment requests online, at least 15 days before departure. Elsewhere, lead times are not published: we check them with the directorate concerned.

4. The journey booking rules vary by airline

   Cabin, hold or cargo depending on the pet's weight, the airline and the destination: several countries only accept pets as cargo. See pet air cargo and airline crates.

Expadon 2: certificate models

Expadon 2 is France's export certification system (Ministry of Agriculture and FranceAgriMer). The old Exp@don site closed on 30 December 2025. Its Information and Communication portal is public: without an account, the advanced search gives access to export certificate models by country. Online certification is not yet open to "live animals": for a dog or cat, the portal is where you look up models and requirements, not where you apply.

Do the titre test in France before leaving

Many destinations require a rabies antibody titre test themselves (Japan, Singapore, the UAE, Australia and New Zealand, among others). But even where they do not, doing it in France before departure can save you a three-month wait on the way back.

To come back into the EU from an unlisted country (China, South Korea, Türkiye, Thailand, Morocco…), a titre test is compulsory, and the blood sample normally has to be at least 90 days old. That wait does not apply if the test was done in the EU before departure, with a favourable result recorded in the passport by the vet. The French Ministry of Agriculture advises leaving the EU only with a pet that is identified, validly vaccinated and titre-tested, and starting the process at least three months before departure.

• Approved laboratories in France (Ministry of Agriculture list of 20 November 2025): Anses in Nancy (rabies and wildlife laboratory), the Haute-Garonne departmental laboratory in Launaguet, and Inovalys in Le Mans.
• Blood sample at least 30 days after the primary vaccination; result of at least 0.5 IU/ml.
• Validity in the EU: the result stays valid as long as rabies boosters are given on time. Destinations often set their own validity (two years in Japan, one year in the UAE, for example).

Timings, laboratories and pitfalls: rabies vaccine and titre test.

Coming back to France on the French passport

A pet that lives in France can re-enter the EU on its EU pet passport, without a health certificate, if the passport shows that before leaving the EU:

• it was vaccinated against rabies, and that vaccination is still valid on the day it returns;
• for a return from an unlisted country, it had a favourable titre test (in which case there is no three-month wait).

From an Annex I or Annex II country (UK, USA, Japan…), no titre test is needed: the passport with a valid vaccination is enough. Arriving from any non-EU country outside Annex I, the pet still goes through a designated point of entry and the customs check.

Settling abroad for good: if you move your residence outside the EU, your pet will be treated as coming from that country when it returns, on a health certificate rather than the passport. The return rules are set out in bringing a pet into France.

What some destinations ask for

These examples summarise the authorities' official pages as read on 19 October 2026. They show how far apart destinations are; they do not replace the check we make for your departure date.

Our destination guides

For each country whose rules we have checked with the authorities, a guide covers both directions of travel. For any other destination, tell us about your plans: we check feasibility before any quote.

For organising the journey itself: moving abroad with your dog and moving abroad with your cat. For a month-by-month plan, see moving abroad with your dog: the timeline; for Great Britain, moving a pet from France to the UK.

Frequently asked questions

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