The EU rules for the non-commercial movement of pets have today, Wednesday, been updated to reinforce pet safety and health by integrating them into the animal health law framework, according to a European Commission press release.
The update will also help pet owners and national authorities apply the rules by clarifying them and learning from Member States' practical implementation experience.
Situation today
Under the current rules, pet dogs, cats and ferrets can travel with their owners to another EU Member State, or into the EU from a non-EU country, if they comply with certain requirements. For example, pets must be vaccinated against rabies and, when travelling from a non-EU country, have undergone a rabies antibody test.
Owners must ensure their pets also have a valid European pet passport when travelling from an EU country or Northern Ireland to another EU country or Northern Ireland, and if they travel from a non-EU country, they must have a valid EU animal health certificate.
What’s changed
The updated rules clarify that a maximum of five pet animals is permitted per vehicle, explain the conditions that must be met when transiting pets through the EU from one non-EU country to another, and outline the procedures to be followed if a pet is refused entry by a non-EU country and is returned to the EU.
The updated rules also strengthen the requirements when it comes to identifying pets. In particular, the new rules outline what information identification documents must contain, such as the code of the country of origin of the pet.
While most of the new requirements apply from today, some changes will be introduced in a phased approach. For example, the new animal health certificates must be used from 1 October 2026, while the new ID requirements and updated passports will only become mandatory from 1 January 2028.
More detailed information on the new requirements can be found on the European Commission website.