Travel documents for your dog: passport, chip and vaccination by country
Chip, rabies vaccination and the EU pet passport sorted for Belgium and the Netherlands, plus the rules for other countries.
To cross a border with your dog inside the EU, you need a valid EU pet passport, a working chip fitted before or at the same time as the rabies vaccination, and a valid rabies vaccination. Allow for a waiting period of at least 21 days after the first vaccination before you can travel. Sort this out well in advance with your vet, not in the last week before departure. Don’t have a regular vet yet? See choosing a vet: what should you look for. If you’re heading further than the EU (to the United Kingdom, Norway or beyond), each country adds its own documents and extra steps.
This article gives general information based on official sources (the European Commission, NVWA, RVO, gov.uk, and the Finnish and Swiss food safety authorities). Pet travel rules change regularly, especially for non-EU destinations, always confirm your specific trip with your vet or the official source for that country, shortly before departure.
The EU pet passport
The European pet passport is the standard document that lets you travel within the EU with your dog, and it’s also recognised in Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The passport holds your dog’s identification details (linked to the chip) and an overview of vaccinations, in particular the mandatory rabies vaccination. Only an authorised vet may issue it, and that same vet keeps it updated during follow-up vaccinations and any worming treatments required for specific destinations. See also chipping and registering in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Important to remember: the passport itself is valid for life, but the vaccinations recorded in it have an expiry date. An expired rabies vaccination in an otherwise valid passport still makes the document unusable at the border.
Lost your passport, or taken on a dog that already has one?
Have you lost your dog’s passport, or are you taking on a dog, through adoption, from a breeder or a private seller, that’s already chipped and registered? Either way, visit a vet. They’ll scan the chip, look up the registration and vaccination history in the national database using the chip number (DogID in Belgium, the RVO portal in the Netherlands), and can issue a new passport on that basis. Without a valid, readable chip number this won’t work, so it’s especially important that your dog’s registration is kept up to date, particularly after a move or change of ownership. See also chipping and registering in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Chip before vaccination: the order matters
The chip must be fitted before or at the same time as the rabies vaccination, and your dog must be at least 12 weeks old at the time of that vaccination. A vaccination given before the chip doesn’t count towards the travel document and will need to be repeated. This is a common mistake among people who assume the order doesn’t matter, or who already had a puppy vaccinated before the chipping appointment.
Waiting period after the first rabies vaccination
After the first rabies vaccination, a waiting period of at least 21 full days applies within the EU (and in most countries beyond it, such as the United Kingdom and Switzerland) before your dog can travel. So plan your trip well ahead, especially with a young dog still due its first rabies shot. With a timely revaccination (before the previous vaccination expires), this waiting period doesn’t apply again.
Sorted in practice: Belgium and the Netherlands
The EU baseline rules above apply in both countries, but how you actually arrange the chip, registration and passport differs per country.
Belgium: via DogID
In Belgium, everything runs through DogID, the joint dog registration platform of the three regions. Every dog older than 8 weeks must be chipped and registered there; puppies can already be chipped from 6 weeks. Your vet fits the chip, registers your dog with DogID and issues the EU pet passport on that basis. Budget a total for chip, registration and passport together that at most practices falls somewhere between €25 and €50. Ask your own vet for a current quote, since DogID itself doesn’t publish a fixed rate and prices vary by practice. More detail on the full registration requirement is in chipping and registering in Belgium and the Netherlands.
The Netherlands: via RVO and your vet
In the Netherlands, oversight sits with the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), while the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) manages the registration. As a private dog owner, you first apply for a Unique Business Number (UBN) (needed even if you’re not a breeder or a business) after which your vet uses it to apply for the EU passport and links the chip to your UBN in the RVO system. On cost: the one-off UBN application costs €23.02 in 2026, and the passport itself costs around €12 on top of the chip and consultation costs at your vet. Check rvo.nl for current rates, as these are adjusted annually.
Travelling outside the EU
Once you leave the EU, no uniform rules apply any more. Every country outside the Union sets its own document, waiting period and extra treatment requirements. Some countries closely follow the EU rules in practice (such as Norway and Switzerland), others have built a completely separate system (such as the United States), or have changed significantly in recent years (such as the United Kingdom after Brexit). The overview below covers the destinations where we could confirm the rules with sufficient certainty from official sources. For any other country: check with that country’s embassy or consulate, or with your vet, well before departure. Never invent or extrapolate a rule yourself based on a neighbouring country: the differences often sit exactly in the details (waiting periods, age limits, mandatory treatments).
United Kingdom: a separate track since Brexit
Since Brexit, the United Kingdom has become a “third country” for pet travel, and the rules have already been adjusted several times since. For you as a Belgian or Dutch dog owner travelling to Great Britain, gov.uk sets out these steps:
- Chip before rabies vaccination, just as within the EU.
- Wait at least 21 full days after the first rabies vaccination before arrival.
- A tapeworm treatment with a product based on praziquantel (or a proven equally effective alternative), given by a vet no less than 24 hours and no more than 5 days before arrival in Great Britain.
- A valid travel document: an EU pet passport issued in an EU country is enough for this, as an EU resident you don’t need to have an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) drawn up, and the passport remains usable for future trips.
- An approved route and carrier: not every ferry, Eurotunnel or flight connection is approved for pets, so check this with your carrier before booking.
- A travel declaration confirming the move is non-commercial, which you usually arrange together with your carrier.
Note the reverse direction: since 22 April 2026, an EU passport issued in Great Britain is no longer valid for British residents travelling to the EU, they now need an Animal Health Certificate, issued fresh for every trip by an official vet within 10 days before departure. That doesn’t in principle affect your trip as a Belgian or Dutch traveller to the UK, but it is the reason you’ll regularly come across confusing or contradictory information online about “AHC required.” So always check the current gov.uk pages shortly before departure, this dossier still changes regularly, in both directions.
Scandinavia: usually just the EU, with one exception
Sweden and Denmark are EU member states: the ordinary EU pet passport and standard rules (chip, rabies vaccination, 21-day waiting period) are sufficient there, with no extra tapeworm treatment.
Finland is also an EU member state, but it’s an exception: the country is officially free of the fox tapeworm (Echinococcus multilocularis) and wants to keep it that way. So a vet must treat your dog with a praziquantel-based product between 24 and 120 hours (1 to 5 days) before arrival, and record this in the passport. If you’re travelling to Finland directly from Norway, Ireland or Malta, this requirement doesn’t apply, for a trip from Belgium or the Netherlands, it does. (Source: Ruokavirasto)
Norway: not an EU country, but the same basics, plus the fox tapeworm
Norway isn’t an EU member state, but through the EEA cooperation, essentially the same basic rules apply as within the EU: the EU pet passport is recognised, and a chip plus a valid rabies vaccination are mandatory. Like Finland, Norway is free of the fox tapeworm, so the same mandatory treatment applies here too: a vet gives your dog a praziquantel treatment 24 to 120 hours before arrival and records the date and time in the passport. This is one of the stricter arrangements within Europe. Confirm the details (including any age limits) with your vet shortly before departure. (Source: NVWA)
Switzerland: not an EU country, but the EU passport works
Switzerland isn’t an EU member state, but it simply recognises the EU pet passport, similar to Norway, then, though without the tapeworm requirement. Your dog must be chipped before the rabies vaccination, and after a first vaccination the same waiting period of at least 21 days applies (which lapses with a timely annual revaccination). A tapeworm treatment isn’t required for Switzerland, as the country isn’t classed as a fox-tapeworm-free area the way Finland and Norway are. Two particular, less obvious rules do apply, though: a maximum of five dogs per person crossing the border, and an import ban on dogs with cropped ears or a docked tail. If you’re travelling with more than five dogs (for example, as a breeder), separate commercial rules apply. (Source: BLV)
Further afield: the United States as a contrast
Looking beyond Europe shows just how strict and Europe-specific the rules above really are. Since August 2024, the United States has worked with a completely separate system via the CDC: every dog must be at least 6 months old, chipped before the rabies vaccination, and a CDC Dog Import Form must be submitted in advance, between 2 and 15 days before arrival. Whether your dog also counts as “high-risk” (with additional requirements such as a titer test (blood test) or even quarantine) depends on the current CDC classification of the country of departure, and that classification can change. That falls outside the scope of this article; check the rules for your specific situation well in advance directly via cdc.gov, as this US system differs sharply from the European one and leaves little room for last-minute improvisation.
Practical tips
- Arrange the passport and vaccination schedule at least a few weeks, preferably months, before departure, especially for destinations requiring a tapeworm treatment, where the time window is only a few days wide.
- Always carry the passport physically with you while travelling, together with any extra documents for non-EU destinations.
- Check whether your carrier (train, plane, ferry) has specific transport conditions alongside the general travel documents, for the United Kingdom, only approved routes and carriers apply as well.
- Some EU countries (such as Finland, Ireland, Malta and Northern Ireland) require a separate tapeworm treatment, just like Norway and the United Kingdom. Check this specifically for your destination and plan the 24-to-120-hour window before arrival carefully.
- Keep a copy (photo or scan) of the passport and all certificates separate from the original, in case you lose it along the way.
For more on the practical side of travelling (car, train, border), see travelling with your dog: car, train and crossing the border.
Frequently asked questions
Does my dog need to be chipped before the rabies vaccination? Yes, across the whole EU (and in most neighbouring countries) the chip must be fitted before or at the same time as the rabies vaccination. If it happens in the wrong order, the vaccination doesn’t count towards the travel document and has to be given again.
How long do I need to wait after the first rabies vaccination? At least 21 full days within the EU, the United Kingdom and most neighbouring countries. With a timely revaccination (before the previous shot expires), that waiting period doesn’t apply again. Confirm the exact term for your dog with your vet.
Is the EU pet passport valid for every country? Within the EU, yes, and it’s also recognised in Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. For the United Kingdom it’s usually enough too, as long as you as the owner live in the EU, but for destinations further afield such as the US, completely different systems apply.
Where do I apply for the passport? At an authorised vet, who also fits the chip and registers the vaccinations, in Belgium linked to DogID, in the Netherlands to an RVO-approved registration portal and your UBN.
What does chipping, registering and a passport cost in Belgium and the Netherlands? In the Netherlands you pay a one-off UBN application (€23.02 in 2026) plus around €12 for the passport itself; in Belgium the total price for chip, registration and passport usually falls somewhere between €25 and €50. Check the current price with your own vet, since rates vary and are regularly adjusted.
Is my Belgian or Dutch EU passport enough for the United Kingdom? Yes, as an owner living in the EU, you can travel to Great Britain with an EU passport (alongside chip, rabies vaccination and a timely tapeworm treatment). That’s not the same rule as for British owners travelling to the EU: since April 2026 they do need a separate Animal Health Certificate. Check gov.uk shortly before departure, as these rules have changed several times since Brexit.
Does my dog need a tapeworm treatment for Scandinavia or Norway? Not for Sweden and Denmark; yes for Finland and Norway, there, a vet has to treat your dog against the fox tapeworm 24 to 120 hours before arrival and note this in the passport.