🇫🇷Country requirements

France pet travel requirements

France applies the EU rules for dogs, cats and ferrets and adds a few of its own: a dog from outside the EU needs at least one adult tooth, category 1 attack dogs are banned, and you must show your pet to customs when you arrive from outside the EU. Rabbits follow French rules: a vet certificate and a parasite treatment. At most 5 pets per owner.

Latest check recorded: Nov 12, 2026Source: European Commission (DG SANTE) By the CollarPass team
Pet

Browse destination requirements by pet. Conditions can differ by origin, travel history and entry option.

This free guide includes the checked information and official links we have for this pet. Personal travel reports are available for dogs and cats only.

Pet travel at a glance — free

Start with the destination's requirements for this pet. Documents and preparation vary by origin and other conditions; read the full guidance and any unverified details below.

Preparation lead times

  • Within the 40 days before departure
  • Valid for 10 days from the signature; we count the signing day as day 1
Full preparation requirements

Which pets can enter

  • Dog: Depends on the conditions below
  • Cat: Requirements listed below
  • Rabbit: Some requirements need confirmation
  • Ferret: Requirements listed below
Read species and route restrictions

Details to confirm with the authority

These information gaps concern specific cases. Read their conditions and linked official sources before relying on them.

The Ministry’s June 2020 EU-origin leaflet recommends a health document issued in the 5 days before departure. An older instruction with mandatory wording is officially marked repealed. Current binding national paperwork conditions for this EU-origin rabbit journey have not been freshly established, so confirm them with the French authority; neither the historical advice nor the repealed instruction proves a current mandatory certificate or an exemption.

Rabbits · Departure countries/regions: AT, BE, BG, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GR, HR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK

Source: French Ministry of Agriculture · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Source: French Ministry of Agriculture official bulletin · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Entering France

Reference requirements for this pet. Read each item's conditions: different origins, histories and entry options can require different steps. Each item links to its official source and check date.

Before you travel

1

Treat the rabbit for internal and external parasites

A vet treats the rabbit at least once against internal and external parasites in the 40 days before it leaves. The date and the products go on the vet certificate.

Rabbits · Except when all of these apply: (Departure countries/regions: AT, BE, BG, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GR, HR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK)

Source: French Ministry of Agriculture (DGAL), published by French Customs · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: French Ministry of Agriculture (DGAL), published by French Customs · Checked Nov 12, 2026

2

Vet certificate for a pet rabbit (valid 10 days)

A practising vet examines the rabbit and signs France's accompanying document for pet rabbits and rodents (French and English model in Annex IV of the DGAL note). It says the rabbit is healthy and fit to travel and records the parasite treatment. It's valid for 10 days from the vet's signature.

Rabbits · Except when all of these apply: (Departure countries/regions: AT, BE, BG, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GR, HR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK)

You also give the vet a declaration that the rabbit won't be in contact with animals of a lower health status before it leaves.

The accompanying document must be stamped and signed by the veterinary practitioner in a colour different from the printed text. The owner must declare that the rabbit will not contact animals of a lower health status before dispatch.

Accompanying document for pet rabbits, rodents and other small pets from outside the EU (DGAL note, Annex IV, French and English)

Source: French Ministry of Agriculture (DGAL), published by French Customs · Checked Nov 12, 2026

3

Give the vet the rabbit owner’s health-status declaration

Give the veterinary practitioner a declaration that, until dispatch to France, the rabbit will not come into contact with animals whose health status is not equivalent. The vet records receipt of this declaration in the bilingual accompanying document. This is additional to the non-commercial travel declaration.

Rabbits · Except when all of these apply: (Departure countries/regions: AT, BE, BG, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GR, HR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK)

Source: French Ministry of Agriculture (DGAL), published by French Customs · Checked Nov 12, 2026

4

Recommended veterinary health document for an EU-origin rabbit

The French Ministry’s June 2020 EU-origin travel leaflet recommends that pet rabbits be accompanied by a veterinary certificate issued in the 5 days before departure, confirming good health and no clinical signs of disease specific to the species. They must not be intended for sale. The leaflet uses advisory wording; this dataset does not turn that recommendation into a mandatory certificate requirement.

Rabbits · Departure countries/regions: AT, BE, BG, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GR, HR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK

The leaflet uses “il est souhaitable” (recommended). Do not present its 5-day wording as a compulsory deadline. Current binding national conditions have not been freshly confirmed in this dataset.

Source: French Ministry of Agriculture · Checked Nov 12, 2026

On arrival

1

Show the rabbit to French customs on arrival

Pets of any species from outside the EU are checked by customs. Present the rabbit and its vet certificate when you arrive.

Rabbits · Except when all of these apply: (Departure countries/regions: AT, BE, BG, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GR, HR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK)

Source: French Ministry of Agriculture (DGAL), published by French Customs · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: French Ministry of Agriculture (DGAL), published by French Customs · Checked Nov 12, 2026

How many pets can you bring?

Caps recorded for France can depend on the species, origin and entry conditions. Your airline can set a lower limit.

Per entry: 5

LeShuttle: at most 5 pets per vehicle, travelling with their owners

Entry points: fr.port.channel-tunnel

Source: LeShuttle (Getlink / Eurotunnel) · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Official forms and documents

Links go to the issuing authority. We do not sell, fill in or issue official documents.

Accompanying document for pet rabbits, rodents and other small pets from outside the EU (DGAL note, Annex IV, French and English)Official page · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Open the official page to download or complete the form. Requirements can change; confirm with the authority before you travel.

Official sources

Every rule above is checked against these pages. Dates show our last check, not the page's own update.

Recent rule changes

Sourced entries that affect this country.

Checked Great Britain export guidance for seven EU destinations and the USA: added AHC issuance and declarations, state-specific US certificate checks, and explicit rabbit/ferret paperwork gaps.

All rule updates

Expanded destination-specific pet requirements, including origin-country branches, young-animal exemptions, official documents and entry options. Known unverified details remain clearly marked; free country summaries and personal trip reports use the same rules.

All rule updates