Dog A-Z > P > Pet Travel Scheme (PETS)

Pet Travel Scheme (AKA PETS, Pet Passports)

If you are planning to take your pet abroad and return without having to put him into quarantine, then you will need to meet the conditions laid out under the Pet Travel Scheme. The PETS is run by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). For the most up to date details and an information pack, please contact the PETS helpline on 0870 241 1710 or visit www.defra.gov.uk

The basic rules that you have to follow are:

• Your dog has to be microchipped.

• After microchipping, your dog must be vaccinated against rabies.

• After about 30 days your Vet will take a blood sample from your dog and send it off to test whether the vaccine has worked.

• If it has worked, your Local Veterinary Inspector (LVI) can then issue your PETS certificate.

• Your PETS certificate will then become valid (which means that you can bring your dog into the UK from an approved country) 6 months after the successful blood test result.

This means that you will need to leave at least 7 months from the rabies vaccination until you plan to come back into the UK from abroad.

• You must also treat your dog for parasites (certain ticks and a tapeworm) 24 to 48 hours before re-entering the UK.

You will be charged for each of these steps by a Vet, but it is still significantly cheaper than putting a dog through quarantine and certainly considerably kinder.

Please also see:

Where and how

Practical considerations