EU Pet Passport for Your Dog: How to Get One, What's in It and When You Need It

The short answer: the EU pet passport (in Dutch: hondenpaspoort or dierenpaspoort) is the blue booklet your dog needs to travel between EU countries. Only a vet can issue it. Before your dog can travel, it needs a microchip, a rabies vaccination and 21 days of waiting. Here's how it works in the Netherlands, checked September 2026 on the official EU, RVO, NVWA and GOV.UK pages.

What is the EU pet passport?

It's a standard EU identity document for pet dogs, cats and ferrets. It shows who your dog is, who owns it and which vaccinations and treatments it has had. Border staff, airlines and ferry companies check it when you travel.

  • Who issues it: only a vet. The vet checks the chip first, fills in the details and signs it, and you sign it too.
  • Where: in the EU country where you normally live.
  • How long it's valid: the booklet itself has no expiry date. What matters is that the rabies vaccination inside it is still valid.
  • Old passports: passports issued before the new EU rules of 22 April 2026 stay valid.

What's in it

  • Your dog's name, date of birth, breed, sex, colour and markings
  • The microchip number, where it sits and the date it was placed
  • Your name and contact details, and the vet's
  • The rabies vaccination: date, vaccine and how long it's valid
  • Tapeworm treatment and other health treatments, when needed

Step by step: from puppy to first trip

  1. Microchip. The chip always comes first (or on the same day as the vaccination), never after.
  2. Rabies vaccination from 12 weeks old.
  3. Wait 21 days after the first vaccination. Only then can your dog travel.
  4. Keep boosters on time. A booster given before the old vaccination expires is valid straight away. A late booster counts as a new first vaccination, so the 21 days start again.

That's why a puppy can't cross the border before it's about 15 weeks old. Some EU countries make an exception for younger puppies, but the Netherlands doesn't: a dog must be at least 15 weeks old to come into the Netherlands.

Getting the passport in the Netherlands

  • Chipping and registration are compulsory for every dog. Puppies must be chipped and have a passport by 7 weeks old, and be registered within a week of chipping.
  • Buying a dog? It must already have a chip, a registration and a passport when you collect it. Report it in a registration portal within 2 weeks.
  • UBN number: a vet can only issue a passport if you, as owner, have a UBN (location number) from RVO. You apply once with DigiD; RVO charges €23.02 for this in 2026.
  • Cost of the passport: there's no official price. Your vet sets it, and registration portals charge their own fees.
  • Imported a dog? Take it to a vet within 14 days of arrival; only a vet can report the import.

Lost the passport?

Go to your vet with your UBN. The vet applies for a replacement passport and makes the old one unusable if it turns up.

When the passport alone isn't enough

  • Finland, Ireland, Malta, Norway and Northern Ireland: a vet must treat your dog against tapeworm 24 to 120 hours (1 to 5 days) before you arrive, and write it in the passport.
  • Great Britain: your EU passport is accepted, but you also need the tapeworm treatment 1 to 5 days before arrival, and you must use an approved ferry, train or flight. Read how to take your dog to the UK.
  • Countries outside the EU: the rules of the destination apply. That can mean a health certificate, extra tests or an import permit. Check with the country's embassy and the NVWA before you book.
  • Coming back to the EU from a non-EU country: depending on the country, your dog may need a rabies blood test. Have that test done before you leave the EU: then your passport and a valid vaccination are enough to come home. Otherwise there's a 90-day wait after the blood test.

Good to know

  • Max 5 pets per trip, unless you travel to a competition or show with animals over 6 months old and can prove you're registered.
  • Chips from 2028: new chip numbers will start with the country code. Older chips stay valid.

Ready to fly?

Our free Dog Flight Checker checks the papers with you and shows which of 27 airlines take your dog in the cabin or the hold. Flying in the hold? Work out the right kennel with the kennel size calculator.

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Airline guides: KLM · Transavia · TUI · Vueling · all 27 airlines compared.

Sources: EU Delegated Regulation 2026/131 and Your Europe; RVO (identification and registration of dogs); NVWA (travelling with your pet); GOV.UK (bringing your pet to Great Britain). Checked September 2026. Rules change, so always check with your vet and the NVWA before you travel.

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