What is an Animal Health Certificate (AHC)?
An Animal Health Certificate (AHC) is an official veterinary document that allows dogs, cats, and ferrets to travel from Great Britain to the EU (and certain neighbouring countries) as non-commercial pets.
It confirms that your pet is microchipped, vaccinated against rabies, and meets the current entry requirements for your destination. Most travellers need an AHC for each trip, and it must be issued by an Official Veterinarian (OV) shortly before you travel.
What you’ll need (quick checklist) ✅
To prepare your AHC, please have:
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Your travel date and destination country
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Your pet’s rabies vaccination record/certificate
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Your pet’s microchip number (and proof it was scanned at the last rabies vaccination)
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The passport name and details of the person travelling with the pet
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Any previous travel documents (if relevant)
If anything doesn’t match exactly (names, spellings, dates), we’ll flag it early — helping you avoid last-minute stress before you travel.