Taking Your Dog From the UK to France: Papers, Crossings and the Trip Home

France is the easiest foreign holiday a British dog can have. You can drive there in a morning, the dog stays with you or close to you for the crossing, and once you arrive you are in a country where a dog under a restaurant table is nothing unusual. What it takes is some paperwork before you go and one vet appointment before you come home, and both are simple once you know what they are. This guide sets out the whole trip in order, from the first visit to your vet to the drive off the ferry on the way back, using the rules as they stood on the British and French government websites in the autumn of 2026.

The Trip in Brief

Your dog needs three things to enter France: a microchip, a rabies vaccination given at least 21 days before you travel, and an animal health certificate issued by an official vet within ten days of your departure. You then cross by car, through the Channel Tunnel or on a ferry. Before you return, a vet in France must give your dog a tapeworm treatment between one and five days before you land back in Britain. If your dog is already chipped and vaccinated, a couple of weeks' notice is enough. If it has never had a rabies vaccination, allow at least a month, because of the wait after the injection.

The Breed Check Comes First

Before you spend anything on vets or ferries, check whether France will admit your dog at all. France divides certain dogs into two categories, and one of them cannot enter the country. According to the French government's rules, dogs of the pit bull type, the Boerboel type and the Tosa type that have no recognised pedigree fall into the first category, and bringing one into France is forbidden. Dogs in the second category, which covers pedigree American Staffordshire Terriers and Tosas, and Rottweilers with or without a pedigree, may enter but must be muzzled and on a lead in public places and on public transport.

The difference between the two categories is often a piece of paper. A pedigree American Staffordshire Terrier with its papers can visit France, and the same dog without them cannot. If your dog is one of these breeds, or a cross that could be taken for one, read the rules closely, carry the pedigree certificate with you, and pack a muzzle. Our guide to banned and restricted breeds by country explains the French system and how it compares with the British one. No health certificate will help a dog that falls into the first category.

The Paperwork

A pet passport issued in Britain is no longer valid for travel to the EU. In the words of the government's guidance, if you live in England, Scotland or Wales you cannot use a pet passport to enter the EU, even one that was issued in the EU. Your dog travels instead on an animal health certificate, and you need a new one for each trip. That is the single biggest change since Britain left the EU, and it is what makes each holiday a little more expensive than it used to be.

There are three steps, and their order matters. First comes the microchip, which must be in place before the rabies vaccination or on the same day, because a vaccination given to an unchipped dog does not count. Then comes the rabies vaccination, which your dog must be at least 12 weeks old to have, followed by a wait of at least 21 full days. Last comes the certificate, which must be issued within ten days of the day you enter France. Our guide to dog passports, health certificates and microchips explains each document in more detail.

The certificate has to be signed by an official vet, and not every practice has one, so ring round before you assume yours can do it. Prices vary a great deal from one practice to another, and some specialise in travel certificates and charge much less than a general practice, so it is worth asking two or three. Take your dog's vaccination record and proof of the date it was chipped to the appointment. Once you are in France, the same certificate is valid for six months for travel on to other EU countries and for your return to Britain, so a long trip or a tour needs only the one.

Getting Across the Channel

You cannot take a dog on the Eurostar from London, which carries assistance dogs only, and a dog flying into Britain on the way home must travel as cargo. So for almost everyone this is a journey by car. The choice is between the tunnel and the ferries, and the question to ask about each is where the dog will be during the crossing. Our guide to ferries and the Channel Tunnel compares all the operators, and what follows is the short version.

The Channel Tunnel is the simplest crossing for a dog. On LeShuttle you drive onto the train at Folkestone and your dog stays in the car with you for the 35 minutes to Calais. It costs from £24 each way per dog. You check in at the pet reception building, where the chip is scanned and the certificate checked, and the company asks you to arrive at least 90 minutes before departure. There are exercise areas at the terminal, so your dog can stretch its legs before you board. For a nervous dog, or in hot weather, the tunnel is well worth the extra over a ferry.

The short ferries from Dover are cheaper, but the dog stays alone in the car on the vehicle deck while you go upstairs, and you cannot go back down during the sailing. DFDS charges £15 per pet each way on its Dover routes. That is fine for most dogs on a cool day, with a window open a little and water left in the car, and it is not something to do in a heatwave. For Normandy and Brittany, Brittany Ferries has cabins where your dog stays with you and kennels on some ships, while on others the dog remains in the car. It requires a muzzle and lead whenever the dog is outside its cabin or kennel, and it does not take pets with foot passengers. DFDS also sails from Newhaven to Dieppe with kennels and pet cabins at £20 per pet each way. Whichever you choose, book the dog when you book yourself, because the cabins and kennels sell out months ahead in summer.

Once You Are in France

France is a comfortable country for a dog. Dogs are welcome in a great many cafés and restaurants at the owner's discretion, indoors as well as on the terrace, and it is polite to ask as you go in. Supermarkets and food shops do not admit them. Our guide to eating out with your dog explains how the rules differ from Britain's. On French trains, SNCF charges a fixed fare from 10 euros for a pet, and a dog that is not in a carrier must be on a lead and muzzled for the journey, which is one more reason to have a muzzle in the car.

Beaches are the thing to check before you set your heart on a resort. There is no national rule in France, and each town decides for itself. Many seaside towns close their main beaches to dogs through the summer, typically from June to September, and open them again out of season, so look at the town hall's website for the place you are staying. Our guide to dog friendly beaches explains how to check and what to watch for on the sand.

In the south, take parasites seriously. The sandflies that carry leishmaniosis and the ticks of the Mediterranean coast are not found in Britain, and your dog's usual flea and tick treatment may not protect against them. Speak to your vet at least a month before you go and say where in France you will be, because some protection has to be started before you arrive. Our guide to the illnesses dogs can pick up abroad sets out what is found where. In high summer, remember too that the south of France is far hotter than home, and plan your walks for early morning and evening.

The Trip Home

This is the step that catches people out. To come back into Great Britain, your dog needs a tapeworm treatment given by a vet no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 hours, which is five days, before you arrive. The vet records the product, the date and the time on your certificate. If the timing is wrong, the ferry company or LeShuttle can refuse to carry you, and you will be looking for a vet and a hotel in Calais.

So before you leave home, find a vet near where you will be staying in the last few days of the holiday and book the appointment. Most French vets are used to British visitors and know exactly what is needed. Brittany Ferries offers a useful warning, which is that many French vets are closed on Sundays and Mondays, and on public holidays, so count back from your crossing with care. A sailing on a Tuesday morning means an appointment on the Friday or Saturday before.

What It Costs

The fixed costs are the certificate, the crossing and the tapeworm appointment. The crossing for the dog is £48 return through the tunnel or £30 return on a DFDS ferry from Dover, on top of the fare for the car. The certificate is the largest item and depends entirely on your vet. The French vet's fee for the tapeworm treatment is usually modest. If you go to France more than once a year, the certificates add up, and one longer trip may make more sense than two short ones.

A Closing Thought

Leaving the EU made taking a dog to France dearer and fussier, and there is no pretending otherwise. But the steps are few and they do not change: chip, rabies vaccination, certificate within ten days, a crossing with the dog close by, and a vet in France before you sail home. Do them in order and the reward is the same as it ever was, which is a French holiday with your dog asleep under the table.