The EU has a new pet travel law. These are the dates that matter.

1. 21 APR 2026The last day Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 applied to pet travel.
2. 22 APR 2026The current rules apply: Part VI of the Animal Health Law and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131.
3. 12 JUN 2026The regulation that adds Montenegro and Serbia to the EU’s list of countries is published.
4. 01 OCT 2026A health certificate on the old model is still accepted only if it was issued before this day.
5. 31 MAR 2027The last day an old-model health certificate is accepted at all.
6. 01 JAN 2028Microchip codes start with a country code and titer test reports carry a verification code. An old-model passport issued before this day stays valid.

Which law applies now

The EU’s Animal Health Law, Regulation (EU) 2016/429, has a part of its own for travelling with pets. It left the older regulation in place for a few more years and then ended it:

Since 22 April 2026 the rules are spread over four main texts, with some of the detail in annexes of older regulations that are quoted further down:

• Regulation (EU) 2016/429, Part VI: the framework, including the limit of five pets and the points of entry.
• Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131: the requirements themselves, from the microchip to the health certificate.
• Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636: the two lists of countries and territories outside the EU.
• Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/705: the model passport, health certificate and declarations.

A guide, an airline page or a vet’s handout that cites 576/2013 for travel into the EU was written for the rules before these.

The titer test: count to the certificate, not to the flight

For a pet coming from a country that is on neither EU list, the rabies antibody titer test decides the calendar. Thailand to Germany with a cat is one such route. The annex that sets the test says when the blood sample may be taken:

The 90 days run to the day the health certificate is issued, not to the day you land. And the certificate is a late document:

So the order is fixed: the vaccination, at least 30 days, the blood sample, at least 90 days, the certificate, and entry within the next 10 days. For an adult pet starting from nothing, our checklist puts the whole preparation at about 18 weeks.

A passing result is kept for later trips as long as every booster is given on time. In the words of the same annex, the test does

Great Britain is a separate set of rules and counts differently. Its guidance tells owners:

If your trip ends in Great Britain and not in the EU, plan with that wording: the Great Britain guide has the full list.

Leaving the EU and coming back

A pet that lives in the EU and travels on an EU pet passport does not wait on the way home, provided the test was done before it left. The regulation lets it in when

If you plan a stay in a country that is on neither list, have the blood test done and written into the passport before you leave. Without it the way back is the certificate route above, with its 90 days.

The passport itself is for people who live in the EU. The Commission puts it this way:

For owners who live in Great Britain the Commission is explicit:

Old documents: two cut-off dates

The new regulation on model documents keeps the old health certificate alive for a while:

Read both dates. A certificate on the old form is covered only if it was issued before 1 October 2026, and that day has passed, so a certificate written now has to be on the current model. Ask the vet or the authority that issues yours which form they use.

Passports are given longer:

An EU pet passport your pet already holds does not have to be replaced because the model changed.

From 1 January 2028

Two requirements carry a later start date. The first is about the code a microchip displays, which

The second is about the laboratory report of the titer test:

Montenegro and Serbia are on the list

The EU keeps two lists of countries and territories outside the Union. A pet that comes straight from a listed country where its owner lives needs no titer test. In 2026 the second list grew, by a regulation

It is dated 12 June 2026. Our checklist puts the preparation for an adult pet from a listed country at about 4 weeks, against about 18 weeks from an unlisted one. Where the pet has been on the way matters: a stay in an unlisted country can bring the titer test back. Serbia to Germany with a dog shows the conditions.

What to do with this

• Coming from an unlisted country: fix the day the certificate will be issued first, then count back 90 days for the blood sample and 30 more for the vaccination. Check a flight date for your own route.
• Living in the EU and leaving for a while: get the titer test into the passport before you go.
• Holding paperwork on an old model: check its date of issue against the two cut-offs above.

Whatever the route, confirm with the veterinary authority of the Member State you enter and with your airline before you travel. Changes the authorities announce are logged on the rule changes list.