Driving to France with a Dog: What You Need to Know

We just drove to France with our dog Dexter, an 11-year-old whippet-cross-collie, and the paperwork was the thing we were most anxious about beforehand. It turned out to be manageable, as long as you start early and do it in the right order. Here’s exactly how it went.

The paperwork: the Animal Health Certificate (AHC)

Since Brexit, the old GB pet passport no longer works; you need an Animal Health Certificate. The legal requirements are a microchip and an in-date rabies vaccination (given at least 21 days before travel); before that we also made sure Dexter’s kennel cough and general shots were current. A good rule is to leave plenty of validity on them; if a vaccination has only a few months left, top it up so it’s fresh, much like renewing a passport. Then book the AHC, which must be issued by an official vet within 10 days of travel.

Book it as early as you can. Ours cost about £250 through our own vet, partly because they already had all of Dexter’s records, which made the whole thing easier. You can find it cheaper, as little as £60 elsewhere, so it’s worth shopping around if cost matters more than convenience.

The crossing with a dog (Le Shuttle)

We took Le Shuttle so Dexter could stay in the car with us the whole way. There’s a pet check at the Folkestone Pet Reception (microchip and AHC), and a pet exercise area to use before boarding. Keep water in the car. If your dog gets anxious, a covered crate with towels helps, but Dexter is very good in the car and mostly slept on his dog bed.

Dog-friendly accommodation

Every place we stayed was happily dog-friendly: Airbnbs and, especially, the B&B Hotels chain dotted around France. We had no issues anywhere.

Getting home: the tapeworm treatment (don’t forget this)

This is the one people get caught out by. To bring your dog back into GB, a vet in France must give a tapeworm treatment and record it 1 to 5 days before you arrive home. We pre-booked a French vet for this, and it cost about €60. The vets spoke English, checked Dexter’s AHC, gave him a quick check-over and the tapeworm pill (you can give it there or with his next meal). Book this appointment before you leave the UK so it isn’t a scramble at the end of the trip.

And don’t forget the car

The dog paperwork is the big one, but the car needs its own admin too, including a Crit’Air sticker for any French city with a low-emission zone. It’s £7 and lasts the life of the vehicle. See our full France road trip write-up, or check your car’s Crit’Air category. For the reference version of the pet rules, see Taking a Dog to France.