The number that decides a France trip is 90 — the days between a rabies antibody result of at least 0.5 IU/ml and the day you land. Book the blood draw before you book the flight. The science here is simpler than it sounds: one microchip, one vaccination, one titre, strictly in that order. Pixel makes friends with every customs officer, and she still travels on a certificate valid for exactly ten days.

Bringing a pet to France requires three documents in the right order: a microchip, a rabies vaccine within the destination's wait window, and a government-endorsed health certificate. The table below lays out exactly what's required, what's not, and where each rule comes from.

How France handles your pet

Key points

  • What happens at the border: pets arriving from outside the EU are presented at a designated travellers' point of entry, where the competent authorities carry out a documentary and identity check — "At the time of entry, you must contact the competent authorities present there, who will check your pet's documents and identity." (europa.eu)
  • If those checks fail: "it may be returned to the country of departure, be placed in quarantine until such time as it complies with EU health rules or if neither of these options are possible, the animal may be euthanised." (europa.eu)
  • Four of France's designated air entry points open seasonally only; check yours if you are travelling outside the summer schedule

Downloadable forms

Each fact comes straight from the operator’s published policy. Tap the to read the exact wording; the opens the source page.

Health & documents

Microchip · Required Yesverified 2026-08-28
Microchip · StandardISO 11784 (HDX or FDX-B technology) or Annex A of ISO 11785verified 2026-08-28
Microchip · Tattoo accepted Yesverified 2026-08-28
Microchip · Must be done before vaccination Yesverified 2026-07-15
Quarantine · Typenone_if_compliantverified 2026-09-01
Quarantine · Required Noverified 2026-09-01
Quarantine · Approved facility required Noverified 2026-09-01
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Required Yesverified 2026-07-14
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Approved labs list
  • https://food.ec.europa.eu/animals/movement-pets/designated-laboratories-performing-rabies-antibody-titration-tests_en
verified 2026-09-01
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Minimum level iu ml0.5verified 2026-07-31
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Test validity monthsValid for the animal's lifetime, provided the rabies vaccination is kept continuously valid monthsverified 2026-09-01
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Approved laboratory required Yesverified 2026-07-15
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Waiting period after test days90 daysverified 2026-08-26
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Test must follow vaccination days30 daysverified 2026-08-20
Import permit · Required Noverified 2026-09-01
Flea treatment · Required Noverified 2026-09-01
Heartworm test · Required Noverified 2026-09-01
Tick treatment · Required Noverified 2026-09-01
Health certificate · Issueran official veterinarianverified 2026-08-26
Health certificate · Required Yesverified 2026-08-28
Health certificate · Endorsed byofficial veterinarianverified 2026-07-15
Health certificate · Validity days10 daysverified 2026-08-28
Health certificate · Original required Yesverified 2026-08-28
Health certificate · Bilingual required Yesverified 2026-09-01
Health certificate · Government endorsed Yesverified 2026-08-28
Other vaccinations · Distemper Noverified 2026-09-01
Other vaccinations · Adenovirus Noverified 2026-09-01
Other vaccinations · Bordetella Noverified 2026-09-01
Other vaccinations · Leishmania Noverified 2026-09-01
Other vaccinations · Parvovirus Noverified 2026-09-01
Other vaccinations · Leptospirosis Noverified 2026-09-01
Other vaccinations · Canine influenza Noverified 2026-09-01
Rabies vaccination · Required Yesverified 2026-08-28
Rabies vaccination · Booster required Yesverified 2026-08-26
Rabies vaccination · Booster intervalAs specified by the vaccine manufacturer — each booster must fall within the previous vaccination's validity period monthsverified 2026-09-01
Rabies vaccination · Waiting period after vaccination21 daysverified 2026-08-20
Rabies vaccination · Min age at vaccination12 weeksverified 2026-08-28
Screwworm treatment · Required Noverified 2026-09-01
Internal parasite treatment · Required Noverified 2026-09-01

Other rules

Pets accepted Acceptedverified 2026-07-14

Timing chain

Day -90 microchip implant · Day -21 rabies vaccine deadline · Day -10 health certificate issued · Day 0 arrive at customs

Conditional requirements

These rules apply only to pets with a specific travel history. Most travelers can ignore them — but if one applies to you, skipping it can mean denied entry.

Pet arriving from an unlisted (non-Annex II) third country — If your pet has been in one of 111 higher-risk countries in the last 6 months:

  • Rabies titer (blood) test: Required

Breed restrictions

Banned breeds: Staffordshire terrier (non-LOF), American Staffordshire terrier / pit-bull (non-LOF), Mastiff / boerbull (non-LOF), Tosa (non-LOF) verified 2026-07-17

Restricted breeds: chiens de 2ème catégorie verified 2026-08-31

Ports of entry (78)

  • Ajaccio-Napoléon-Bonaparte
  • Albert-Bray
  • Angers-Marcé
  • Angoulême-Brie-Champniers
  • Annecy-Methet
  • Auxerre-Branches
  • Avignon-Caumont
  • Bâle-Mulhouse
  • Bastia-Poretta
  • Beauvais-Tillé
  • Bergerac-Dordonge-Périgord
  • Béziers-Vias
  • Biarritz-Pays Basque
  • Bordeaux-Mérignac
  • Brest-Bretagne
  • Brive-Souillac
  • Caen-Carpiquet
  • Calais-Dunkerque
  • Calvi-Sainte-Catherine
  • Cannes-Mandelieu
  • Carcassonne-Salvaza
  • Châlons-Vatry
  • Chambéry-Aix-les-Bains
  • Châteauroux-Déols
  • Cherbourg-Mauperthus
  • Clermont-Ferrand-Auvergne
  • Colmar-Houssen
  • Deauville-Normandie
  • Dijon-Longvic
  • Dinard-Pleurtuit-Saint-Malo
  • Dôle-Tavaux
  • Epinal-Mirecourt
  • Figari-Sud Corse
  • Grenoble-Alpes-Isère
  • Hyères-le Palivestre
  • Paris-Issy-les-Moulineaux
  • La Môle-Saint-Tropez
  • La Rochelle-Ile de Ré
  • La Roche-sur-Yon
  • Laval-Entrammes
  • Le Castellet
  • Le Havre-Octeville
  • Le Mans-Arnage
  • Le Touquet-Côte ďOpale
  • Lille-Lesquin
  • Limoges-Bellegarde
  • Lorient-Lann-Bihoué
  • Lyon-Bron
  • Lyon-Saint-Exupéry
  • Marseille-Provence
  • Metz-Nancy-Lorraine
  • Monaco-Héliport
  • Montpellier-Méditérranée
  • Nantes-Atlantique
  • Nice-Côte d’Azur
  • Nîmes-Garons
  • Orléans-Bricy
  • Orléans-Saint-Denis-de-l’Hôtel
  • Paris-Charles de Gaulle
  • Paris-le Bourget
  • Paris-Orly
  • Pau-Pyrénées
  • Perpignan-Rivesaltes
  • Poitiers-Biard
  • Quimper-Pluguffan
  • Rennes Saint-Jacques
  • Rodez-Aveyron
  • Rouen-Vallée de Seine
  • Saint-Brieuc-Armor
  • Saint-Etienne Loire
  • Saint-Nazaire-Montoir
  • Strasbourg-Entzheim
  • Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées
  • Toulouse-Blagnac
  • Toulouse-Francazal
  • Tours-Val de Loire
  • Troyes-Barberey
  • Valence – Chabeuil

verified 2026-09-01

Order decides validity. The French agriculture ministry's own note states that identification of the animal must always precede the rabies vaccination. A dog vaccinated first and given a microchip second holds a vaccination record that is invalid for entry, whatever the dates on it say. The correction is a fresh vaccination and a fresh waiting period, so have the vet scan and record the chip number, then vaccinate.
France refuses four dog types outright: Staffordshire terrier, American Staffordshire terrier or pit-bull, Mastiff or boerbull, and Tosa — but only where the animal is not entered in a recognised pedigree book. That non-pedigree qualifier is the entire rule. Pull the pedigree certificate before booking, because a dog that cannot produce one is classed as a first-category attack dog at the border, alongside its microchip paperwork.
The EU animal health certificate is valid for 10 days, running from the official veterinarian's signature to the documentary and identity checks at the designated point of entry. Treat that as a booking constraint rather than a formality: the certifying appointment belongs inside the 10 days before departure. A certificate signed three weeks early is worth nothing at the border and cannot be reissued in transit.
What you have read is the strictest case. Your real sequence depends on which country you are flying from and whether your veterinarian can endorse for the EU. Build the plan around the 90-day wait first, because every other appointment slots in behind it. Pawgo's plan builder takes your origin, your dates and your dog, and hands back the sequence with the deadlines already counted backwards.
Get YOUR personalized plan for France →

Glossary

ISO chip
ISO 11784/11785 — the universal microchip standard.
FAVN
Fluorescent Antibody Virus Neutralization — a rabies serology test required by rabies-free destinations.
Brachycephalic
Snub-nosed breeds (French Bulldogs, Pugs, Persians, Himalayans) with restricted airline acceptance due to heat-stress risk.
AVIH
Animal Vehicle In Hold — IATA's term for cargo pet shipment, with fees that vary by carrier and route.