From the 1st January 2021, UK Pet Passports are no longer valid for travel to the EU – you now require an Animal Health Certificate for travel. This document is used to prove that your pet meets the requirements for travel such as rabies vaccination and tapeworm treatments. It also proves ownership and that your trip is for non-commercial reasons. 

The AHC is a bilingual document. It is in English and the language for the first EU country you will enter. For example, if you are travelling to Italy but you will enter the EU via France, the AHC will need to be completed in French not Italian.

EU pet Passports are only legally available for residents and citizens of the EU. 

UK Pet passports are not valid for travel to the EU. 

The UK Government has recently announced that it has agreed to begin negotiations with the EU regarding pet travel arrangements, which will hopefully result in the reintroduction of UK Pet Passports. However, this is an announcement regarding the UK/EU intention to start negotiations and there is currently no specific time frame for this.

As Official Veterinarians who work on behalf of the UK Government, we have received no information or guidance about this. Reporting suggests that it has been indicated by ministers that this will will take many months and my of course not result in an agreement. So for the meantime, until we receive instruction from the UK Government, UK pets travelling to the EU will require an Animal Health Certificate.  

The UK Government has recently announced that it has agreed to begin negotiations with the EU regarding pet travel arrangements, which will hopefully result in the reintroduction of UK Pet Passports. However, this is an announcement regarding the UK/EU intention to start negotiations and there is currently no specific time frame for this.

As Official Veterinarians who work on behalf of the UK Government, we have received no information or guidance about this. Reporting suggests that it has been indicated by ministers that this will will take many months and my of course not result in an agreement. So for the meantime, until we receive instruction from the UK Government, UK pets travelling to the EU will require an Animal Health Certificate.  

Yes, you do need to enter the EU via one of the specific Travellers Point of Entry (TPE) – you can click here to see the list. However, the major points of entry are normally all valid, such as the Eurotunnel, Port of Dover, International Airports etc.

The AHC is a bilingual document. It is in English and the language for the first EU country you will enter. For example, if you are travelling to Italy but you will enter the EU via France, the AHC will need to be completed in French not Italian.

From 4^th June 2025 pets travelling from the UK to Northern Ireland will need a “Northern Ireland pet travel document” (PTD). Please read about this scheme in the gov.uk site, here:

https://www.gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad/travelling-to-northern-ireland

If you are travelling to or entering the Republic of Ireland, you must obtain an Animal Health Certificate for travel.

Tapeworm rules only apply to dogs. 

A tapeworm treatment is required before returning to Great Britain, unless you are arriving directly from Finland, Ireland, Malta or Norway. Your dog will not be allowed to enter Great Britain if they have not received a tapeworm treatment.

Tapeworm treatment is not required for exiting Great Britain or for entering common destinations like France, Spain & the Netherlands.


This treatment must be administered by a veterinary surgeon a minimum of 24 hours and a maximum of 120 hours before arriving into Great Britain. If you are planning a trip to the EU and plan to return to GB within 120 hours, you can have this Tapeworm treatment administered in Great Britain. Please see our Tapeworming Service Page.
 
Any vet in the EU can administer the tapeworm treatment and then complete the relevant section in your pet’s travel documents. For an AHC in French & English, this section is found at the bottom of Page 4. Please ensure the vet you choose is familiar with your travel document and understand what they need to do. 
 
If you are travelling to Finland, Ireland, Malta or Norway, your dog will require a Tapeworm Treatment before arrival into those countries. The treatment must be administered by a veterinary surgeon a minimum of 24 hours and a maximum of 120 hours before arrival.
 
If you would like to have a Tapeworm Treatment administered when collecting your AHC,  Abbeywell Vets can provide this service. Please see the Tapeworming Service Page for more information.

Date Changes: If your travel plans change, you have a free date change until ten days before your confirmed collection date. If you need to change the date again, any additional date changes until ten days before your collection date will incur a fee of £10 inclusive 20% VAT.


From ten days before your confirmed collection date any change to the collection date will incur a fee of £30 for the first pet and £10 for each additional pet.

To change the date we must be given a new collection date that we must confirm on our AHC system to keep the document active. Please remember you have 10 days from the issuance date (confirmed collection date) to enter the EU.

Cancellations: We hope that you don’t have reason to cancel your travel plans with your pet, but if you do need to cancel we ask that you email us immediately as cancellation refunds will be calculated from the date we received your email; please retain the acknowledgement email you will receive from us.

Due to the substantial amount of administrative work carried out before any Animal Health Certificate is issued, from application and checking documents through to verifying details, creating digital files and processing payments,  an administration charge is deducted from a refund when an AHC is cancelled. 

For cancellations at anytime prior to the ten days before the confirmed collection date; a 50% non-refundable administration charge will be deducted from your refund. 

For cancellations within 10 days prior to the confirmed collection date; a 100% non-refundable cancellation charge will apply.

We offer two types of service for AHCs

Standard & Standard Reprint Service: we require a minimum of ten days notice. This means that 10 days are required to process your AHC from the date of application to the date of collection. For example, if you apply for your AHC on the 10^th of the month, the soonest you can collect your AHC would be 20^th of the month.

Urgent Service & Reprint: we can usually provide same day AHCs for immediate travel if required, but this same day service has limited capacity. Generally, this service is for applications with fewer than 10 days notice. For example, if you apply for your AHC on the 10^th of the month, but needed to collect your AHC on the 17^th of the month, then you would need the Urgent Service.

We strongly recommend that you apply for your AHC as soon as you know your travel dates, as we can only issue a limited number of AHCs each day. During busy times, we may reach capacity for the date you would like to collect your document. Applying in good time also allows us to resolve issues we often encounter with the supporting evidence provided. Some pet owners apply for their AHC months in advance when travelling during peak holiday periods.

First, you need supporting documentation for your pet’s rabies vaccination status, this can be the clinical history provided by your vet. You then need to complete the online application form and attach your supporting documentation. Once you submit your application, you will receive an immediate acknowledgement email; if you do not receive this, please check your spam folder.

The application team will then assess your application and the supporting documents. Once we have verified your pet’s rabies vaccination and microchip reading status and we are satisfied that you will be allowed to travel, we will send you a confirmation email and a Paylink for payment. We aim to process Standard applications as quickly as possible, this is normally five days, but during busy periods this may take longer, so please be patient.

Payment is only requested once we are satisfied with the documents you have provided. Sending incorrect, incomplete or out-of-date documents will cause delays, which is why it is important that you read and follow the detailed information provided on this website.

No, a health check or an examination is not a requirement for issuing an AHC. 

However, if your carrier requires a Fit to Travel certificate this is separate from an AHC. Please see our Fit to Fly Certificate Page for detailed information about this service.

No, it is not requirement to be registered with Abbeywell Vets. Animal Health Certificates can be issued to pet owners who live anywhere in the world and who are registered with their own vet locally.

However, if you live in the immediate area of Folkestone and you would like to register your pet with Abbeywell Vets, you would be more than welcome to do so. However, we can provide Animal Health Certificates to pet owners and their pets without registration.

You or your vet need to provide certified documents that show your pet has a valid, in-date Rabies Vaccination and confirms that your pet’s microchip was scanned and verified by a veterinary surgeon at the time the Rabies Vaccine was administered. 
This evidence can be provided using the following documents:
– Clinical History
– Certified Rabies Vaccination Certificate
– Certified Vaccination Card
– Previously Issued AHC
– UK or EU Pet Passports
– Vet Declaration Form

The evidence should include your pet’s details such as colour, sex, breed, DOB, etc. and also include the owner’s name and address.  Please see our services page for detailed information about the documents we are able to accept.

What is a certified document? Your vet can certify a document by clearly writing their name and address, and then signing and stamping the document with their professional or practice stamp. 

Which documents are you unable to accept? Any document that is not correctly certified by a veterinary surgeon or documents such as a Vaccine Invoice or Receipt, these are examples of documents that cannot be used.

No problem, you can contact your vet and request that they email your pet’s Clinical History directly to us at info@ahc.online.

We must receive the clinical history directly from your vet. We are unable to accept this type of document from a pet owner. This is because we must be safe in the knowledge that the information is valid, accurate, certified and has not been tampered with.

This clinical history must include the vaccine information (manufacturer, brand and date administered) and it must show that the microchip was scanned and verified at the time of vaccination. Alternatively, you can download a Declaration Form that your vet can complete electronically and email it to us – please note your vet may charge a fee to complete the Declaration Form.

A maximum of 5 pets can be entered on a single AHC. The pets must all be owned by the same person and must all be travelling together. They do not need to be the same species, so you could have a dog, a cat and a ferret travelling on the same certificate.

If different Pets & Owners are travelling together as a group, each owner will require a separate AHC for their own pet.

An Animal Health Certificate is valid for entering the EU for up to 10 days from the date of issue. The date of issue is counted as day 1. The date of issue is your confirmed collection date.  

For example: if the confirmed collection date is 10th October you will have until the 19th October to enter the EU. Please ensure your travel date is within 10 days of your confirmed collection date.
The AHC is valid for a single entry into the EU and cannot be re-used. 

Once a pet has entered the EU, a pet can remain within the EU for up to four months, providing the rabies vaccination entered on the AHC is still valid.
If a pet exits the EU a new Animal Health Certificate is required to re-enter the EU.

Please Note: If the rabies vaccine entered in the AHC expires before your return to the UK, your pet will not be allowed to enter the UK. Please ensure the rabies vaccine is valid for your entire journey.

We can accept a number of different documents as evidence to prove your pet’s rabies vaccination and microchip scanning status. However, we must be safe in the knowledge that the information is valid, accurate, certified and has not been tampered with.

If you as a pet owner will be providing the evidence yourself, then the evidence must be correctly certified. The Official Veterinarian who will issue the AHC can only accept evidence that has been correctly certified by a veterinary surgeon.

To certify a document, a veterinarian should ensure it includes:
1. Their signature
2. In clear lettering, their name.
3. In clear lettering, their practice address
4. Their official or practice stamp.


If your vet will be providing your pets clinical history, the veterinary surgery must email this directly to us at: info@ahc.online
 
It is important to note that we can only accept documents that are correctly certified. Please see the Service Page on this website where you can find more detailed information about the services we provide and the type of documents we can accept and the specific information that the documents must include.

If your pet has a valid rabies vaccination that will remain in-date for your planned travel dates, then there is no time limit to how far in advance you can apply for an AHC. In fact, we recommend that you request your AHC as soon as possible, as this allows us to identify and correct any issues with the rabies vaccine or the microchip verification. The greater notice you can provide, the less stressed you will be!

It is also important to note that we have a daily capacity for issuing certificates, so leaving things to the last moment may mean we are unable to issue you with an AHC on the specific date you have requested because we are fully booked, particularly during peak holiday times. 

Please note that this is an online service only and all communication is conducted via email. 
 
We kindly request that you do not telephone Abbeywell Vets with questions Animal Health Certificates or about your application etc. The clinical reception team is unable to answer questions about AHCs because they have not received the necessary training and they do not have access to the AHC system. 

In their attempt to be helpful, they may provide you with incorrect information. Please Note: We are not responsible for any issues arising from information that you requested and received from the clinical reception team. Please email your questions to the AHC team at: questions@ahc.online

For any questions you may have about AHCs, the services we provide or your application and if your question is not answered on the FAQ Page, please email your question to: questions@ahc.online

We do not offer appointments to issue an AHC, this is because people travel from all over the UK to collect their documents and as we all know, traffic and roadworks can sometimes ruin the best made plans.

We offer an open door collection service, so there’s no additional pressure to your journey to hurriedly make a specific appointment time. Simply arrive with your pets’ at anytime during our advertised collection times to collect your AHC.

Our collection times are:
Monday – Friday: 9am to 7pm
Saturday: 9:30am – 2pm
Sundays & Bank Holidays: Closed

If you are having difficulty completing the application form, please send us an email to info@ahc.online and we will send you instructions for alternative ways for providing the required evidence.

When completing the online application form for your Animal Health Certificate, you will be prompted to attach your supporting documents during the application process.

However, once you have submitted your application, if you need to send any additional information regarding your application please email info@ahc.online please ensure you include the name entered on your application so the information can be matched to your application.

If you are contacting your vet to request that they email clinical history or any other documents, please ask them to email us directly at: info@ahc.online. 

Generally, we can provide Urgent Service AHCs for same day issue – normally within a few hours of confirmation. However, the Official Veterinarians at our surgery are often busy providing care to sick and injured animals, so we cannot always guarantee a same day service.

The fee for an urgent issue AHC for one pet is £199.

If you require an Urgent AHC for immediate travel, please contact Abbeywell Vets directly so they can alert the Official Veterinarian. However, it is important to remember that the clinical reception team are unable to answer general AHC questions.

Once a pet has had a rabies vaccination, they must wait for 21 days to elapse before they are allowed to travel.

If your pet has a current in-date rabies vaccination and they receive a rabies vaccination before the current rabies vaccination expires and there is no gap in protection, then your pet does not need to wait for 21 days to elapse.

However, you do not need to wait for 21 days to elapse before you can apply for your AHC. You can submit your application for an AHC as soon as the rabies vaccine has been administered. 
Please be very mindful that just because your AHC may have been approved, it does not mean you can travel before the 21 days have elapsed.

Your pet must have another rabies vaccine and you must wait for 21 days before your pet can travel. 

You can submit your application for an AHC as soon as the rabies vaccine has been administered. 

Please be very mindful that just because your AHC may have been approved, it does not mean you can travel before the 21 days have elapsed.

If your pet’s rabies vaccine was administered in Great Britain, your pet will require an Animal Health Certificate to enter the EU. Irrespective of the type of passport they have, whether it is a UK or EU pet passport, a rabies vaccination administered in GB and entered in the pet passport is not valid for entry to the EU.

You will require an AHC to enter the EU.

Tapeworm rules only apply to dogs. 

A tapeworm treatment is required before returning to Great Britain, unless you are arriving directly from Finland, Ireland, Malta or Norway. Your dog will not be allowed to enter Great Britain if they have not received a tapeworm treatment.

Tapeworm treatment is not required for exiting Great Britain or for entering common destinations like France, Spain & the Netherlands.

This treatment must be administered by a veterinary surgeon a minimum of 24 hours and a maximum of 120 hours before arriving into Great Britain. If you are planning a trip to the EU and plan to return to GB within 120 hours, you can have this Tapeworm treatment administered in Great Britain. Please see our Tapeworming Service Page.
 
Any vet in the EU can administer the tapeworm treatment and then complete the relevant section in your pet’s travel documents. For an AHC in French & English, this section is found at the bottom of Page 4. Please ensure the vet you choose is familiar with your travel document and understand what they need to do. 
 
If you are travelling to Finland, Ireland, Malta or Norway, your dog will require a Tapeworm Treatment before arrival into those countries. The treatment must be administered by a veterinary surgeon a minimum of 24 hours and a maximum of 120 hours before arrival.
 
If you would like to have a Tapeworm Treatment administered when collecting your AHC,  Abbeywell Vets can provide this service. Please see the Tapeworming Service Page for more information.

Yes, this can be arranged.

If you would like to have a Tapeworm Treatment administered prior to leaving the UK, Abbeywell Vets can provide this service. Please see the Tapeworming Service Page for more information.

This depends on the type of service your require. A Standard Service AHC for the first pet costs £99. Additional pets (up to five pets in total) can be included on the same AHC for an additional fee of £30 per pet. Therefore, if you have two pets, the fee to provide a Standard Service AHC would be £129. Our prices are inclusive of 20% VAT. 

If we have previously provided you with an AHC and you are eligible for a Reprint Service AHC this is £69 for the first pet and £25 for each additional pet. Therefore, if you have two pets, the fee to provide a Reprint Service AHC would be £94. Our prices are inclusive of 20% VAT. 

Please see our Prices Page for detailed information about the fees for the services we provide.

Once we have verified your pet’s rabies vaccination and microchip scanning status and approved your application, we will send you a confirmation email and a separate secure Payment Link to make payment using a credit or debit card. The Paylink is sent via text message and email to the contact details you provided in your application form. 

Once the Paylink has been sent to you we will reserve your Collection Date for 24 hours. Please note that until payment has been received your collection date and your AHC are not confirmed. 

We can issue a limited number of certificates daily. Please ensure you confirm your AHC and Collection date by using the Paylink promptly. Once we reach capacity for a specific date, we will be unable to issue any additional certificates for that date and you will need to request an alternative collection date. 

After 24 hours, if payment has not been received, the AHC application and the associated Payment Link will be automatically cancelled and deleted once: the daily limit for issuing an AHC has been reached; or seven days have passed since the Paylink was first sent; whichever is sooner.

Therefore, it is important that you secure your AHC and your collection date by using the paylink to make your payment.

Yes we do!
 
If we have previously provided you with an AHC and you require a reprint for your upcoming travels, we can offer a discount for this reprint service.

If any of the information entered on the new AHC application does not match the information entered on a previous AHC, then this is not eligible for a reprint service. 

If none of the information has changed, the necessary work to verify the details and to put together the AHC has already been performed. As such, because our workload is reduced, we can pass on the savings. Please see our Reprint Service Page for more detailed information.

Your Animal Health Certificate must be collected from Abbeywell Vets in Folkestone.
The collection address is: 2-3 Majestic Parade, Sandgate Road, Folkestone CT20 2BZ.

We do not offer appointments to issue an AHC, this is because people travel from all over the UK to collect their documents and as we all know, traffic and roadworks can sometimes ruin the best made plans.

We offer an open door collection service, so there’s no additional pressure to your journey to hurriedly make a specific appointment time. Simply arrive with your pets’ at anytime during our advertised collection times to collect your AHC.

Our collection times are:
Monday – Friday: 9am to 7pm
Saturday: 9:30am – 2pm
Sundays & Bank Holidays: Closed


On the confirmed collection date you must arrive at Abbeywell Vets in Folkestone with your pet. We will scan your pet’s microchip, finalise your document and witness you signing it. It normally takes approximately 10 minutes to issue your AHC and we are approximately 10 minutes away from the Eurotunnel Terminal.

If you cannot make the confirmed collection date, we will hold the document for upto 10 days for you to collect. Please reply to your confirmation email to let the team know.

It is essential that you bring your pet with you when collecting your AHC. We must scan and verify your pet’s microchip before we can finalise and issue you with your AHC. If your pet is not present, we will not be able to issue the AHC.

Once your application has been assessed and your pet’s rabies vaccination and microchip scanning status have been verified, we will send you a confirmation email and a Paylink for payment. Once the confirmation email is sent, your AHC is digitally prepared on our AHC system and will ready to collect on the confirmed collection date (providing the paylink has been paid). 

Once you have made payment you will receive an instant automated payment acknowledgement from our merchant services provider. This acknowledgment means your AHC is guaranteed for collection on the confirmed collection date.

The payment acknowledgement together with your confirmation email serve as confirmation that your AHC will be ready for collection on the confirmed Collection Date. 

Once your AHC has been printed and prepared, you will also receive a courtesy text message to let you know that your AHC is ready to collect on your confirmed collection date. Please note that irrespective of the timing of the text message, your document is dated and you cannot collect before the confirmed collection date. 

Please note that during very busy periods, the text message may arrive as late as the evening before your collection date, due to the number of AHCs that need to be prepared.

We only issue AHCs for collection at Abbeywell Vets in Folkestone. We do not issue AHCs for anyone else or for collection from any other location. We are not affiliated with any other provider.

We are aware that is an ever growing number of websites offering AHCs who appear to have copied our service model and used the content from our website in an attempt to look similar. However, this can be misleading if you wish to use the AHC our service from Abbeywell Vets. 

Please always check carefully – the good news is that you are currently on the right website! 

The only two websites you can use for our AHC service are:
www.animalhealthcertificate.online
www.ahc.online

Yes, you can! 

The vast majority of pet owners collect their AHC en-route to the Eurotunnel Terminal or the Port of Dover. However, the AHC is valid to enter the EU for 10 days from your confirmed collection date, and some pet owners choose to collect their AHC in advance of their travel date, especially if they are travelling overnight or in the early hours of the morning. 

This is why it is important that you provide us with your collection date and not your travel date, if your travel date is different from your collection date. Your AHC will be ready to collect on the date confirmed for collection.

There is free 2 hour on-street parking located to the front of Abbeywell Vets on Sandgate Road and to the side of the surgery on Christ Church Road. We have dedicated client parking in the car park to the rear of our surgery and this is accessed via Christ Church Road. Please see our Parking Page for more detailed information.
 
There is also a Public Car Park opposite our surgery if you wanted to spend some time in Folkestone. However, there is has a height restriction and so is not suitable for motorhomes or caravans. Some people with large motorhomes and caravans choose to stop at the front of our surgery to drop-off the person signing the documents and then drive around the block.

Yes, there are options for this:

1. A friend or family member collects the AHC and travels with the pet.
2. A designated driver of a pet courier company collects the AHC and travels with the pet.

These options are available to you when you complete your online AHC application.

The AHC will need to completed specifically for the option that is chosen to allow the transportation of the pet and a letter of authorisation must be completed by the registered owner to allow the third party to transport the pet on the owner’s behalf. 

Once the application has been processed and confirmed, we will provide a template for the authorisation letter. Two original hand signed copies of the authorisation letter will need to be presented by the person collecting the AHC. One copy of the letter we will retain on behalf of the Government and one copy needs to be kept with the AHC.

It is prohibited by the Government to post or email an Animal Health Certificate. The Government Agency (APHA) states clearly that you and your pet must be physically present when the AHC is issued.

We must scan your pet’s microchip and witness the signing of the Declaration in the AHC.

Even if you have previously been issued with an AHC, we must always scan your pet’s microchip to confirm their identity and we must witness the AHC being signed at the time of issuance.

Abbeywell Vets is a long established Veterinary Surgery and we also provide the AHC Online service. It is important to note that the AHC Service is separate from our clinical and healthcare work that we do at the surgery. 

Providing this service online allows us to operate more efficiently, so we can keep prices low. You can find lots of information about us online, including our Google Reviews, social media and we are also listed on Eurotunnel and Government websites. 

We appreciate you may be cautious as there have been a number of reports in the veterinary press about fraud and fake AHCs being supplied. If you are concerned, we always recommend using an established bricks & mortar veterinary surgery for peace of mind. Not a pop-up supplier that may be here today and gone tomorrow.

If you are concerned or have doubts about any AHC provider, there are a few checks you can do online before providing your personal details or making any payment: 

1. Is the company GDPR compliant and registered with the ICO to legally handle your personal details?
2. Is the company on the Government Website that lists official providers of AHCs?
3. Is the company registered with Companies House? 

Because you are collecting your AHC from a veterinary surgery, you can rest assured that the clinical team will be at hand to provide you with the assistance you need.

If you are travelling to collect an AHC and your pet becomes unwell and requires urgent treatment, please contact Abbeywell Vets immediately on 01303 227179, so the clinical team are aware you need help when you arrive.

If Abbeywell Vets is closed, your call will be immediately transferred to the emergency care provider, Vets Now in Ashford. 

We hope there is never a reason to complain. However, if you wish to make a complaint, please email the details of the issues you wish to raise to: info@ahc.online.


Please provide your name, a detailed description of the issue and some information on how you would like us to do to resolve it.

We aim to provide an initial response within five working days and we aim to provide a full response within 10 working days