Rabies Titer Test: Travelling Through Europe with a Dog

By The Hoomans
April 9, 2024

If you're planning a trip to Europe or relocating with your dog, it's important to plan ahead to ensure they have all the required documentation and vaccinations. While a rabies titer test (blood sample) might not always be necessary, it's worth researching to check if your dog needs one depending on your travel destination.

Does Your Dog Need a Rabies Titer Test To Travel in Europe?

Depending on what country you are travelling from and where you are planning to travel to with your dog, will determine whether or not your dog needs to a rabies titer test.

If you are travelling from the UK, Canada, or the United States to the European Union (EU), your dog does not need a titer test.

For more information please see:
Travelling with pets and other animals in the EU

But what if your travel plans include countries outside of the European Union? Planning ahead is crucial as you may require at least three months of lead time depending on your destination.

Rabies Vaccination

A rabies vaccination is mandatory for travelling anywhere in Europe with your dog. You need to make sure that your dog is vaccinated against rabies at least 3 weeks before your scheduled travel time. You don’t have to wait for the full 21 days if your pet has had yearly booster shots. Your dog needs to get a rabies vaccination every 12 months in Europe. If they have a 3-year vaccination, you will need to get them a rabies booster if the vaccination is older than a year.

Important Notes:

Please note that according to EU regulations, a rabies vaccination is not considered valid unless the animal is properly identified at the time of vaccination. In other words, it is essential that the microchip is implanted before the rabies vaccine is administered to ensure that your pet is identified prior to vaccination. A rabies vaccine given before microchip insertion is invalid.

Rabies Titer Test (Blood Sample)

If you are travelling from or have visited a high-risk rabies country with your dog you will need to ensure that your dog has a valid rabies titer test as required to re-enter the EU and the UK or your home country. See the list and links below for more information.

The rabies titer test is also known as the rabies neutralizing antibody titer test. It checks for the presence of the antibody that neutralizes rabies in your pet’s blood. If the antibody is present in sufficient amounts, it signifies that the pet has been vaccinated and is immune to rabies. This test measures the effectiveness of the rabies vaccine on your pet.

Important Notes:

The rabies titer test must be performed in an approved laboratory in a Member State of the European Union. In other words, you should get the test done before you leave the EU.

The rabies titer test cannot be done until 30 days after the rabies vaccination.
It takes approximately 10 days for the laboratory to mail out the certification letter.
You must wait for 3 months from the date of the rabies titer test before returning to the EU and UK.
The EU will consider your pet’s titer test valid for the life of your pet as long as its rabies vaccination does not expire.

For more information please see:
Travelling with pets and other animals in the EU
Bringing your pet dog, cat or ferret to Great Britain

Rabies Titer Test - Timeline Example for Pedro

Pedro’s annual rabies vaccination is due in January.
We waited until the beginning of February, which was the required 30 days until we were able to get the rabies titer test done.
The titer test was done at our Veterinarian in Austria. The Veterinarian sent the blood sample away to the EU approved lab. We received the certification letter approximately 10 days letter by February 15, 2024.
We returned to our Veterinarian who recorded everything in Pedro’s EU Pet Passport.
We left for Bosnia and Herzegovina in early March.
We are travelling throughout the Balkan Countries for the next 3 months and will take the ferry from Albania to Bari, Italy.
We will be able to return to the EU with our dog on June 15, 2024, which is three months after the titer test date.

High Risk Rabies Countries in Europe

High-rabies countries in Europe as classified by the European Union are:

For more information please see:
Movement of Pets > Listing of territories and non-EU Countries

If you are returning to a country outside of the EU, such as the USA or Canada, please check the links below for any additional requirements:

Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

For more information please checkout the posts below or leave us a comment.

Flying with a Dog to Europe from the USA and Canada

Flying with a dog is not especially fun and can be stressful for both the hoomans and your dog. However, it doesn’t have to be if you plan properly. We flew internationally from Calgary, Canada to Frankfurt, Germany with Pedro when he was just 8 months old.

EU Pet Passport, Required Vaccinations, and Documents Needed to Travel with Your Dog

If you’re planning to travel with your dog to the EU, you need to plan ahead and make sure that they have all of the required vaccinations and documentation in place before you arrive in the EU. It is important to research the country that you are arriving at in Europe, as different rules may apply.

2 Responses

Hazel says:

July 6, 2025 at 9:50 am

Thank you so much for this post – I had been preparing to travel to Montenegro with my dog Audrey in a couple of weeks after speaking to my German vet about vaccinations she would need and being assured that everything is ok, but it turns out I didn’t really understand the 3 month limit on the titer test (as I thought it needed to be within 3 months of your travel). Your explanation and link to the ‘Your Europe’ page is the first clear explanation of this I have seen, and means that, sad as I am about this, my little pup will have to stay here whilst I travel, as we have missed the rabies test date by months. Without this post I would have been in BIG TROUBLE.

So, thank you for being such an amazing help for those of us who want to travel with our pets. You are hero’s!

Reply
1. The Hoomans says:
  
  July 9, 2025 at 11:58 am
  
  Thank you for such a nice comment! I am sorry that Audrey is not able to travel with you! Many times they do not check at the border but I always recommend following the correct process as you never know. We purchased a house near Kotor, Montenegro so we are here quite often so if you need anything just let me know. Our other website is http://www.adriaticvacationrentals.com if you are looking for travel information about Montenegro!
  
  Kind regards,
  
  Natascha
  
  Reply