Bring a pet dog or cat to Canada from the UK: the full official process

GOV.UK's pre-travel rule is that your pet must be vaccinated against rabies before it can travel, your vet needs proof that your pet is at least 12 weeks old before vaccinating them, and you must then wait at least 21 full days after the first vaccination before you travel. Keep the vaccination record, because it is the basis of the rabies document Canada asks for on arrival. (Canada does offer a country-freedom/residency alternative for pets from the rabies-free UK — see the Canada side — so if you use that route you do not have to vaccinate at all; but the UK's own guidance still treats rabies vaccination as the standard pre-travel step.)

• Rabies vaccination is the UK's standard pre-travel requirement
• Vet needs proof the pet is at least 12 weeks old before vaccinating
• Wait at least 21 full days after the first vaccination before travel
• Keep the signed vaccination record for the Canada-side documents

The export health certificate has to be certified by an official vet, not just any vet. GOV.UK states you must nominate an official vet or local authority inspector to sign the certificate; the official vet checks your pet against the destination's health and identification requirements before signing. The certificates themselves come from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), and if you cannot find the right one you are directed to contact APHA. Build in time for this before your flight.

• You must nominate an official vet (OV) or local authority inspector to sign the EHC
• The OV checks your pet meets the health and identification requirements
• Export health certificates are issued through APHA
• Arrange the OV appointment ahead of your flight

Canada's rules branch by animal type, purpose (personal vs commercial), age, and whether you are coming from a rabies-free or a rabies-present country. The United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) is on Canada's rabies-free list — alongside countries such as Australia, Fiji, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand and Sweden — so you follow the rabies-free-country path, which is lighter than the rabies-present path. For a personal pet dog the age brackets are less than 3 months, 3 to 8 months, and 8 months or older; for a domestic cat the cutoff is 3 months. Match your situation precisely before preparing documents.

• UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) is a Canada rabies-free country
• Follow the rabies-free-country path, not the rabies-present path
• Dog age brackets: under 3 months, 3-8 months, 8 months or older
• Cat cutoff: under 3 months vs 3 months or older
• Personal pet = your own pet, accompanied or unaccompanied

For a domestic cat 3 months or older from the rabies-free UK, CFIA accepts either a valid rabies vaccination certificate or a veterinary certificate. The veterinary-certificate route lets you show residency instead of vaccination: it must state that the animal has been in the exporting country since birth or for at least 6 months immediately preceding shipment to Canada, and it must be accompanied by government documentation on the country's rabies status. As with dogs, if you use a vaccination certificate it must identify the animal and give the vaccine details.

• Cat 3 months+: rabies vaccination certificate OR a veterinary certificate
• Veterinary cert shows residency: in the UK since birth or at least 6 months before shipment
• Veterinary cert must come with government documentation of the country's rabies status
• No vaccination needed if you use the residency route

For a personal pet dog younger than 3 months, CFIA does not ask for a rabies certificate but requires proof of the dog's age from a veterinarian, plus the healthy-appearance and humane-transport conditions. A domestic cat under 3 months follows a similar young-animal path. On the UK side, GOV.UK's separate rule is that a pet must be at least 12 weeks old before it is vaccinated against rabies, so keep the age and vaccination records lined up.

• Dog under 3 months: CFIA needs veterinarian proof of age, not a rabies certificate
• Cat under 3 months follows a similar young-animal path
• GOV.UK's own rule: a pet must be at least 12 weeks old before rabies vaccination

Alongside the rabies document, Canada requires that the dog or cat appears healthy and meets humane transportation requirements on arrival. A CFIA veterinarian or the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) may inspect your pet at the port of entry, and a non-compliant animal can be refused entry or referred to CFIA. Prepare a compliant travel crate and be ready to present all paperwork at the border.

• Pet must appear healthy and meet humane transport requirements
• CBSA/CFIA may inspect at the port of entry
• A non-compliant animal can be refused or referred to CFIA

CFIA's full, authoritative list of import requirements lives in the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS), and CFIA directs owners to search it for their exact situation. For a domestic dog use HS codes 01 (Live animals), 06 (Other live animals), 19 (Other mammals) and OGD Extension 2083 (Domestic dog); for a domestic cat the OGD Extension is 2084. Note that Canada's prohibition on COMMERCIAL dogs applies only to countries at high risk for dog rabies — the UK is rabies-free, so that ban does not touch a UK pet, and in any case it targets dogs for resale, adoption, fostering, breeding, show or research rather than a genuine personal pet. Confirm your own case in AIRS before travel because it reflects the current rules.

• Authoritative requirements are in AIRS
• Dog AIRS codes: 01 / 06 / 19, OGD Extension 2083
• Cat AIRS OGD Extension: 2084
• The commercial-dog ban targets high-risk countries — the UK is rabies-free, so it does not apply