Because the order of the vaccinations cannot be redone
Bringing your dog or cat to Spain
Chip before rabies: do it the other way round and you start again
Travelling with the dog is easy and has exactly one trap, and it is a calendar trap. Some things only count if they were done in the right order, and your own vet does not always know what Spain asks for.
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Travelling with the dog or cat: it is a calendar, not a list
Some things only count if they were done in the right order. The chip before the rabies jab, never the other way round.
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What you get
- Your trip's calendar worked backwards: what has to be done and in exactly which week.
- A check of the animal's passport: microchip, rabies vaccination and dates.
- What your airline or ferry company requires, which is not the same as what the law requires.
- Registration in your town hall's animal census on arrival.
- A written note on what Spanish law requires today, and what is not yet enforceable.
Why this matters now
The movement of dogs, cats and ferrets within the Union is governed by Regulation (EU) 576/2013: an ISO-compliant microchip, a valid rabies vaccination and a European pet passport. And the detail that ruins trips: the microchip must be implanted BEFORE the vaccination; done the other way round, the vaccination does not count and the animal must be revaccinated and wait. Once in Spain you have to separate two levels, and that is where almost everyone gets it wrong. At NATIONAL level, Animal Welfare Act 7/2023 provides for a course for dog owners and civil liability insurance for all dogs, but both depend on implementing regulations that have not been published to date: they are not yet enforceable. At REGIONAL level, by contrast, the Valencian Community already requires civil liability insurance today for dogs listed as potentially dangerous, with minimum cover of €120,000, and without it the town hall will not issue the licence. If your dog is on that list, the insurance is not waiting for any national regulation.
What this service is NOT
We are not vets and we sign no health certificates: a vet does that, and for some destinations an official vet. Nor do we transport animals or work with any pet transport company, and we take commission from none. And we give no health advice: if your animal is old or ill, the one who decides whether it can fly is its vet, not a checklist.
Questions about this service
I am coming from the United Kingdom. Does that change anything?
In practice the journey into Spain is handled as a movement within the Union as long as the passport and the vaccination are in order; what really differs is the return, because the United Kingdom has its own entry requirements. We look at both directions, not only the outbound one.
Do I have to register the dog at the town hall?
Almost every municipality on this coast keeps an animal census and requires it in its by-law, with a fine if you skip it. It is one of the cheapest formalities and one of the most forgotten, and it surfaces when the animal is lost or when a neighbour complains.
Is insurance compulsory for my dog?
Today it is not generally enforceable, because the regulation that must implement the law has not been published. That does not mean it is a bad idea: it means that if someone charges you for it saying the law obliges them, they are not telling the truth.
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This page was last checked on 4 September 2026
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