SHORT ANSWER
No. An EU pet passport is not an entry document for pets coming from the United States, and you cannot get one before you move. USDA APHIS confirms that EU pet passports cannot be obtained in the U.S., and the EU issues them only to pet owners who live in an EU country. Your dog or cat flies to France on an EU health certificate instead. The passport comes after you settle in. Once you live in France, a French veterinarian can issue one, and it becomes your pet's travel document for life, as long as its rabies vaccination stays current. Your other early task is registering your pet with I-CAD, France's national pet identification file, within 7 days of arrival.
Most Americans picture the EU pet passport as the thing you show at the border. For pets coming from the U.S., it works the other way around. According to the EU's Your Europe guidance on traveling with pets, the passport follows a standard EU model, is mandatory for travel between EU countries, and "is only issued to pet owners who are resident in the EU."
USDA APHIS states the U.S. side plainly on its EU Pet Passports page. To the question "Can I obtain an EU pet passport in the United States?" the answer is one word: "No."
That is why your pet's arrival paperwork is a separate document, the EU health certificate, which your USDA-accredited vet issues and USDA endorses. We walk through that certificate step by step in our guide to what vaccines and documents your dog or cat needs to enter France from the US. This article picks up where that one ends: what happens once your pet is living in France.
Your Europe describes the passport's contents: a description of your pet, its microchip or tattoo code, its animal health records such as rabies vaccination, and the contact details of both the owner and the vet who issued it. It is valid for life, as long as the health information inside it stays in date.
The passport has several sections, and APHIS explains that each one names the type of veterinarian allowed to fill it in:
This distinction matters on visits home. APHIS warns that a U.S. vet who writes in an "Authorized Veterinarian" section could invalidate the passport, and your pet could be denied entry to the EU. If your dog needs a tapeworm treatment before traveling to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Malta, Finland, or Norway, APHIS notes a USDA-accredited vet can record that treatment in the passport, since it falls in a section open to any licensed vet. Bring the passport to every U.S. vet appointment and point out which pages they should leave alone.
The passport is optional until you travel. I-CAD registration is not. According to France's official public service site, Service-Public.gouv.fr, a dog or cat brought into France must be registered with I-CAD, the national identification file for dogs, cats, and ferrets, within 7 days of arrival.
"Post arrival, you have to register with I-CAD, and it's very important to do it very shortly after you arrive," Cécile Gallet, founder and CEO of Haven in France, said on our Pet Travel Insider episode on EU pet travel.
Here is how the process works, per Service-Public and I-CAD's guidance for pets from non-EU countries:
If something in the file doesn't check out, I-CAD sends it to the veterinary services office for your département, which can place your pet under official monitoring. Service-Public notes that a pet under monitoring cannot be vaccinated until the period ends, and the permanent card is issued only afterward, on proof of a valid rabies vaccination. Missing a document at registration doesn't stop the process, but you should get it to your vet or I-CAD as soon as possible.
Once your pet is in France, the two documents do different jobs:
| EU health certificate | EU pet passport | |
|---|---|---|
| Issued by | USDA-accredited vet, endorsed by USDA | Authorized EU veterinarian |
| Who qualifies | Pets traveling into the EU from a non-EU country | Pets of owners resident in the EU |
| Travel within the EU | Up to 6 months from entry, while rabies stays valid (APHIS) | For life, while health records stay in date |
| Returning to the EU from the U.S. | A new certificate each trip | Passport alone, if conditions are met (below) |
| Pets covered | Dogs, cats, ferrets, with separate certificates for other species | Dogs, cats, and ferrets only |
France's own guidance for residents, on Service-Public's page about traveling abroad with a pet, lists a European passport issued by a veterinarian as a condition for taking a dog, cat, or ferret to another EU country from France.
The passport earns its keep the first time you fly home for the holidays. APHIS states that a pet with an EU passport can return to the EU from the U.S. on the passport alone when the trip is non-commercial and the rabies vaccination is still valid and was recorded in the passport by an EU vet. Non-commercial means no more than five pets, no change of ownership or resale, and the pet travels with you or a designated person.
Two details catch families out:
APHIS also confirms that pets returning on a valid passport do not need a clinical exam in the U.S. before the flight. Dogs entering the United States fall under the CDC's rules, so check those before your trip home.
"A UK pet passport works in France." Not if it was issued to a resident of Great Britain. Your Europe states those passports have not been valid for travel into the EU since January 1, 2021.
"My rabbit or bird will get a passport too." EU passports are issued for dogs, cats, and ferrets only. For other species, Service-Public directs owners to the destination country's embassy or consulate and to their local veterinary services office for return conditions.
"Once we have the passport, the paperwork is done." The passport is valid for life only while its health records, including rabies vaccination, stay current. A lapse means the passport no longer covers travel until your vet brings it back up to date.
The 7-day registration window surprises families who think the paperwork ended at the airport. In an r/Expats_In_France thread about arriving in France with a dog, one member put it simply: "I had seven days after arrival to get to the vet and have the paperwork submitted" (r/Expats_In_France discussion).
"Almost every week someone asks us how to get a pet passport before they fly to Paris," says Adam Melton, VP of Strategic Initiatives at Starwood Pet Travel. "You can't get one in the U.S., and you don't need one to get in. The passport is something your pet earns by becoming a French resident. The families who get the most out of it book their French vet for the first week, get I-CAD started, and ask for the passport at the same visit. After that, a trip to Italy or a Christmas flight home is far simpler."
To see how we handle the U.S. side of the move, from certificates to the flight, visit our France pet transport services page.