How Do You Register Your Pet with I-CAD After Moving to France?

SHORT ANSWER

Within 7 days of arriving in France, take your dog or cat to a French veterinarian. The vet opens an import file in I-CAD, France’s national identification database for dogs and cats, using your pet’s existing microchip number and the original health certificate your pet traveled on. I-CAD then emails you a personal link to upload documents, sign electronically, and pay the fee. Once the file is approved, you download your pet’s identification card from your I-CAD owner account. From that point on, you are responsible for keeping the record current: your address, your phone number, temporary contacts when your pet stays somewhere else, and lost or found reports.

What I-CAD Does for Your Pet Once You Live in France

I-CAD (Identification des Carnivores Domestiques) is the organization approved to manage France’s national identification file for dogs and cats, according to Service-Public.gouv.fr. I-CAD explains that identification is a legal obligation for dogs and cats and is the only official link between an animal and the person responsible for it. Veterinarians, shelters, and municipal pounds consult the file when they scan a microchip.

Your pet arrives with a microchip already in place. What it doesn’t have yet is a French record attached to that chip number. Until the I-CAD file exists, a French vet or shelter that scans your pet has no French owner on file to contact.

“Arrival is an event, and settling is a process,” says Adam Melton. “Being settled means knowing who your vet is, where you’re going for an emergency, having the right local registrations and insurance, finding a dog walker or pet sitter if you need one, and having a home that actually works for everyone. I-CAD is the registration piece of that list, and it’s the one with a legal deadline attached, so it goes first.”

We covered the basic vet visit, the provisional certificate, and the fee in our guide to EU pet passports for U.S. families moving to France. This article picks up from there, with the details that trip families up during registration and how to use the I-CAD account for the rest of your pet’s life in France.

7 Days or 8: Which I-CAD Deadline Applies to Pets Arriving from the U.S.?

The two official sources don’t say quite the same thing.

Service-Public, verified by the French government on July 23, 2026, says a dog or cat must be registered with I-CAD within 7 days of arriving in France. The vet completes a form called the “certificat provisoire d’identification lors d’importation ou échange intracommunautaire,” which is valid for one month.

I-CAD’s page on imports from non-EU countries frames the rule differently. It says registration is required when the animal will live in France for more than three months, and that a vet visit is required within 8 days of arrival.

For a family relocating to France, both conditions point the same direction: your pet is staying, so it needs to be registered. Use the stricter 7-day window.

“I tell every family heading to France to book the French vet before they book the movers,” says Adam Melton. “The first week after landing is jet lag, keys, utilities, and a dog who doesn’t know where the back door is. If the vet appointment isn’t already on the calendar, it slides to week two without anyone noticing. Call a clinic near your new address, ask if they handle I-CAD import files, and lock in a date for your first few days.”

Why the Name on the Health Certificate Has to Match the Person at the Vet

This is the detail that catches couples and families off guard. I-CAD lists three situations that turn a pet’s arrival into a commercial movement instead of a personal one:

• The owner’s name on the health certificate is different from the person making the request with the vet in France.
• More than 5 pets are part of the move, without an exemption.
• The animals travel without their owner, or an authorized person, beyond the 5-day limit set by law.

When an import counts as commercial, I-CAD says the animals must be examined at an approved border inspection post in France, and a Common Health Entry Document (DVCE) is required on top of the standard paperwork.

In practice, decide early whose name goes on the health certificate, and plan for that person to take the pet to the French vet. If your pet is flying separately from you, keep the timing of your own arrival within 5 days of your pet’s.

What the French Vet Needs From You

For pets coming from outside the EU, Service-Public asks for the original health certificate from an official veterinarian in the country of origin, showing your pet’s identification and rabies vaccination. Both Service-Public and I-CAD also list a rabies antibody titer result in their general checklist for non-EU pets, but I-CAD notes that some countries are exempt from titer testing. Pets traveling from the United States fall under that exemption, so you won’t have a titer report to hand over.

If you don’t have official health documents at all, I-CAD asks for a signed written statement saying so, mailed to I-CAD, 29 rue du Progrès, CS 50011, 93108 Montreuil Cedex.

Bring your pet’s U.S. vaccination records too. Your French vet will want a full medical history for future care, even though I-CAD only needs the documents above.

After the visit, I-CAD’s online process takes over. You receive a personal link that is temporary and confidential, so don’t forward it. I-CAD asks owners to upload only the documents it requests, in a readable and complete format, and to skip anything unrelated. The fee is listed as €12 by both Service-Public and I-CAD, and the online path shows you the amount before you pay by card. If the file is in order, I-CAD says the owner receives the permanent card a few days later.

What to Do If Your Pet Goes Missing Before I-CAD Registration Is Finished

The first days in a new home are when pets are most likely to slip out a gate or bolt during a walk on unfamiliar streets. They are also the days before your I-CAD file exists.

I-CAD has a specific fix for this. If your pet is lost and you are not yet registered as its official keeper, you can request a temporary registration of your contact details, valid for 2 months. Email contact@i-cad.fr with your full name, postal address, and your pet’s identification number. That way, if a vet or shelter scans the chip, I-CAD has a way to reach you.

Once your pet is registered, the lost-pet process runs through your owner account:

1. Log in to your Espace Détenteur and declare the loss. You need the identification number, which is on the ID card, or your vet can give it to you.
2. Spread the word locally. I-CAD suggests telling neighbors, local shops, vets, shelters, and pounds, and posting in the Filalapat lost and found pet groups.
3. When your pet comes home, declare it “retrouvé” (found) in your account so vets, shelters, and pounds see the updated status.

Your I-CAD Owner Account: Digital ID Card, Address Changes, and Temporary Contacts

After registration, most of your dealings with I-CAD happen in the Espace Détenteur at i-cad.fr. You log in with your pet’s identification number and the password you create when you activate the account.

Your pet’s ID card is digital. Since January 16, 2024, I-CAD no longer prints identification cards. In your account, open “La carte d’identification de mon animal” and click “Télécharger la carte” to get a PDF. It’s sized like a bank card, so you can print it, trim it, and keep it in your wallet.

Address and contact changes are immediate. I-CAD lets owners update their name, residential address, phone number, and email online. Changes take effect right away and update the online card, and no new card is mailed. If your first stop in France is a short-term rental while you look for a permanent home, update the record as soon as you move.

Temporary contacts cover trips and pet sitters. When your pet travels with you for a weekend or vacation, or stays with a sitter or boarding facility, I-CAD says the temporary address, the phone number of the person to call, and the dates should be entered in the file. Use “déclarer une adresse temporaire” in your account.

Changes of keeper go through a separate process. If your pet is rehomed or the keeper changes for another reason, I-CAD’s regularization request is started by a vet and finished online. I-CAD contacts the previous keeper by registered letter to confirm they agree to the transfer.

How Breed and Category Rules Connect to Your Dog’s I-CAD File

If you’re bringing a dog, breed category can add a step after I-CAD registration. Service-Public bans Category 1 attack dogs from entering France, including crossbreeds whose physical traits resemble the American Staffordshire Terrier, Mastiff, or Tosa. Category 2 guard dogs, which are pedigreed American Staffordshire Terriers, Rottweilers, and Tosas, plus Rottweiler-type dogs without a pedigree, can enter if their owners follow the rules for that category.

For Category 2 owners, I-CAD registration is one of the prerequisites for the detention permit you apply for at your town hall. We break down the full permit process in our guide to banned and restricted dog breeds in France.

What Pet Owners Are Saying

On r/Expats_In_France, families who have done this recently give the same advice. In a thread about moving a pet from the U.S. to France, one member noted: “You do need the health certificate for the ICAD registration with a French vet, which you are supposed to do within a week of arrival.”

In another thread from an American who accepted a job in Paris, a commenter suggested calling “vets around your new place as soon as you’re here to see if they know how to handle ICAD.” Import files are less common than registering a French-born puppy, so asking ahead saves you a wasted appointment.

Frequently Asked Questions