Flying a pet into Heathrow means clearing the UK's Pet Travel Scheme (PETS), which for a dog, cat or ferret coming from a listed country requires a microchip, a rabies vaccination given at least 21 days before arrival, and (for dogs) tapeworm treatment 24 to 120 hours before arrival, all recorded on a pet passport or health certificate. Checks are handled by the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre (HARC), which has processed animals at the airport since 1977 and is the only Heathrow border control post licensed for every species.
What is the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre?
HARC is a government-licensed Live Animal Border Control Post and Travellers' Point of Entry, run for the City of London, and it is where non-commercial pet arrivals and commercial animal shipments through Heathrow are checked for compliance. It handles a striking range of traffic each year: around 22,000 dogs and cats, 400 horses, 100,000 reptiles, 1,000 birds and 28 million fish, according to the centre's own figures. Its main jobs are transporting animals between the terminals and its facility, checking PETS paperwork for pets arriving under the non-commercial route, verifying that commercial shipments meet IATA container and packing rules, and enforcing UK and retained EU rules on animal movement.
The paperwork you need before you fly
The requirements below apply to dogs, cats and ferrets travelling under PETS from a listed country (most of the EU and a range of other approved countries). Unlisted-country pets face additional steps and should start planning further ahead.
- Microchip first. The chip must meet ISO 11784/5 standard and, critically, must be implanted and scanned before the rabies vaccination is given, not after. Get the order wrong and you may need to restart the vaccination clock.
- Rabies vaccination. Given only after the microchip is confirmed by the vaccinating vet, and administered at least 21 days before you travel (the day of the jab counts as day 0). Pets under 12 weeks old cannot be vaccinated and so cannot yet travel under PETS.
- Tapeworm treatment (dogs only). A vet must give a treatment containing praziquantel between 24 and 120 hours (1 to 5 days) before arrival in Great Britain, recorded in full on the entry document. This step does not apply to dogs arriving directly from Ireland, Finland, Malta or Norway.
- Entry document. From an EU or other Part 1 listed country, this is an EU Pet Passport (issued only by a vet in that country) or, for the return leg, a UK-issued Animal Health Certificate valid for 10 days to enter the EU. From a Part 2 listed or unlisted country, you need a GB Health Certificate, endorsed by the competent authority in the country of departure, and your pet must arrive within 10 days of that endorsement.
Missing any one of these steps, or getting the sequence wrong (chip before vaccine, vaccine before the 21-day countdown starts), is the most common reason pets are held or refused entry at HARC, so build in a buffer rather than booking flights around the earliest possible date.
Assistance dogs and commercial pet shipments
Assistance dogs travelling with their owner follow a separate, faster process and can usually be pre-approved to arrive or transit through Heathrow, avoiding the standard non-commercial checks that apply to holiday pets. If your pet is travelling as manifest cargo, rather than accompanying you as checked baggage or in the cabin, it will need to be booked with an approved airline and may require a UK clearing agent nominated in advance to collect it after HARC's checks, along with any Transfer of Residency relief paperwork if it applies to your move.
What happens when your pet lands at Heathrow
Pets arriving under PETS are transported from the aircraft to HARC's facility for document and microchip checks before being released to the owner or handler. This is separate from, and in addition to, the airline's own animal handling and any airside connections you might have; if you're also managing your own connection at Heathrow, see our guide to connection times for how much buffer to leave.
Frequently asked questions
Can I bring my dog or cat into the UK through Heathrow?
Yes, provided it meets the Pet Travel Scheme requirements: a compliant microchip, a rabies vaccination at least 21 days before arrival, tapeworm treatment for dogs 24 to 120 hours before arrival, and the correct entry document for the country you're travelling from.
What is the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre?
HARC is the government-licensed border control post that checks pet and animal arrivals at Heathrow for compliance with UK and EU rules. It has operated at the airport since 1977 and is the only Heathrow facility licensed to handle every animal species.
Does the tapeworm treatment apply to cats?
No, only dogs need the praziquantel tapeworm treatment before entering Great Britain, and it isn't required for dogs coming directly from Ireland, Finland, Malta or Norway.
What order do the microchip and rabies vaccination need to happen in?
The microchip must be implanted and scanned first. The vaccinating vet then needs to scan and confirm the chip before giving the rabies vaccine; a vaccine given before the chip is read is not valid for PETS purposes.
Can assistance dogs skip the standard pet checks at Heathrow?
Assistance dogs can usually be pre-approved to arrive or transit through Heathrow via HARC, which is a quicker route than the standard non-commercial pet process, though owners should still apply for this in advance rather than assuming it happens automatically.
What if my pet is coming from a country not on the PETS listed countries list?
You'll need a GB Health Certificate endorsed by the competent authority in the country of departure, arriving within 10 days of that endorsement, rather than a pet passport, and should allow considerably more lead time than the 21-day minimum for a listed country.
Planning the rest of the journey
Once your pet has cleared HARC, plan your onward transport with luggage and a carrier in mind, our guide to taxi luggage and vehicle sizes at Heathrow covers which vehicles fit a pet carrier alongside cases, and if you're arriving with children as well, see Heathrow with a baby for the wider arrivals process. For the entry checks that apply to you rather than your pet, our UK entry requirements guide covers ETA and eGates.