Sea carriers: transport pets and assistance dogs
How to get approval to transport pet cats, dogs and ferrets, and when you must transport assistance dogs with their owners.
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
Contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) about transporting other kinds of pets.
To get approval to transport pets to Northern Ireland, contact the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.
Your responsibilities
If you transport pets or assistance dogs to England, Scotland or Wales, you’re responsible for checking they meet pet travel rules.
You can employ a third party to carry out checks on your behalf.
Get approval to transport pets
You must agree a required method of operation (RMOP) with APHA. The RMOP describes your facilities and processes for carrying pets, and checking they meet travel rules.
The rules are different for cruise companies and other types of sea carrier.
Exemptions
You don’t need approval to transport pets from:
- UK countries
- the Channel Islands
- the Isle of Man
- the Republic of Ireland
You do not need approval to transport pets with a rabies import licence. You must follow the conditions of the licence.
You must follow other rules if you transport assistance dogs with their owners.
Cruise companies
You must have an RMOP for each route you’ll use to transport pets (port of departure and final port of call). You don’t need approval for each port of call on that route.
- Contact the APHA office nearest the port for advice about facilities and processes you can use.
- Fill in a pet travel RMOP form for sea or rail carriers.
- Send a copy of the form to the APHA office nearest the port named in the RMOP.
- APHA will contact you to agree the RMOP.
- You must train your staff to follow the RMOP.
Other sea carriers
You must have an RMOP for each ferry route you’ll use to transport pets (a single journey from port to port).
- Contact APHA for advice about facilities and processes you can use.
- Fill in a pet travel RMOP form for sea or rail carriers.
- Send it to APHA.
- APHA will contact you to agree the RMOP.
- You must train your staff to follow the RMOP.
Train staff
Local APHA offices will provide training and guidance about carrying out checks on pets.
You must:
- train staff to follow the conditions you agree with APHA
- regularly train staff on how to carry out checks on pets
- keep a training record for each staff member that carries out checks on pets
When your staff are trained, APHA will regularly complete quality assurance checks at the port to test that your RMOP conditions are being followed and the pet checks are being completed correctly.
If you’re approved
APHA will add you to the list of approved pet travel carriers and routes.
Your approval may be withdrawn if you don’t meet the conditions of your RMOP.
Tell APHA if you:
- stop accepting pets
- change your company name or contact details
- change your operations that are agreed within the RMOP approval
Transport assistance dogs with their owners
You must allow passengers who have a recognised assistance dog to assist with their disability or reduced mobility to travel with their recognised assistance dog if either of the following applies:
- your ferry or cruise route starts in an EU country and arrives or stops in Great Britain
- you’re a cruise ship that arrives at and departs from an EU country, and then arrives or stops in Great Britain
Find out more about the carriage of recognised assistance dogs when travelling by sea.
You could be taken to court if you don’t allow passengers with reduced mobility to travel with their assistance dogs.
Agree a memorandum of understanding (MOU)
If you must accept assistance dogs on any of your routes, you should agree an MOU with APHA. The MOU describes how you check assistance dogs meet pet travel rules.
If you have an MOU, APHA will add your route to the list of carriers registered to transport assistance dogs.
Tell APHA if you change your company name or contact details.
Cruises that start outside the EU
You don’t have to accept assistance dogs with their owners if your route is a cruise that starts outside the EU or Great Britain.
You must agree an RMOP with APHA if you transport recognised assistance dogs on a route that starts outside the EU and stops in Great Britain as its first port of call within the UK or EU.
Updates to this page
Last updated 24 October 2024 + show all updates
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Information about training staff has been updated.
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First published.