Your dog's paperwork changes on 1 October: the 90-day count moves
If you are moving to Portugal from outside the EU and bringing a dog, a cat or a ferret, the paperwork changes on 1 October 2026. The health requirements themselves are not new. What moved is the date everything is measured against — and that is the part that strands people at the airport.
Certificates issued before that date: still valid — the old Annex IV model works if it was issued before 1 October.
Rabies antibody test: blood taken at least 30 days after the primary vaccination, and the test done not less than 90 days before the certificate is issued.
Result required: neutralising antibodies ≥ 0.5 IU/ml.
New: a written owner declaration that the move is non-commercial, on the prescribed model.
The 90 days do not count to your flight
This is the sentence worth reading twice. The rabies titration test must be carried out at least 90 days before the date the animal health certificate is issued. Not 90 days before you land, not 90 days before you book. Before the vet signs the certificate.
In practice the certificate is issued shortly before travel, so the gap is similar — until it is not. If your blood test was done in July and your certificate is signed in late September, you are fine. If the test slipped to August because the lab was slow, the vet cannot issue the certificate until November, whatever your flight says.
The order of operations has not changed, and it still catches people
- Microchip first. The vaccination date must not precede the date the microchip was implanted or read. A dog vaccinated before it was chipped has to be vaccinated again.
- Then the rabies vaccine, with the animal at least 12 weeks old. Validity starts no earlier than 21 days after the primary course is complete.
- Then the blood sample, at least 30 days after that vaccination.
- Then 90 days of waiting, ending no later than the day the certificate is issued.
Add it up and a puppy chipped today is not landing in Lisbon for something close to five months. That is not a queue you can pay to skip.
What actually changes on 1 October
The substance stays: chip, vaccine, titration, waiting period. What changes is the form. From 1 October only the new model certificate is accepted, and it carries a final section — a written declaration, signed by the owner or the person travelling with the animal, confirming the movement is non-commercial.
If you are coming from inside the EU
None of this applies in the same way: an EU pet passport, a valid rabies vaccination and a microchip are enough, and there is no titration test and no 90-day wait. The rules above are for arrivals from outside the Union — which, for our readers, usually means the UK, the US, Brazil or Ukraine.
What to do this month
- Look at the issue date on any certificate you already have. Before 1 October, it holds. That is the whole test.
- If the blood test is not done yet, book it now. The 90 days start from the test, and a September sample means a certificate no earlier than December.
- Ask the lab for the result in writing with the date, not just a pass. The vet issuing the certificate needs the date to count backwards from.
- Bring the declaration signed. It is a new field, and an unsigned one is an incomplete certificate.
Our guide to moving with a pet has the rest of the arrival checklist — registration, vets, and what to do once you are here. The piece on the rabies lapse trap covers the other way this goes wrong: a vaccination that expired quietly between the booking and the flight.
Guidance, not legal or tax advice — verify your case with official sources.