Country entry guide · Europe (EU)
Traveling to Latvia with your dog
Entry into Latvia depends on the dog’s actual origin, documents and travel history. The current regimes below distinguish travel within the EU, recognised pet passports, listed and non-listed non-EU origins, entry checks and return after a short stay.
📋 At a glance
| Identification | ISO microchip (or qualifying pre-3 July 2011 tattoo) |
| Rabies vaccination | Required |
| Travel document | EU passport or animal health certificate, depending on origin |
| Rabies antibody test | Conditional — non-listed origins |
| Entry check | Conditional — most non-EU origins |
⚠️ Important
- MyDogCanFly provides general information — not veterinary or legal advice.
- Only a veterinarian can confirm the exact procedure for your individual dog.
- Requirements depend on: the country of origin, previous travel history, identification, vaccinations, the itinerary and the travel date.
Always consult your veterinarian before booking your trip.
Find a flight to Latvia
🌍 EU entry regimes currently in force
Choose one documentary route
The five routes below are alternatives: choose the one matching the dog’s actual origin, documents and travel history.
From another EU country
For travel within the EU, or from Northern Ireland under the same movement framework, the dog needs a microchip, or a clearly readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011, a valid rabies vaccination and a recognised pet passport. The identification must predate the vaccination recorded for travel. The dog must be at least 12 weeks old for its primary vaccination; after that primary vaccination, wait at least 21 days before travel. With that passport, no rabies antibody titration or animal health certificate is required. When its owner lives outside the EU and the dog entered the EU with an EU animal health certificate, it may instead continue to another Member State under that certificate, without an EU pet passport, provided the authority at the travellers’ point of entry recorded its entry on the certificate; the certificate remains valid for six months from those checks, or until the rabies vaccination expires if that is sooner.
Official source ↗From an origin with a recognised pet passport
For entry into the EU, the dog must be identified by a microchip, or by a clearly readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011, before the rabies vaccination recorded for travel. The dog must be at least 12 weeks old for its primary rabies vaccination. After a primary vaccination, wait at least 21 days before travel. No rabies antibody titration is required provided the dog travels directly from the listed country or territory where its owner habitually resides, or arrives after a stay exclusively in listed countries or territories (Annexes I and II to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636). If the journey passes through a country or territory that is not listed, the exemption applies only if the owner or an authorised person signs a declaration that the dog had no contact with animals susceptible to rabies and remained secured within the means of transport or within the perimeter of the international zone of the port or airport; otherwise the route for non-listed countries applies, titration included. A valid pet passport issued in Andorra, Switzerland, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Greenland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino or Vatican City replaces the EU animal health certificate. Without a recognised passport, use the EU animal health certificate and the signed non-commercial declaration. The certificate must be completed and issued by an official veterinarian, or by an authorised veterinarian and then endorsed by the competent authority. For entry it is valid for 10 days from issue by the official veterinarian; a sea journey extends that period by the duration of the voyage. After the entry check it remains valid for onward travel within the EU for up to 6 months or until the rabies vaccination expires, whichever comes first.
Official source ↗From a listed non-EU country or territory
For entry into the EU, the dog must be identified by a microchip, or by a clearly readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011, before the rabies vaccination recorded for travel. The dog must be at least 12 weeks old for its primary rabies vaccination. After a primary vaccination, wait at least 21 days before travel. No rabies antibody titration is required provided the dog travels directly from the listed country or territory where its owner habitually resides, or arrives after a stay exclusively in listed countries or territories (Annexes I and II to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636). If the journey passes through a country or territory that is not listed, the exemption applies only if the owner or an authorised person signs a declaration that the dog had no contact with animals susceptible to rabies and remained secured within the means of transport or within the perimeter of the international zone of the port or airport; otherwise the route for non-listed countries applies, titration included. An EU animal health certificate and the signed non-commercial declaration are required. The certificate must be completed and issued by an official veterinarian, or by an authorised veterinarian and then endorsed by the competent authority. For entry it is valid for 10 days from issue by the official veterinarian; a sea journey extends that period by the duration of the voyage. After the entry check it remains valid for onward travel within the EU for up to 6 months or until the rabies vaccination expires, whichever comes first.
Official source ↗From a non-listed country or territory
For entry into the EU, the dog must be identified by a microchip, or by a clearly readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011, before the rabies vaccination recorded for travel. The dog must be at least 12 weeks old for its primary rabies vaccination. After a primary vaccination, wait at least 21 days before travel. A rabies antibody titration is required. The sample must be taken at least 30 days after the primary vaccination, or during a current valid vaccination series, and at least 90 days before the animal health certificate is issued. The result must be at least 0.5 IU/ml in a designated laboratory. No repeat test is required while boosters remain continuous. An EU animal health certificate and the signed non-commercial declaration are required. The certificate must be completed and issued by an official veterinarian, or by an authorised veterinarian and then endorsed by the competent authority. For entry it is valid for 10 days from issue by the official veterinarian; a sea journey extends that period by the duration of the voyage. After the entry check it remains valid for onward travel within the EU for up to 6 months or until the rabies vaccination expires, whichever comes first.
Official source ↗Returning to the EU after a short stay
After a short stay outside the EU, a dog habitually resident in the EU may re-enter with its EU pet passport alone only when the rabies vaccination completed before leaving the EU is still valid on the return date and the passport shows that the dog met the vaccination requirements before departure. If that stay was in a country or territory that is not listed (Annexes I and II to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636), the passport must also show a rabies antibody titration with a favourable result carried out before the dog left the EU; the 90-day wait then does not apply. Without that pre-departure titration the passport is not enough: the dog needs an EU animal health certificate and a titration whose sample was taken at least 90 days before the certificate is issued. If continued validity depends on a rabies booster administered outside the EU, the booster should be entered in Section V by an authorised veterinarian, endorsed in Section XI by the third country’s official veterinarian, and evidenced in the EU animal health certificate accompanying the dog. If the vaccination recorded before departure remains valid despite an additional booster abroad, confirm with the entry authority which record it will accept. Use an animal health certificate whenever the passport does not establish the pre-departure conditions. This route is for a short stay, not a change of habitual residence, and an EU passport issued to an owner resident in Great Britain is not valid for this entry.
Official source ↗Checks and requirements that may be added
Depending on the itinerary, these requirements may apply in addition to the documentary route selected above.
Entry control for most non-EU origins
Enter through a designated travellers’ point of entry and contact the competent authority there for documentary and identity checks. Holding an EU pet passport does not remove this origin-based requirement.
Official source ↗🚫 Restricted dogs
Latvia has no national breed-specific ban: no dog breed is prohibited from being imported, kept or owned. Instead, dangerous dogs are identified individually under the Animal Protection Law (Dzīvnieku aizsardzības likums), and all owners share the same registration and welfare duties.
Individual assessment, not a breed list: under Section 5.1 of the Animal Protection Law a dog is recognised as dangerous only by a behaviour-assessment commission set up by the Food and Veterinary Service (PVD), based on the individual dog's behaviour — never automatically because of its breed or appearance.
Owner responsibility: every dog must be microchipped and registered in the Agricultural Data Centre pet register, and the owner must keep the animal safely and prevent it from endangering people or other animals. Once a dog is declared dangerous, extra keeping requirements set by Cabinet regulation apply.
Because there is no breed ban, no dog is refused entry to Latvia purely on the basis of its breed. For the exact keeping rules for a dog already assessed as dangerous, contact the Food and Veterinary Service (PVD).
✈️ Documented airlines serving Latvia
Airlines we document that serve this country. Whether the dog is accepted, and under what conditions, is to be checked on each airline's page — it does not prejudge your breed, your crate or your exact route.
+4 more documented airlines serve this country. 1 carrier serving this country is not listed here: refusal or undocumented pet policy. See all airlines →
🛂 Airports in Latvia
Check where your dog can relieve itself at each airport — and whether it's before or after security.
Latvia with a dog: common questions
Latvia: what applies within the EU?
For travel within the EU, or from Northern Ireland under the same movement framework, the dog needs a microchip, or a clearly readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011, a valid rabies vaccination and a recognised pet passport. The identification must predate the vaccination recorded for travel. The dog must be at least 12 weeks old for its primary vaccination; after that primary vaccination, wait at least 21 days before travel. With that passport, no rabies antibody titration or animal health certificate is required. When its owner lives outside the EU and the dog entered the EU with an EU animal health certificate, it may instead continue to another Member State under that certificate, without an EU pet passport, provided the authority at the travellers’ point of entry recorded its entry on the certificate; the certificate remains valid for six months from those checks, or until the rabies vaccination expires if that is sooner.
Latvia: is a rabies antibody test required from a listed non-EU origin?
For entry into the EU, the dog must be identified by a microchip, or by a clearly readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011, before the rabies vaccination recorded for travel. The dog must be at least 12 weeks old for its primary rabies vaccination. After a primary vaccination, wait at least 21 days before travel. No rabies antibody titration is required provided the dog travels directly from the listed country or territory where its owner habitually resides, or arrives after a stay exclusively in listed countries or territories (Annexes I and II to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636). If the journey passes through a country or territory that is not listed, the exemption applies only if the owner or an authorised person signs a declaration that the dog had no contact with animals susceptible to rabies and remained secured within the means of transport or within the perimeter of the international zone of the port or airport; otherwise the route for non-listed countries applies, titration included. An EU animal health certificate and the signed non-commercial declaration are required. The certificate must be completed and issued by an official veterinarian, or by an authorised veterinarian and then endorsed by the competent authority. For entry it is valid for 10 days from issue by the official veterinarian; a sea journey extends that period by the duration of the voyage. After the entry check it remains valid for onward travel within the EU for up to 6 months or until the rabies vaccination expires, whichever comes first.
Latvia: what applies from a non-listed origin?
For entry into the EU, the dog must be identified by a microchip, or by a clearly readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011, before the rabies vaccination recorded for travel. The dog must be at least 12 weeks old for its primary rabies vaccination. After a primary vaccination, wait at least 21 days before travel. A rabies antibody titration is required. The sample must be taken at least 30 days after the primary vaccination, or during a current valid vaccination series, and at least 90 days before the animal health certificate is issued. The result must be at least 0.5 IU/ml in a designated laboratory. No repeat test is required while boosters remain continuous. An EU animal health certificate and the signed non-commercial declaration are required. The certificate must be completed and issued by an official veterinarian, or by an authorised veterinarian and then endorsed by the competent authority. For entry it is valid for 10 days from issue by the official veterinarian; a sea journey extends that period by the duration of the voyage. After the entry check it remains valid for onward travel within the EU for up to 6 months or until the rabies vaccination expires, whichever comes first.
Latvia: can I return with an EU pet passport after a short stay?
After a short stay outside the EU, a dog habitually resident in the EU may re-enter with its EU pet passport alone only when the rabies vaccination completed before leaving the EU is still valid on the return date and the passport shows that the dog met the vaccination requirements before departure. If that stay was in a country or territory that is not listed (Annexes I and II to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636), the passport must also show a rabies antibody titration with a favourable result carried out before the dog left the EU; the 90-day wait then does not apply. Without that pre-departure titration the passport is not enough: the dog needs an EU animal health certificate and a titration whose sample was taken at least 90 days before the certificate is issued. If continued validity depends on a rabies booster administered outside the EU, the booster should be entered in Section V by an authorised veterinarian, endorsed in Section XI by the third country’s official veterinarian, and evidenced in the EU animal health certificate accompanying the dog. If the vaccination recorded before departure remains valid despite an additional booster abroad, confirm with the entry authority which record it will accept. Use an animal health certificate whenever the passport does not establish the pre-departure conditions. This route is for a short stay, not a change of habitual residence, and an EU passport issued to an owner resident in Great Britain is not valid for this entry.
Answers drawn from the official sources listed below; entry information last verified 20 October 2026. Rules change — confirm with the authorities of Latvia and your vet before booking.
📚 Official sources
- European Commission — Bringing a pet into the EU from a non-EU country
- European Commission — Travelling with a pet within the EU
- European Commission — Listing of non-EU countries (antibody-test exemption)
- PVD (Food and Veterinary Service) — Travelling from third countries to Latvia
- PVD — Travelling with pet animals between EU Member States
- State Revenue Service (VID) — Customs: Pets
- Animal Protection Law (Dzīvnieku aizsardzības likums) — dangerous-dog assessment, Section 5.1
- European Union — supporting legal guidance
- European Union — supporting legal guidance
- European Commission — current pet-entry rules
- European Commission — current pet-entry rules