If there’s one vaccine your dog absolutely, non-negotiably needs to fly, it’s the rabies vaccine. Everything else depends on where you’re going. This one doesn’t. It’s mandatory almost everywhere in the world, and without it, you’re not getting on that plane.
I know that sounds dramatic. But I’ve seen people show up to check-in with everything else in order — the right carrier bag, the documents, the reservation — and get turned away because their dog’s rabies vaccine had expired two weeks earlier. It’s a fixable problem, but only if you catch it before you’re standing at the counter.
Here’s everything you need to know about the rabies vaccine for dog travel, based on what we’ve learned flying with Sami across Europe and to the US.
Why It’s the One That Matters
Rabies is fatal. In both dogs and humans. That’s why every country takes it seriously, and why it’s the single vaccine that appears on every airline’s requirements list and every country’s entry requirements.
Other vaccines might be recommended for travel — things like parvovirus, hepatitis, leptospirosis — but the rabies vaccine is the only one that’s universally required. If you’re flying within Europe with an EU pet passport, the rabies vaccine is the main thing they check. If you’re entering the US, the CDC requirements revolve around rabies status. It’s always rabies.
How Far in Advance Do You Need It?
This depends on whether it’s your dog’s first rabies vaccine or a booster.
First-time vaccine (primary): Your dog needs to get the shot at least 21-30 days before your travel date. The exact waiting period depends on your destination — for the EU, it’s 21 days. This gives the vaccine time to build immunity. If you’re flying in three weeks and your dog has never been vaccinated for rabies, you’re cutting it extremely close. Better to get it done a month or more before travel.
Booster vaccine: If your dog already has a valid rabies vaccine and is getting a booster (a follow-up shot within the validity period of the previous one), there’s no waiting period. You can travel immediately after the booster. This is a big deal — it means if you’re a regular traveler with your dog, keeping the vaccine current eliminates the waiting period entirely.
Sami gets his rabies vaccine every 3 years, which is the longest validity period available. When it’s time for the booster, we schedule it well before any upcoming trips, but technically we could fly the same day.
How Long Does It Last?
The rabies vaccine is valid for 1 to 3 years, depending on which vaccine your vet uses. Sami’s is the 3-year variety, which is the most common in Europe and the US. Some vets use a 1-year vaccine, especially for the first dose.
Here’s the important thing: the validity period starts from the date of vaccination and ends on the date your vet records in your dog’s documents. Check your pet passport or health certificate — there should be a “valid until” date next to the rabies entry. That’s your deadline.
My routine: about a month before any trip, I check the rabies vaccine date in Sami’s passport. If it’s going to expire within the next few months, we get the booster before traveling. I never want to be in a situation where the vaccine expires during a trip.
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The Microchip Rule You Can’t Ignore
This one catches people off guard: the rabies vaccine must be administered AFTER your dog’s microchip was implanted. If the chip came after the vaccine, some authorities — especially the CDC in the United States — will consider the vaccine invalid.
So the order is always: microchip first, then rabies vaccine. If your dog already has a microchip (which most dogs do), this isn’t an issue. But if you’re starting from scratch with a new puppy, make sure the vet does the chip before the shot.
I didn’t actually know this when we first traveled with Sami. Turns out his microchip was already in place before his first rabies vaccine, so we were fine. But I’m mentioning it because if the dates are wrong in your documents, it could cause problems — especially at US immigration.
Where Does the Vaccine Get Recorded?
The rabies vaccine needs to be documented in your official travel papers. Which papers depends on where you are.
In Europe, it goes in your EU pet passport. Your vet records the vaccine date, the batch number, the validity period, and stamps it. This is the document you’ll show at check-in and at border control.
If you’re traveling to the US from abroad, the vaccine information needs to appear in your health certificate or on the CDC Dog Import Form. For details on US-specific requirements, check our full guide on CDC requirements.
For a complete overview of which documents you need depending on your route, see our paperwork checklist for flying with your dog.
What About the US? Is Rabies Vaccine Required?
This is where it gets interesting. Since the CDC changed the rules on August 1, 2024, the rabies vaccine is technically not required for dogs entering the US from rabies-free or low-risk countries. That’s most of Europe, Australia, Japan, and many other countries.
But — and I cannot stress this enough — I would never travel without a current rabies vaccine. Even if it’s not required by the CDC for entry, your airline might require it. Individual US states might require it. And most importantly, rabies is a fatal disease. Keeping your dog vaccinated is just the responsible thing to do.
If you’re coming from a high-risk country, the rabies vaccine is absolutely required for US entry, and you may need additional testing. See our CDC requirements guide for the full breakdown.
Tapeworm Treatment: The Other One to Know About
While we’re talking about health requirements, there’s one more treatment that comes up for certain destinations: tapeworm treatment.
It’s only mandatory for a handful of European countries — Finland, Ireland, Malta, Norway, and Northern Ireland. If you’re flying to any of these, your dog needs to be treated for tapeworm in the days before travel. Your vet can do this easily — it’s usually a simple oral medication.
For everywhere else in Europe, tapeworm treatment is recommended but not required. We usually get Sami treated before any international trip, just to be safe, but we’ve never been asked to show proof of it at check-in (except the one time we flew to Finland).
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The rabies vaccine is the one thing I tell every first-time flying dog owner to check before anything else. Not the carrier. Not the airline. The vaccine. Because everything else can be solved at the airport. An expired or missing rabies vaccine cannot. Check it now, schedule the booster if needed, and cross the biggest item off your list.
