Pet Transport from France to Japan
Japan’s reputation for pet quarantine is only half deserved. Get everything right and a dog clears Narita in under twelve hours, which is quicker than most European arrivals. Get one thing wrong and the animal is detained at the …
The France to Japan pet import process
Each step must be completed in a precise sequence. Start early. We manage every stage and deadline.
Which Japan rules depend on a pet coming from France?
Japan sorts countries into 2 groups, and France falls in “Non-designated regions”.
Microchip, two or more rabies vaccinations (first at 91 days or older), antibody test of 0.5 IU/ml or more at a designated laboratory, 180-day wait from blood sampling, 40-day notice, clinical inspection within 10 days and government certificate (Form AC). Official source
These rules apply to that group, on top of the rules every pet follows:
- Rabies titre test: Rabies antibody test at a Japan-designated laboratory. Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import dogs and cats into Japan (from non-designated regions), checked 1 October 2026 - Rabies titre test: Blood is drawn after the second vaccination (may be the same day). Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import dogs and cats into Japan (from non-designated regions), checked 1 October 2026 - Rabies titre test: Pass mark is 0.5 IU/ml or more. Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import dogs and cats into Japan (from non-designated regions), checked 1 October 2026 - Rabies titre test: The result is valid for 2 years from blood sampling. Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import dogs and cats into Japan (from non-designated regions), checked 1 October 2026 - Rabies titre test: Arrival only after 180 days from the blood sampling date (sampling date is day 0); any shortfall is served in AQS detention. Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import dogs and cats into Japan (from non-designated regions), checked 1 October 2026 - Rabies titre test: If the 2-year result expires, a new test is needed but the 180-day wait does not restart, provided vaccinations stayed continuous, the new sample is at least 180 days after the first and the titre is 0.5 IU/ml or more. Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import dogs and cats into Japan (from non-designated regions), checked 1 October 2026 - Rabies titre test: Biobest Laboratories Ltd (UK) has been removed from Japan's designated laboratory list; holders of its certificates issued 27 November 2024 to 25 June 2025 must contact AQS at the port of entry. Do not use Biobest for Japan. Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import and export quarantine of dogs and cats, checked 1 October 2026 - Health certificate: A private vet may complete Form AC, then an official government veterinarian must endorse it. Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import dogs and cats into Japan (from non-designated regions), checked 1 October 2026 - Rabies vaccination: At least two rabies vaccinations after microchipping. Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import dogs and cats into Japan (from non-designated regions), checked 1 October 2026 - Rabies vaccination: First vaccination at 91 days old or more (date of birth is day 0); vaccinations given under 91 days are invalid even if the exporting country allows 12 weeks. Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import dogs and cats into Japan (from non-designated regions), checked 1 October 2026 - Rabies vaccination: Second vaccination 30 or more days after the first (first is day 0) and within the first vaccination's effective period of immunity. Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import dogs and cats into Japan (from non-designated regions), checked 1 October 2026 - Rabies vaccination: Only inactivated (killed) or recombinant/modified vaccines are accepted. Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import dogs and cats into Japan (from non-designated regions), checked 1 October 2026 - Rabies vaccination: Live virus and RNA rabies vaccines are not accepted. Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import dogs and cats into Japan (from non-designated regions), checked 1 October 2026 - Rabies vaccination: Immunity must be continuous until arrival: a booster given after the previous vaccination's effective period has lapsed is not accepted and the whole process restarts from the first vaccination. Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import dogs and cats into Japan (from non-designated regions), checked 1 October 2026 - How your pet may travel: Non-designated regions: airside transit needs no extra certificate; entering the transit country requires that country's government health certificate. Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
FAQ: Bringing dogs and cats into Japan from abroad, checked 1 October 2026 - Parasite treatment: Not required: AQS's official import guide for non-designated regions (updated September 2026) states that it sets out the conditions and procedures for import; its conditions (steps 1 to 8) contain no parasite treatment. Parasite control appears only as a recommended measure (Reference 3, and in step 8-2 for animals that will undergo detention), not as an import condition. Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import guide for dogs and cats from non-designated regions (Japanese, updated September 2026), checked 2 October 2026 - Parasite treatment: In the same guide, flea, tick, roundworm and tapeworm treatment is listed under 'Reference 3: recommended measures', not as an import condition; AQS asks for it in particular for animals that will undergo detention. Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import guide for dogs and cats from non-designated regions (Japanese, updated September 2026), checked 2 October 2026 - Microchip: Microchip required, implanted before the first rabies vaccination (same day allowed). Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import dogs and cats into Japan (from non-designated regions), checked 1 October 2026 - Minimum age: No stated entry age, but the first valid rabies vaccination is at 91 days old or more, followed by a second at least 30 days later and a 180-day wait from the blood sample, so the youngest possible arrival from a non-designated region is about 10 months (around 301 days) old. Applies to dogs and cats from non-designated regions.
Import dogs and cats into Japan (from non-designated regions), checked 1 October 2026
The rules that apply to every pet entering Japan, whatever the origin, are listed with their official sources in our Japan guide.
What does France require before your pet leaves?
- Export health certificate: For travel to a non-EU country, where the destination country's health rules cannot be found, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (updated 27 July 2026) gives default conditions: an international health certificate drawn up by the owner's own vet holding the 'mandat sanitaire' in the week before leaving France. Otherwise the destination's own rules set the timing and content. Applies to dogs and cats leaving France for non-EU countries.
Animaux domestiques (mis à jour le 27 juillet 2026), checked 1 October 2026 - Export health certificate: Under the same default conditions, the owner must then book an appointment with the 'Santé et protection animales' service of the Ministry of Agriculture veterinary services covering that vet, which validates the documents the vet has drawn up. Applies to dogs and cats leaving France for non-EU countries.
Animaux domestiques (mis à jour le 27 juillet 2026), checked 1 October 2026 - Other conditions: Owners of Category 1 or Category 2 dogs must check in advance whether the dog can travel with them and be admitted by the destination country. Applies to Category 1 and 2 dogs leaving France.
Voyager à l'étranger avec son animal de compagnie, checked 1 October 2026 - Other conditions: For travel from France to a country outside the EU, service-public.gouv.fr (checked 28 April 2026) lists the conditions for the dog, cat or ferret: microchip identification (or a tattoo made before 3 July 2011 that is still legible), a European pet passport issued by a vet, and rabies vaccination. Applies to dogs, cats and ferrets leaving France for a non-EU country.
Voyager à l'étranger avec son animal de compagnie, checked 1 October 2026 - Other conditions: Rabies vaccination is possible from 12 weeks of age and takes effect at least 21 days later (service-public.gouv.fr, conditions for travel outside the EU). Applies to dogs, cats and ferrets leaving France for a non-EU country.
Voyager à l'étranger avec son animal de compagnie, checked 1 October 2026 - Other conditions: Some destination countries require the documents validated by the Ministry of Agriculture veterinary services to be legalised or apostilled afterwards; the apostille is obtained from the courts of appeal (Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, updated 27 July 2026). Applies to dogs and cats leaving France for a non-EU country.
Animaux domestiques (mis à jour le 27 juillet 2026), checked 1 October 2026 - Other conditions: Allow at least ten days for the export formalities, or several months for destinations that require quarantine (Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, updated 27 July 2026). Applies to dogs and cats leaving France for a non-EU country.
Animaux domestiques (mis à jour le 27 juillet 2026), checked 1 October 2026
What this route typically costs
Critical points to read before you book
France is not one of Japan's designated regions. Those are a short list including Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and Guam, and being a low-rabies EU country does not substitute.
Japan's 180 days run from the date the blood sample was COLLECTED. Australia's equivalent 180 days run from the date the laboratory RECEIVES the sample. The two rules look identical and are not.
The microchip must be implanted on the day of or before the first rabies vaccination. Getting that order wrong invalidates the vaccination and restarts a six-month process.
The advance notification has to reach the Animal Quarantine Service at least 40 days before arrival. It can be filed during the 180-day wait, so there is no reason to leave it late.
Carriers approved for this route
Not all airlines accept live animals on this route. We know which carriers to use and how to book.
Two 180-day rules that are not the same rule
Anyone comparing destinations will meet two apparently identical requirements, and the difference between them is worth a fortnight.
Japan’s rule is that dogs and cats must undergo a wait of at least 180 days between the date the sample is collected for the rabies titre test and the date the animal arrives in Japan. The clock starts when the needle comes out.
Australia’s rule reads the same at a glance and is not. There, a pet becomes eligible for export only at least 180 days after the blood sample arrives at the laboratory. Any time the sample spends in transit is added to the wait rather than counted towards it.
For a French owner sending a sample to a designated laboratory, that distinction is pure good news: the courier time is already inside your 180 days rather than bolted on to the end. But if you are weighing Japan against Australia, or if a relocation later changes destination, do not carry the Japanese reading across. It will cost you weeks you did not budget.
The sequence, and the one step that cannot be repaired
Japan checks the order of events, not just that they happened.
The microchip must be implanted on the day of or before the first rabies vaccination. If the vaccination came first, it does not count, and the sequence begins again with a fresh vaccination after the chip. Since the whole chain runs to six months, that is the single most expensive mistake available on this route, and it is usually made by an owner whose dog was chipped routinely at some later visit.
From there: the first vaccination at 91 days of age or older; the second more than 30 days after the first and within the effective period of the first; then the titre, with blood collected on the date of the second vaccination or any day until the end of its effective period, at a MAFF-designated laboratory, to a result of 0.5 IU/ml or greater.
Note that two vaccinations is a genuine Japanese requirement, unlike Australia, where the same claim appears in a lot of guidance and is not part of the actual rules. Requirements do not transfer between destinations, and a guide that treats “strict country” as a single category will mislead you in both directions.
Forty days' notice, filed early
The advance notification goes to the Animal Quarantine Service at least 40 days before arrival, and the service reviews it and issues an Approval of Import Inspection.
The useful detail is that it can be submitted during the 180-day waiting period. There is no reason to sit on it. Filing early means any query about the microchip, the vaccination dates or the laboratory surfaces while you still have months of the wait left to fix it, rather than in the final six weeks when there is nothing to be done.
Bring the paperwork together and check it against the dates: chip date, first vaccination, second vaccination, blood collection, laboratory, result. Those six entries are what the quarantine service is reading, and they either line up or they do not.
At the French end, the export certificate has to be signed by an official government veterinarian, which means endorsement through the departmental veterinary services rather than your own vet signing alone. Book that appointment in good time; it sits at the very end of a six-month chain and there is no quick way to repeat it.
Flying, and the summer question
Air France operates the Paris nonstops to Tokyo and Osaka, carrying small pets in the cabin and larger animals in the hold on many routes, with brachycephalic restrictions. Long-haul terms differ from short-haul ones, so confirm acceptance for the Japan sectors and for your specific breed rather than reading across from an intra-European trip.
Japan Airlines and ANA both carry animals in the hold on their Paris services. Japanese carriers apply summer heat restrictions on some sectors, and Tokyo in August is genuinely hot, so a July or August booking is something to check rather than assume. Per-flight animal capacity on long-haul services is small in any case, which is the real argument for booking early.
Then the payoff. A compliant animal is cleared in under twelve hours at Narita, Haneda or Kansai. Not days in a kennel, not a facility stay. Six months of careful sequencing buys you an afternoon at the airport, which is a fair trade if you know about it from the start and a bitter one if you find out in month five.
Common questions about France to Japan pet transport
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Sources
Requirements on this page were checked against the authorities below. Rules change, so confirm current conditions with the relevant authority before you travel.