Moving to Czechia with a dog or cat: pet passport, microchip, dog fee and renting

Bringing a dog or cat to Czechia takes some planning, more so from outside the EU: from Ukraine it can take months. This page covers the rules for the journey, what you must do for a dog once you live here, the dog fee, and renting with a pet. It isn't veterinary advice: your vet and the State Veterinary Administration (Státní veterinární správa, SVS) have the final word.

What does a pet need to come from another EU country?

New EU rules for travelling with pets apply since 22 April 2026.¹ They cover dogs, cats and ferrets travelling with their owner, or with someone the owner authorises within 5 days of the owner's own move, up to 5 animals at a time.²

1. A microchip, or a clearly readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011. If the chip doesn't meet the ISO standard, bring your own reader.³
2. Then a rabies vaccination. The chip must go in first; a vaccination given before chipping doesn't count.⁴ The first vaccination can be given from 12 weeks of age and is valid 21 days after it's complete.⁵
3. An EU pet passport, issued by a vet and signed by you.³ Passports on the old model, issued before 1 January 2028, stay valid.⁶

Czechia also lets in younger animals from other EU countries in some cases, with your signed declaration; the SVS page lists them.⁷

What about a pet from Ukraine, the UK or elsewhere outside the EU?

The rules depend on the country. Pets from listed countries, such as Great Britain (not Northern Ireland), Switzerland, the United States and Canada, don't need the blood test, and Montenegro and Serbia were added on 19 June 2026.⁸ Ukraine isn't listed, so a pet from Ukraine needs a rabies blood test (titre test) too.⁹ The easier entry for pets from Ukraine that began in 2022 ended in Czechia in February 2023 and across the EU on 1 July 2023.¹⁰

1. Chip, then vaccinate against rabies, as for the EU.⁴
2. The blood test. A vet takes blood at least 30 days after the vaccination; the result must be at least 0.5 IU/ml, and the sample must be taken at least 90 days before the health certificate is issued.¹¹ It needn't be repeated as long as every booster is on time.¹²
3. An animal health certificate, issued or endorsed by an official vet no more than 10 days before you enter the EU, with your signed declaration that you aren't selling the animal.¹³ It's valid for 6 months from the check at the border, or until the vaccination runs out if that's sooner.¹³ Certificates on the old model are accepted until 31 March 2027 if issued before 1 October 2026.⁶
4. Enter at a point of entry for travellers. In Czechia these are the airports Praha-Ruzyně, Brno, Ostrava, Karlovy Vary, Pardubice and Kunovice, where customs officers check pets.¹⁴ Czechia has no land border with a country outside the EU, so by road the check is in the first EU country you enter.

Since 22 April 2026 there are no exceptions for young animals from outside the EU: they need a valid rabies vaccination. From a listed country they can travel at about 15 weeks at the earliest; from Ukraine and other unlisted countries the blood test makes it about 7 months.¹⁵ In Czechia, the only laboratory approved for the blood test is the State Veterinary Institute in Prague.¹²

What must I do for a dog once I live here?

• A chip: every dog in Czechia must have one, unless it has a readable tattoo made before 3 July 2011. A puppy must be chipped before it's sold or given away, and by 3 months of age at the latest; the chip number goes in its vaccination record.¹⁷
• Rabies vaccinations: a dog must be vaccinated between 3 and 6 months of age, then again before each vaccination runs out. Keep the record and show it to an official vet if asked.¹⁸
• The national dog register (Centrální evidence psů): it went live on 1 July 2026. Entry isn't automatic: you ask a vet and pay a fee, and entries in private chip registers don't count.¹⁹ A dog must be entered by its next rabies vaccination at the latest, and so must a change of keeper or address; the vet makes the entry within 7 working days.²⁰ A dog brought from abroad is entered at its next vaccination.²¹

Breaking these duties can bring a fine of up to 50,000 Kč.²² The Chamber of Veterinary Surgeons, which runs the register, says citizens of countries outside the EU need to register a dog only if they stay longer than 6 months, but the Veterinary Act makes no such exception. The Chamber also exempts EU citizens whose dogs are registered in another EU country; the Act doesn't say that either. So register your dog if it lives here.^{19 20}

Cats have no Czech duty to be chipped, vaccinated or registered, but a cat that travels abroad needs the same as a dog.²³ A new EU regulation will require owners to chip and register their dogs from 2036 and cats from 2041.²⁴

How much is the dog fee, and how do I pay it in Prague?

Your town can charge a fee for each dog older than 3 months. The dog's holder pays it if they're registered in the town; a foreigner counts as registered with permanent residence, a reported address for a stay of more than 3 months, or international or temporary protection. The law caps the fee at 1,500 Kč a year per dog, or 200 Kč for a holder over 65, and up to 50% more for each further dog.²⁵

Prague's rates, under city ordinance 23/2003 as amended, per year:²⁶

• Exemption: a dog taken from a Prague shelter is exempt for 2 years.²⁶
• Registering: tell your district office within 15 days of getting the dog or of it turning 3 months old, even if you're exempt, and report changes within 15 days.²⁷
• Paying: there's no bill. Up to 600 Kč you pay by 31 March; more than that, in two halves by 31 March and 31 August. If you get the dog after a due date, pay the fee in one payment within 15 days.²⁷
• Where: the office of the city district (úřad městské části) where you're registered.²⁸ Prague no longer issues its own dog tags.²⁹

The national dog register doesn't replace this: you register with your district office for the fee as well.¹⁹

Where can my dog go in Prague?

• Parks: in parks and other public green spaces dogs can't run free, except where signs allow it, such as in dog zones (psí zóny). They may never go into children's playgrounds or sandpits.³⁰
• Public transport: in Prague (zones P, 0 and B) you can take up to 2 dogs free with a valid ticket, 1 on trains. Only one dog may ride in each tram, bus or trolleybus, other than guide and assistance dogs.³¹ A dog outside a closed carrier must wear a muzzle and be on a short leash for the whole trip.³² Prague public transport covers tickets.

Can I rent a flat with a pet?

The Civil Code gives a tenant the right to keep an animal in the flat, as long as it doesn't cause the landlord or neighbours more trouble than is normal in the building. The tenant pays any extra cost of cleaning or upkeep of shared areas that the animal causes.³³ Clauses that cut back a tenant's rights under the lease rules don't count, so a blanket ban on pets in a lease is on weak ground, though we haven't checked how courts treat one.³⁴

The deposit and any contractual penalty together can't be more than three months' rent, and a separate deposit for a pet counts towards that.³⁵ Tell your landlord about your pet before you sign: The Czech lease, clause by clause covers what goes in a lease, and you can search for flats to rent that welcome pets.

How do I find a vet?

The Chamber of Veterinary Surgeons (Komora veterinárních lékařů) keeps the official directory of vets, which you can search by name or on a map.³⁶ Ask the practice whether its vet can issue pet passports: only vets approved by the regional veterinary administration can.³⁷

If your dog goes missing, you, a vet, the municipal office or the police can flag it as lost in the national register. If you find a dog, call the police if it's dangerous; otherwise contact the municipal office, a shelter, the city police or a vet.³⁸

Sources

1. Regulation (EU) 2016/429 (Animal Health Law), Part VI and Art. 277; State Veterinary Administration, travelling with pets. ↩

2. Regulation (EU) 2016/429, Art. 245(2) and Art. 246(1). ↩

3. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131, Art. 7 and Art. 11(1). ↩ ↩²

4. State Veterinary Administration, travelling to Czechia with dogs, cats and ferrets from EU countries, section on identification. ↩ ↩²

5. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131, Art. 8; Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/133, annex. ↩

6. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/705, Art. 6. ↩ ↩²

7. State Veterinary Administration, travelling to Czechia with dogs, cats and ferrets from EU countries, sections 4.1 and 4.2; Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131, Art. 9. ↩

8. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131, Art. 17(1); Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636, annexes I and II, as amended by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1228. ↩

9. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131, Art. 14(c). ↩

10. State Veterinary Administration, press release on the EU-wide return to standard entry rules for pets from Ukraine, 30 June 2023. ↩

11. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/135, annex, point 1. ↩

12. State Veterinary Administration, travelling to Czechia with dogs, cats and ferrets from other non-EU countries. ↩ ↩² ↩³

13. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131, Art. 18(1) and (3), Art. 19(b). ↩ ↩²

14. State Veterinary Administration, points of entry for travellers' pets. ↩

15. State Veterinary Administration, travelling to Czechia with dogs, cats and ferrets from listed non-EU countries; Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/133, annex; Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/135, annex, point 1. ↩

16. State Veterinary Administration, travelling with pets, section on animals that don't meet the rules. ↩

17. Veterinary Act (Act 166/1999 Coll.), §4(3) and §4c. ↩ ↩²

18. Veterinary Act (Act 166/1999 Coll.), §4(1)(f). ↩

19. Chamber of Veterinary Surgeons, the Central Dog Register from 1 July 2026, 8 June 2026, with its questions and answers. ↩ ↩² ↩³

20. Veterinary Act (Act 166/1999 Coll.), §5e to §5g; Act 246/2022 Coll., art. II point 3. ↩ ↩² ↩³

21. Central Dog Register, buying a dog. ↩

22. Veterinary Act (Act 166/1999 Coll.), §71(1)(b) and (2)(b). ↩

23. Veterinary Act (Act 166/1999 Coll.), §4(1)(f), §4(3) and §5e, which name dogs only. ↩ ↩²

24. Regulation (EU) 2026/1818 on the welfare of dogs and cats and their traceability, Art. 20(7) and Art. 33. ↩

25. Local Fees Act (Act 565/1990 Coll.), §2 and §16c. ↩ ↩²

26. Prague ordinance 23/2003 on the local dog fee, §2(1) to (3) and §6(d), as amended by ordinances 18/2004, 8/2011, 19/2019 and 15/2021. ↩ ↩²

27. Prague ordinance 23/2003 on the local dog fee, §4 and §5, as amended by ordinance 8/2011. ↩ ↩²

28. Prague ordinance 19/2019, art. I point 12, amending §7(1) of ordinance 23/2003. ↩

29. Prague ordinance 15/2021, art. I, in force from 1 January 2022. ↩

30. Prague ordinance 6/2001 on the protection of public greenery, §2(c), §3(1)(g), (2)(d) and (3). ↩

31. Prague Integrated Transport, travelling with a dog, as of 1 January 2026. ↩

32. Prague Integrated Transport, luggage and dogs, as of 1 January 2026. ↩

33. Civil Code (Act 89/2012 Coll.), §2258. ↩ ↩²

34. Civil Code (Act 89/2012 Coll.), §2235(1) and §2239. ↩ ↩²

35. Civil Code (Act 89/2012 Coll.), §2254(1) and (2). ↩

36. Chamber of Veterinary Surgeons, vets. ↩

37. Veterinary Act (Act 166/1999 Coll.), §4a(3). ↩

38. Central Dog Register, my dog is lost and I found a dog. ↩