Taking your pet to Romania: microchip, rabies shot and the EU passport, and the puppy rule that doesn't work on the way

May your dog or cat come to Romania? Yes. Within the EU a microchip, a valid rabies vaccination and the European pet passport are enough; there is no titre test or quarantine, and the tapeworm treatment some countries require doesn't apply to Romania. The find at Your Europe is that Romania, unlike the Netherlands, admits a puppy without full rabies protection. The pitfall is on the road there: the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Hungary don't admit such a young animal, and those are exactly the countries you drive through. Since Romania joined Schengen on 1 January 2025, the check at the border has gone, but the rule has not.

What does your animal need for the journey?

For a journey with a dog, cat or ferret between two EU countries the animal needs a microchip, a rabies vaccination and a valid European pet passport recording both. The chip goes in first: a vaccination only counts if the animal was already chipped when the shot was given. You get the passport from any authorised vet and it stays valid for life, as long as the rabies vaccination in it is up to date.

Rule	Period or number
First rabies shot	not before the animal is 12 weeks old
Waiting after the first shot	at least 21 days before you travel
Booster	before the previous one expires, otherwise 21 days' wait again
Number of animals	up to 5 without extra requirements
Animal travels separately from you	under the responsibility of an authorised person, within 5 days of your journey
Tapeworm treatment	not needed for Romania; only for Finland, Ireland, Malta, Norway and Northern Ireland
Titre test	not needed within the EU

A booster that comes too late counts as a first shot: then the 21-day waiting period starts again. So look in the passport a few months before departure to see when the vaccination expires, and have it repeated in time.

Can a puppy without full vaccination come along?

Romania yes, the route no. Your Europe lists Romania among the countries you may travel to with a young animal that is less than twelve weeks old and not yet vaccinated, or between twelve and sixteen weeks old and not yet fully protected. Then the passport must contain a declaration that the animal has had no contact since birth with wild animals prone to rabies, or the mother travels along with a rabies shot from before the birth. But the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Hungary don't admit such young animals to their territory. Anyone driving by road passes through those countries. So wait until your puppy is vaccinated and the 21 days have passed.

What do you arrange in Romania for your dog?

Romania keeps a national register of owned dogs, the RECS, managed by the college of veterinarians. The college lists it as an ordinary service of every practice: microchipping, registering in the RECS, issuing the health booklet and the passport. So in your first weeks take your dog's Dutch passport to a Romanian vet and have the chip entered in the register; the chip itself stays, because an EU chip is an EU chip. Which deadline the Romanian rules set for that we could not check at an official source; ask the vet at that first visit.

A municipal dog tax such as in some other countries we have not found for Romania. If you live in an apartment building, the rules of the owners' association apply, and on the street the municipality's rules; ask the building manager and the municipality.

And cats and ferrets?

For the journey the same EU rules apply to a cat and a ferret as to a dog: chip, rabies shot, passport, and the same 21-day wait. The RECS is for dogs only.

Where do you start?

At your own vet in the Netherlands, well before departure: chip, shot and passport, and a look at the expiry date of the vaccination. On the way you keep the passport to hand, even though there has been no check at the Romanian border since 2025. After arrival you find a vet nearby, preferably one who speaks English, for the register and for the rest of your animal's life. How the pet fits between the household goods, the car and the first weeks is in the step-by-step plan for Romania.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 3 of 5 of the journey, step 3.3: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Romania or go straight to step 3.3 in the open plan.