Pet Transport and Relocation in London
London pet travel
Door to door pet travel for London households moving across the UK, into Europe or further afield. Trained pet handlers, the health paperwork prepared for you, and one team from your front door to arrival.
Quotes are free and come with no obligation.
Need to speak to us? Contact Us Someone answers 24 hours a day.
Call or WhatsApp 07446 698859 Someone answers 24 hours a day.
Based in south west London
DEFRA approved and EU Type 2 authorised
IATA compliant pet flights
Contact answered 24/7
At a glance
How your pet move is handled
The journey, the handlers and the paperwork are planned together.
Dogs, cats and small animals travel from London across the UK, Europe and worldwide with Tailored Pet Travel, by road, Eurotunnel, ferry and air.
Trained pet handlers carry out the collection, while the health paperwork and customs clearance are prepared in house from a base in south west London.
Travel
Road, Eurotunnel, ferry and air
Care
Collection by trained pet handlers
Paperwork
Health documents and customs clearance prepared in house
Tell us where your pet is going and we will talk you through the move.
One coordinated move
Travel, handling and paperwork managed together.
EU travel rules
What changed for London pet owners in April 2026?
The difficult part is not the drive. It is getting one time-sensitive document right.
Before 22 April 2026, many London owners travelled to Europe on an EU pet passport issued in France, Ireland or Spain. That route is now closed. EU pet passports can only be held by owners whose main home is inside the EU. If you live in England, Scotland or Wales, GOV.UK warns that your pet may be refused entry if you use the wrong document.
Rule change
22 Apr 2026
Great Britain residents now need an Animal Health Certificate for EU travel.
01 · Certificate
An AHC replaces the passport route
An Official Veterinarian issues the Animal Health Certificate. It covers one entry only. Travel again next year and you need a new one.
02 · Timing
It must be signed within 10 days
The certificate has to be signed within 10 days of departure, so the vet appointment needs to sit inside a fixed travel window.
03 · Route
The first EU country matters
Your certificate must be written in the language of the first EU country you arrive in. Change the route after it is signed and you may be holding the wrong document.
The rule to remember
One trip. One certificate. Signed within 10 days of departure.
From a London address
What do we handle from a London address?
Choose the part of the move you want to understand. The full detail stays on the page, but you only open what matters to you.
01 Road and Eurotunnel to Europe
Climate controlled vans collect from your address and cross by Eurotunnel or ferry, with planned rest stops and a handler who stays with your pet throughout. Owners can follow the vehicle live and speak to that handler on the way.
See the road route from London to Calais02 Air relocation via Heathrow and Gatwick
For moves beyond Europe we book the flight, arrange an airline approved crate and manage the arrival side. Both airports sit within an hour of most London postcodes, which shortens the run to check in.
More on moving a pet out of the UK for good03 Documents and customs
Certificates, vaccination timing, customs entries and destination rules are prepared by our team rather than left with you. Everything is worked backwards from your travel date so the paperwork window lines up.
Read about arranging an Animal Health CertificateComing into London?
Pets landing in London from abroad have to clear customs before they can go home with you, and that side of the move works differently. Here is what happens when a pet lands in the UK.
London collection
What does a London collection actually involve?
London adds problems that a pickup in Kent does not. Timing, access and distance all need sorting before the van sets off.
01 Charges £18 Congestion Charge. £12.50 ULEZ. Timing goes into the plan. Read details
The Congestion Charge rose to £18 a day on 2 January 2026 and applies from 07:00 to 18:00 on weekdays. ULEZ is separate, £12.50 a day, and it covers every London borough around the clock. A collection in Zone 1 at nine in the morning costs more to run than the same collection at seven in the evening, so timing goes into the plan rather than onto the bill.
02 Access Barriers, permit bays and narrow mews streets are checked before collection. Read details
Mansion blocks, estates with controlled barriers, permit bays and narrow mews streets all need sorting before the van sets off. We ask for access detail at quote stage so nobody ends up circling the block with a cat in the back.
03 Distance Folkestone is around two hours from central London, with both airports closer still. Read details
Folkestone and the Eurotunnel terminal sit around two hours from central London, and both airports are closer still. A pet leaving a London address gets a shorter run to the crossing than one starting almost anywhere else in the country, which means less time in the vehicle.
Local advantage Tailored Pet Travel is based in south west London. Why that matters
Worth saying plainly: several firms marketing themselves as London pet shippers are not based here. Their nearest offices are in Slough and in West Sussex. The Tailored Pet Travel base is in south west London, and the same vans handle moving a pet within the UK.
Moving a pet within the UKHeathrow customs
Can you clear your own pet through customs at Heathrow?
No.
Pets arriving in the UK by air have to be cleared through customs by a nominated UK agent.
Why can’t the owner do it? Read why
No, and this surprises almost everyone. The City of London Corporation, which runs the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre, states that airlines and their ground handling agents will not allow a private importer to clear cargo. Owners usually discover this after the flight is booked.
It is one reason the cheapest looking plan often turns out not to be a plan at all.
Understanding the quote
What does pet relocation from London cost?
There is no useful flat price. Four things move the number more than anything else.
01
Distance and route
Northern France and Auckland are completely different journeys.
02
Size and breed
Crate size, airline booking and breed restrictions change the options.
03
Timing
Eight weeks gives more vet and airline availability than ten days.
04
Paperwork
Certificates, vaccinations, customs entries and permits each add cost.
Door to door pet transport
Full breakdown Why quotes can vary so much Read details
Nobody in this trade publishes a price list, and there is a reason. Four things move the number more than anything else.
Distance and route come first. A road move to northern France sits in a different bracket to a flight to Auckland. Size and breed come next. A large dog needs a bigger crate and a different airline booking than a cat, and snub nosed breeds are restricted or refused outright by many airlines, which narrows the options and changes the price. Timing matters more than owners expect, because a move booked eight weeks out has vet and airline availability that a ten day scramble does not. Paperwork is the fourth, since certificates, vaccinations, customs entries and any import permit each carry their own fee.
Some of those costs are fixed and public, which lets you sanity check any quote you are given. An Animal Health Certificate starts at around £100, and you need a fresh one for every trip into the EU. A first rabies vaccination adds a 21 day wait before travel, which costs time rather than money, and time is usually the tighter constraint.
Ask any quote you receive to cover the whole move rather than the drive alone. A number that only covers the vehicle is not a number you can compare.
Before you pay Check who you are paying Real address Written contract Traceable payment Read why
Check who you are paying, too. This is a trade that attracts fraud, and the pattern rarely varies: a quote well under everyone else's, pressure to pay a deposit quickly, and a company happy to exchange emails but never take a call. Before any money moves, look for a real address, a written contract covering cancellations and what happens if plans change, and a payment method you can trace. Anyone who cannot produce all three is not worth the saving.
Get a written quote covering the whole move, not just the vehicle.
Written quote covering the full move. No obligation to book.
From enquiry to arrival
How does a London pet relocation run?
Four steps take the move from your first enquiry to handover at the destination.
One coordinated journey
Collection, travel, paperwork and handover planned as one move.
Tell us the move
Collection postcode, destination, pet details and travel date. Most enquiries get a written quote and paperwork timeline within two hours, all within 24.
We book the route and vet
Flight or crossing, crate and Official Veterinarian appointment are booked inside the 10 day window. The certificate names the first EU country, so the route is fixed before signing.
Collection day
A trained handler collects your pet, checks the crate and paperwork, and sets off. You receive updates and can contact that handler directly during the journey.
Arrival and handover
Customs clearance, any quarantine formalities, and delivery to the destination.
Questions
Common questions about moving a pet from London
Ask us directly
If your question is not here, call or WhatsApp. Someone answers 24 hours a day.
Call 07446 698859
Do I still need a certificate if my pet already has an EU pet passport?
Yes, if you live in England, Scotland or Wales. Since 22 April 2026, EU pet passports can only be held by owners whose main home is in the EU, and a passport issued before that date does not change this. Northern Ireland residents are treated differently and can still use theirs.
Does a rabies booster restart the 21 day wait?
No, as long as the booster was given before the previous vaccination expired. If the vaccination lapsed first, the 21 day wait starts over. This catches out more moves than anything else, so check the expiry date on the vaccination record early.
Can I take my dog's usual food to Europe?
Not if it contains meat or dairy, which rules out most standard dog food. Plant based options are allowed through. Buy the same brand at the destination where you can, or change the food gradually in the weeks before you travel.
Do you collect from central London during Congestion Charge hours?
Yes. Collections inside the zone are planned around the charging window where the travel date allows, because charges apply from 07:00 to 18:00 on weekdays. Send the postcode and any access restrictions and we will tell you what timing works best.
How far ahead should I book a pet move from London?
Eight to twelve weeks is comfortable for an international move. Shorter is often possible, and last minute work is a large part of what we do, but the fixed waiting periods cannot be compressed. A first rabies vaccination alone adds 21 days.
Can more than one pet travel on the same certificate?
Up to five pets can travel on a single Animal Health Certificate, as long as they travel together and the move is non-commercial. The limit applies per vehicle rather than per person, so two owners in one car cannot carry ten pets between them. Beyond five, or where ownership is changing, different rules apply and the move counts as commercial.
