In 2026 the European Union adopted its first law written specifically for the welfare and traceability of dogs and cats. It sits on top of national law in every member state, applies in stages from 2028 onward, and will change how breeders are approved, how puppies are identified and how they may be advertised online — while the existing EU animal health rules already decide how a puppy may cross a border.
The most important first
- Regulation (EU) 2026/1818 on the welfare and traceability of dogs and cats was published in the Official Journal on August 10, 2026, entered into force on August 30, 2026 and applies from August 31, 2028, with some provisions applying later.
- Establishments that keep more than five breeding bitches or produce more than five litters a year will need approval from the national authority (from August 31, 2034); establishments producing no more than two litters a year have lighter obligations.
- Dogs bred in an establishment must be microchipped within three months of birth and before they are placed on the market, and registered in a national database. For breeders, the identification rules apply from August 31, 2030.
- Online advertisements for dogs will have to carry a warning text and be verifiable through a Commission system; the technical details are still being set by implementing acts.
- Moving a puppy to another EU country is already regulated by EU animal health law: microchip, rabies vaccination and a pet passport for non-commercial moves, and separate rules, with certificates through the TRACES system, for commercial movements.
Last updated: November 8, 2026
Rules last checked: November 8, 2026
We checked this page against the official sources listed below on the date above. Rules can change after that date, and no single page can cover every situation, so something that matters to you may have been amended since, or may not be covered here at all. Before you rely on it, check these as well:
- How your country applies the regulation: the regulation applies directly, but national authorities decide how approval, registration and inspections work in practice, and national law can be stricter. Check your national authority, not only this page.
- The annexes and implementing acts: the exact breeding-age and litter limits are in Annex I, and the details of online advertising, identification and the list of excessive traits are set by later Commission acts. Use the current consolidated text on EUR-Lex.
- Pet movement rules: the requirements for passports, rabies vaccination and young puppies differ by destination. Check the destination country before every sale abroad.
- Imports and exports: bringing in a breeding dog or sending a puppy outside the EU needs the destination’s own requirements as well — see export and international sales.
- Business obligations: a breeding business has registration and tax obligations under national law.
Check the current rules at the source before each breeding year and before any sale that is new to you, such as a first litter or a first buyer in another state or country. Ask the authority in writing when the answer matters, and keep a dated note of what you checked and what you were told.
Last updated: November 8, 2026
What the new regulation is and when it applies
Regulation (EU) 2026/1818 sets common minimum standards for how dogs and cats are bred, kept and placed on the market, together with rules on identification and registration, online advertising and imports from outside the EU. The European Commission’s overview gives the timeline: published August 10, 2026, in force August 30, 2026, applying from August 31, 2028, with some provisions applying later. Member states keep their own national laws and can keep stricter rules, so the regulation is a floor, not a replacement for what your country already requires. The wider structure of breeding law is in laws, regulations and kennel clubs.
The regulation is a minimum standard set by law, and it applies whether or not you belong to a kennel club. It is separate from the Council of Europe’s Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, a treaty that individual countries ratify, which asks anyone selecting a pet animal for breeding to take account of characteristics that could put the health and welfare of the offspring or the mother at risk. For the science behind welfare in commercial breeding, the European Food Safety Authority published a scientific opinion on dogs and cats in breeding establishments in 2023.
Who counts as a breeder, and who needs approval
The regulation applies to operators: people and businesses that breed, keep or place dogs on the market. Under Article 10, an establishment needs approval from the competent authority if it keeps more than five breeding bitches or produces more than five litters a year. This requirement applies from August 31, 2034. Under Article 5, establishments producing no more than two litters a year have reduced obligations.
Not every rehoming counts. Article 4 says that occasional donations by people who are not operators are not “placing on the market,” provided the dogs are not advertised online, and recital 19 describes giving away up to one litter every 24 months between family members or neighbors as an example. If you sell, advertise online or breed regularly, assume the regulation applies to you and ask your national authority how it is being implemented where you live.
Breeding limits
Article 16 says a bitch may be bred only after she has reached a minimum age and skeletal maturity, and that litters must follow a maximum frequency, both set out in point 3 of Annex I. The recitals describe the intent behind those limits: up to three pregnancies in two years followed by at least a year of recovery, and an end to breeding for older females and after two cesarean sections. Our article on litter limits and age rules sets these beside the national rules in other countries.
Article 8 adds two kinds of ban. Dogs with excessive conformational traits that harm their welfare may not be used for breeding; the Commission is to adopt delegated acts specifying those traits by June 30, 2030. Matings between parents and offspring, full siblings, half-siblings and grandparents and grandchildren are banned, with exceptions for the conservation of local breeds, and so is breeding dogs with other species to produce hybrids.
Mutilations and shows
Article 18 bans mutilations unless they are medically justified. Article 19 says dogs that have been mutilated or that show excessive conformational traits may not be shown. Our article on tail docking and ear cropping rules by country follows in January.
Microchips, registration and selling age
Article 20 requires dogs born in an establishment to be identified with a microchip within three months of birth, and in any event before they are placed on the market. The dog must be registered in a national database within two working days. Microchips implanted before August 31, 2028 still count if they can be read. The identification rules apply in stages: from August 31, 2030 for operators, from August 31, 2036 for dogs kept by private owners, and later for cats. Keep chip numbers in your kennel records from the first week, so registration is quick when the deadline applies to you.
The regulation’s recitals say that puppies should not be separated from their mother at too young an age. We could not confirm the exact minimum age in the annex, so check it with your national authority, and follow your own country’s minimum selling age in the meantime.
Online advertising
Article 21 requires online advertisements for dogs to carry a warning text and a verification token from a system run by the Commission, which links the advertisement to the dog’s identification and registration. The Commission must adopt the implementing acts that set out how this works, with deadlines in 2028 and 2029, so the practical details are not yet known.
Imports from outside the EU
The recitals explain that dogs imported from outside the EU for the market will have to come from establishments meeting standards equivalent to the EU’s, with the Commission keeping lists, and that dogs entering for non-commercial reasons will have to be pre-notified in a pet traveler database. If you plan to import a breeding dog after 2028, ask your national veterinary authority how these rules apply.
Moving puppies between EU countries today
These rules already apply, independently of the new regulation. The Commission’s page on pet movement names the legal basis: the Animal Health Law, Regulation (EU) 2016/429; Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131 for non-commercial movements; Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688 for commercial movements within the EU; and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/692 for entry into the EU.
For a non-commercial move, the EU’s Your Europe portal lists the basics: the dog must be microchipped before it is vaccinated against rabies, it can be vaccinated from 12 weeks of age, and it must wait 21 days after the primary vaccination before traveling, with an EU pet passport. Dogs going to Finland, Ireland, Malta, Norway or Northern Ireland also need tapeworm (Echinococcus) treatment between 24 and 120 hours before arrival. You may travel with up to five pets; more than five is allowed only for competitions, and each animal must be over six months old. Some countries accept young unvaccinated puppies under conditions, and others do not; the Your Europe page lists which.
Selling a puppy to a buyer in another country is not a pet traveling with its owner. Commercial movements follow Regulation 2020/688, and the official health certificates for movements between member states, imports and exports are issued through TRACES, the Commission’s online platform. Ask your official veterinarian which rules apply to your sale before you agree a date, and see exporting puppies and international sales for the practical steps.
What the kennel clubs say
The law applies to everyone: membership of a kennel club does not exempt a breeder from the regulation, and a club’s breeding rules come on top of it.
In FCI countries: your national kennel club sets its breeding rules on top of the FCI’s International Breeding Rules. The FCI’s rules set no minimum breeding age or litter limit — those come from each national club — but they do state that breeding must not exaggerate breed features in ways that impair functional health. Check your national club’s rules as well as the law.
Source: FCI, International Breeding Rules. National kennel clubs may set stricter rules.
Last updated: November 8, 2026
Rules change, so always check with your own kennel club.
Not confirmed, but worth noting
- The exact numbers in Annex I. We could not read the annex that sets the minimum breeding age, skeletal maturity and maximum litter frequency. The recitals describe up to three pregnancies in two years followed by a year of recovery, but the binding figures are in the annex.
- A minimum age for selling or separating puppies. The recitals say puppies should not be separated from their mother too young; we could not confirm an EU-wide minimum age in the operative text.
- Dates for individual provisions. The regulation applies from August 31, 2028, but several provisions, including identification and the conformation rules, apply later. Check the date for the provision that matters to you.
We could not confirm these points in the official text on the date checked, so treat them as questions to put to your authority, not as rules.
Last updated: November 8, 2026
In practice
A breeder in an EU country with four breeding bitches and three or four litters a year reads the regulation and works out that she will not need approval under the five-bitch and five-litter limits, but will no longer have the lighter obligations for two litters or fewer. She starts a one-page record for each bitch with her date of birth, health results, litter dates and any cesareans, so she can show her breeding pattern when the annex limits apply, and she puts a reminder in her calendar for 2028 and 2030 to check how her country has implemented the approval and identification rules.
(Illustrative, composite scenario.)
Work on it
A few minutes here will teach you more than re-reading the article.
Ask yourself
- Will my number of breeding bitches or litters put me over the approval limits, or under the two-litter threshold?
- Do any of my planned matings fall under the relatedness bans in Article 8?
- Do I know which rules apply when I sell a puppy to a buyer in another EU country?
Find out & check
- Ask your national veterinary authority how and when it will apply Regulation (EU) 2026/1818, and whether national rules are already stricter.
Do one thing
- Write down, for each breeding bitch, her date of birth, litter dates and cesareans, so you can check her against the annex limits when they apply.
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Sources & further reading
- Regulation (EU) 2026/1818 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the welfare and traceability of dogs and cats, Official Journal of the European Union, L series, August 10, 2026. eur-lex.europa.eu
- European Commission, Food Safety — Animal welfare: overview (dogs and cats regulation, dates of entry into force and application). food.ec.europa.eu
- European Commission, Food Safety — Movement of pets (legal basis for commercial and non-commercial movements). food.ec.europa.eu
- Your Europe — Travelling with pets and other animals in the EU. europa.eu
- European Commission, Food Safety — TRACES. food.ec.europa.eu
- Fédération Cynologique Internationale — International Breeding Rules of the FCI. fci.be
- EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Animal Welfare — Welfare of dogs and cats in commercial breeding establishments, EFSA Journal 2023. doi.org
- Council of Europe — European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals (ETS No. 125). rm.coe.int
Where evidence is limited, recommendations rest on established practice and expert judgment, and may be updated as knowledge develops. This is general information, not legal or financial advice: requirements differ between jurisdictions and change over time — confirm the current rules with the authority named here and have your own situation reviewed by a qualified professional where you breed.
Next steps
- Read next: Litter limits and age rules.
- Related: Pre-breeding regulatory checklist: what to confirm before you breed · Exporting puppies and international sales.
- EU country pages: Ireland · Sweden · France · Italy · Germany · Poland · Spain · Czechia · Hungary · Netherlands.
- Return to the area hub: Becoming a responsible breeder.