Taking a dog or cat out of Iceland: official requirements

Leaving Iceland

The steps

What the authorities in Iceland ask before your pet leaves, mostly the health certificate and who has to sign or endorse it.

No step applies to every trip: which ones you need depends on where your pet goes. Each step says when it applies.

1. Official stamp

   Health certificate endorsed by MAST

   Applies when: you travel to any EU country, Norway, Liechtenstein or the United Kingdom and you travel with your pet

   Your vet completes and signs the EU pet health certificate, and MAST endorses it at an appointment you book with form 2.40 on the MAST portal (without an Icelandic kennitala, email petimport@mast.is with your details, the departure date, destination, microchip number, rabies vaccination date and the MAST office you want: Selfoss, Reykjavík, Akureyri, Sauðárkrókur or Egilsstaðir). It can't be issued until at least 21 days after the rabies vaccination, and is valid for 10 days from MAST's issue until the check at the EU travellers' point of entry. Fee ISK 6,606.

   Details and the official words

   “The certificate must be completed and signed by an authorised veterinarian and endorsed by the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST).”

   “The certificate cannot be issued until at least 21 days after the pet was vaccinated against rabies.”

   “Appointment must be booked by filling out form 2.40 in the MAST portal.”

   “This certificate is valid for 10 days from the date of issue by the official veterinarian (MAST) until the date of the”

   “The endorsement fee is ISK 6.606.”

   “Similar requirements as for the EU”

   “This certificate is valid for 10 days from the date of issue by the official veterinarian (MAST) until the date of the documentary and identity checks at the designated point of entry into Great Britain, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.”

2. Vet exam

   Clinical examination by MAST within 48 hours (pet travelling without you)

   Applies when: you travel to any EU country, Norway or Liechtenstein and someone else brings the pet (you are not travelling with it)

   A dog or cat going to the EU/EEA without its owner must be examined by a MAST official vet at the Import and Export Department (Laugavegur 166, Reykjavík) within 48 hours of export; MAST then issues the export certificate itself, so your own vet doesn't. Book with form 2.37 on the MAST portal (or email petimport@mast.is with a copy of the vaccination booklet showing the microchip and rabies vaccination). A dog going to Norway, Ireland, Finland or Malta needs its tapeworm medicine with it at the check. Fee ISK 13,211.

   Details and the official words

   “dogs and cats that are exported to the EU unaccompanied must undergo a clinical examination by an official veterinarian (MAST) within 48 hours of export”

   “the service veterinarian does not need to issue a certificate as the export certificate is issued by MAST.”

   “An appointment must be booked by filling out form 2.37 in the MAST portal.”

   “The endorsement fee is ISK 13.211”

From the rule file

When each step happens

The timing rules for each step, in plain words. The planner turns them into dates for your flight.

• Health certificate endorsed by MAST

  • At least 21 days after the rabies vaccination
  • Within 10 days before arrival

• Clinical examination by MAST within 48 hours (pet travelling without you)

  • Within 2 days before departure

Worked out from the rules

Where you can go from Iceland, and how long it takes

How each destination we cover treats pets from Iceland, as its authority names the group, and the least time its official waits allow. Tap a destination for the full route.

Money

What it costs to leave Iceland

Iceland’s government fees for a pet leaving, exactly as the official pages state them, and what vets and labs in Iceland publish. The destination’s own fees come on top: they are in the table above and on each route.

Notes

Good to know

• MAST publishes its own procedure only for trips to EU/EEA countries and Great Britain. For other countries, follow the destination's import rules; some destinations need the documents officially endorsed by MAST, so contact petimport@mast.is in good time.Applies when: you do not travel to any EU country, Norway, Liechtenstein or the United Kingdom
• MAST's endorsement fee is a minimum: if your documents aren't satisfactory or arrive late, extra time is billed at the hourly rate.Applies when: you travel to any EU country, Norway, Liechtenstein or the United Kingdom

Where this comes from

Official sources

Questions owners ask