Live animals and products of animal origin that are to be brought into the EU within the EU or from a third country must meet special animal health requirements. This prevents the introduction of animal diseases into the EU or the spread of animal diseases from one EU country to another EU country.

Operators must ensure that animals that are to be moved to another Member State are accompanied by a veterinary certificate (TRACES certificate).

Business operators must ensure that animals that are to be moved to another Member State are accompanied by a health certificate (also known as a TRACES certificate).

The veterinary certificate is required

• for the entry of breeding and farm animals from a third country into Germany (entry) and
• for the departure of breeding and farm animals from Germany to third countries (countries outside the European Union) (export)

is required.

It provides information on the general state of health of a breeding or farm animal.

The veterinary certificate must be checked, sealed and signed by an official veterinarian. Before signing, the official veterinarian must verify, on the basis of document checks, identity checks and physical checks, that the land animals covered by the certificate meet the required animal health requirements. If the relevant requirements are met, the veterinary certificate can be created in TRACES NT and issued to the operator.

The requirements for issuing a veterinary certificate vary greatly. You should therefore contact the competent authority as early as possible. A veterinary certificate can only be issued if all the requirements are met.

Most certificates require the animal to be presented.

You must notify the competent authority of the arrival of a consignment of animals in good time before arrival.

For receipt:

• The application for the issue of a veterinary certificate is submitted electronically in the "TRACES NT" database system.
• An "EU login" is required to access TRACES NT. The operator must register once for this and will be activated by the competent authority.
• The animals are imported into Germany via a border control authorized for the entry of animals.
• All required veterinary examination and treatment certificates must be presented.

For export:

• The operator is obliged to comply with the laws, regulations, standards and procedural and import regulations that apply in the country of destination.
• This results in the obligation of the operator to obtain the relevant current requirements of the third country if necessary and to submit them to the certifying officer for inspection.
• When exporting animals, the animals must be examined by an official veterinarian at the authorities or on site. Compliance with the relevant requirements for the third country must be certified.
• Certain third countries only permit exports to their territory from establishments that are already known there through prior registration or approval and have been included in corresponding lists of registered or approved establishments.
• Companies are subject to official listing procedures and must register with the authorities of the third country and/or be officially listed. As a rule, officially confirmed export applications must be submitted for this purpose, which in many cases must also certify compliance with the requirements specified by the third country.
• Once the applications have been reviewed by the authorities of the third country and, if applicable, a successful on-site inspection has been carried out, the companies are approved and listed for export by the respective third country and can then export.

The timeframe in which certain checks must be carried out by official veterinarians prior to the planned movement varies depending on the animal species.

Very different deadlines and quarantine conditions may apply for compliance with the health requirements to be certified in Germany or the country of origin, depending on the animal species and country of origin. Contact the responsible veterinary office as early as possible.

within 48 hours

• current veterinary examination and treatment certificates, if applicable

The fees depend, among other things, on the type of animal and the number of animals. If necessary, ask the competent authority.