Amsterdam with your dog: the rules

Taking your dog to Amsterdam needs very little paperwork: the Netherlands is in the European Union, so a microchip, a pet passport and a valid rabies vaccination are enough. What takes preparation is the walking, because the city keeps dogs on a lead everywhere except in the places it designates, and every mode of transport has its own rule. Here is what the official pages say, read on 9 October 2026.

What paperwork does a dog need for Amsterdam?

Three things, the same as for any trip between EU countries: a microchip, a pet passport and a rabies vaccination that is still valid.

The NVWA, the Dutch food and consumer product safety authority, sums the file up in three lines: your animal must have an EU pet passport, the microchip number and the date it was implanted must appear in it, and the dog must already be chipped when the rabies vaccination is given, otherwise that vaccination does not count. Netherlands Worldwide, the Dutch government portal, sets out the same conditions for bringing a pet to the Netherlands and places the vaccination from twelve weeks old, at the latest twenty-one days before departure.

The European Commission adds the order of events, which matters as much as the events themselves. The microchip must be implanted before the vaccination. Your dog must be at least 12 weeks old on the day of its primary vaccination, and you must then wait at least 21 days before travelling. The passport is mandatory for travel between EU countries; any authorised vet can issue one, and it stays valid for life as long as the health entries are kept up to date. How to obtain one is covered in The EU pet passport for dogs.

Two things make the file lighter. The Netherlands requires no tapeworm treatment on entry: the Commission only asks for it for Finland, Ireland, Malta, Norway and Northern Ireland, 24 to 120 hours before travel. And you may travel with a maximum of five pets, unless they are entered in a competition, a show or a sporting event.

Can a puppy enter the Netherlands?

Not before fifteen weeks old. The NVWA puts it plainly: an animal must be at least fifteen weeks old before it may come to the Netherlands.

That threshold is the sum of the two European periods: twelve weeks before the first rabies injection, then twenty-one days of waiting before you travel. The NVWA also points out that a first vaccination only becomes valid after twenty-one days, while a booster given before the previous one expires is valid immediately. Minimum ages by destination are covered in Flying with a puppy: minimum age.

If your dog stays in the Netherlands for more than three months, the NVWA also requires it to be registered. And for a dog brought in from abroad to live there, you become its first Dutch keeper: the vet registers it within fourteen days of its arrival, and the microchip must meet the European ISO standards.

Must you keep your dog on a lead in Amsterdam?

Yes, on the street and in the parks, except where a sign says otherwise. The city’s general by-law, the Algemene Plaatselijke Verordening 2008, states in article 5.13 that an owner or keeper may not be on or along a public road with a dog that is not on a lead, and allows the city executive to designate places where that ban does not apply. The exception covers guide dogs: a disabled person accompanied by a demonstrably qualified guide dog, or training a dog to become one, is not bound by it.

The city’s official map puts it in one sentence: everywhere on the street and in parks and green spaces, dogs must be kept on a lead, unless signs state that they may run or exercise freely.

Article 5.14 also closes certain places to dogs, even on a lead: publicly accessible children’s playgrounds, sandpits and play meadows. And article 5.15 lets the mayor require a short lead, or a short lead and a muzzle, for a dog judged dangerous or a nuisance because of its behaviour. Article 6.1 of the same by-law punishes these offences with up to three months’ detention or a second-category fine, the amount of which is set by the Dutch criminal code.

Where can a dog run off the lead in Amsterdam?

In the off-lead areas that the districts mark out and that signs identify on the ground. The city map uses three colours: green, where dogs may run; red, where they may not go at all, not even on a lead; blue, where the rule applies only during part of the year.

These off-lead, no-dog and restricted areas are set by the stadsdelen, the city’s districts. The city adds two useful warnings. Playgrounds and play spots, sports parks and sports pitches, school yards and paddling pools are off limits to dogs in any case, even when they are not shown on the map. And the map itself has no legal force: the signs on the ground are what counts.

One example shows how fine the mesh is. By a decision of 26 August 2025, published in the Gemeenteblad, the district board of Zuidoost designated about ten fields where the lead requirement does not apply, at the Bijlmerweide, the Brasapark, Centraal Park Gaasperdam and the Nelson Mandelapark, one of them only from 1 October to 1 May, plus three other fields where dogs are banned. Before you let your dog off, read the sign.

What must you carry when walking your dog?

Something to pick up with, and you have to show it. Under the version of the by-law in force since 1 May 2026, article 5.12 requires anyone out on or along a public road with a dog to remove its faeces immediately, to carry an effective means of doing so, and to show that means on first request from an enforcement officer.

The text provides for no spot where faeces could be left: the duty applies everywhere on the public road. The only exception in the text is a person who, because of a disability, is physically unable to pick up.

Dogs on Amsterdam’s trams, metro and trains: the rules

On the city network a dog travels free, on any one of three conditions. GVB, the operator of the city’s buses, trams, metro lines and ferries, states that a pet travels free of charge if it stays on your lap, in a bag or on a short lead, and that support dogs and seeing-eye dogs are welcome too. No time restriction is published on that page.

On the train the rule changes. The NS ticket conditions, in force since 18 October 2025, provide that small pets travel free in a bag, a basket, a cage or on your lap. A dog that is not carried that way needs a Dagkaart Hond, which is added to the traveller’s own ticket and does not replace it. It is valid from midnight until 4 am the next morning, peak hours included, in first or second class depending on the owner’s ticket, on NS trains and those of other Dutch operators, but not on international trains with compulsory reservation such as the Nightjet and the Eurostar. Two bans complete the text: the dog does not take a seat, and it does not travel on rail replacement coaches, unless it is an assistance dog.

Can your dog run free in the Amsterdamse Bos?

Yes, in many parts of this large park managed by the City of Amsterdam. Its house rules state that dogs are welcome and may run free in many places, and that there are dog play areas.

That freedom comes with four duties. Wherever you walk, you must be able to see your dog and it must obey you: if it does not listen, goes out of sight or causes a nuisance, you put it back on the lead. A maximum of three dogs per visitor, and beyond that you need the park’s permission. Bridle paths are closed to dogs, and leaving the paths and fields to walk among the trees and bushes is forbidden, for you as much as for your dog. Finally, some busy spots and some sensitive nature areas are closed to dogs or require a lead.

Faeces are picked up at once there too, and the park reminds visitors to bring bags and to put them in a bin.

What if your dog flew in the cabin, at your feet?

That is how our flights work: the dog stays in the cabin with its owner, never in the hold, and spends the flight at your feet. Loulou Air, an AEROAFFAIRES brand and a private aviation broker since 1991, sells Pay-per-Seat private jets for your dog and you: you pay for your seat, not the jet, and one ticket covers one person and their dog. There is none of the weight limit imposed by scheduled airlines, because your dog does not travel in the hold: capacity depends on the aircraft and the number of animals on board, and a broker approves each dog case by case. Boarding is through a private aviation terminal, with no queues and no separation, and the crew is briefed on welcoming animals. The requirements described here remain due on every flight, private ones included, and our brokers check every file before departure.

Our routes currently serve New York, Dubai and Los Angeles: see the open flights. We open new flights every month, so tell us where you want to go by going to talk to a broker; and for a whole aircraft, our sister company AEROAFFAIRES offers full charter.

Frequently asked questions

Does my dog need a passport to travel to Amsterdam?

Yes. The European Commission makes the EU pet passport mandatory for movements between Union countries, and the NVWA lists it first for a trip to the Netherlands. The microchip number and the date it was implanted must appear in it, and the rabies vaccination only counts if the dog was already chipped when it was given.

Must my dog wear a muzzle in Amsterdam?

Not as a rule. The city by-law requires a lead on the public road, not a muzzle; a muzzle, together with a short lead, only becomes compulsory once the mayor has notified the keeper that the dog is judged dangerous or a nuisance because of its behaviour.

Who sets the rules for my dog on the aircraft?

Your carrier. Veterinary authorities set the dog’s paperwork, not its place on board: cabin weight, carrier dimensions and any requirement to travel in the hold are each airline’s own conditions, as set out in Pet in cabin: weight limits, fees and airlines and Dogs in the cargo hold. Requirements by country are gathered on our travel requirements pages, and our other city guides are in the blog, including Milan and Lisbon.