Milan with your dog: the rules on the ground

Taking your dog to Milan needs very little paperwork: Italy is in the European Union, so a microchip, a pet passport and a valid rabies vaccination are enough. What takes preparation is daily life once you arrive, because the city is precise about lead length, park access and every mode of transport. Here is what the official pages say, read on 7 October 2026.

What paperwork does a dog need for Milan?

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 Italian Ministry of Health requires dogs to be identified by a microchip or by a clearly legible tattoo applied before 3 July 2011. For movements inside the Union it points out that EU law requires that identification plus an individual passport, which replaces all other certification, and that rabies vaccination is compulsory.

The European Commission adds the order of events, which matters as much as the events themselves. The microchip must be implanted before the vaccination for that vaccination to count. Your dog must be at least 12 weeks old on the day of its first injection, and you must then wait at least 21 days before travelling. The pet passport is mandatory for movements 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 than for other destinations. Italy requires no preventive treatment against ticks or tapeworm on entry, whereas the Commission does require it for Finland, Ireland, Malta, Norway and Northern Ireland. And you may travel with a maximum of five pets, dogs, cats and ferrets taken together, unless they are entered in a competition, a show or a sporting event.

Can a puppy enter Italy?

Not before it has been vaccinated against rabies, and Italy makes no exception. The Ministry of Health bans bringing into Italy dogs under twelve weeks old that have not been vaccinated against rabies, and dogs between twelve and sixteen weeks whose vaccination is not yet valid, since immunity is only established at least twenty-one days after the first vaccination protocol is completed.

The ministry states that Italy does not use the waivers EU law allows member states to grant for puppies. Adding the Commission’s two periods together, twelve weeks before vaccinating and then twenty-one days of waiting, a puppy is not in order to enter Italy until roughly fifteen weeks old. The wider subject is covered in Flying with a puppy: minimum age.

Lead and muzzle: what does Milan require?

A lead of no more than 1.5 metres, and a muzzle you carry without necessarily putting it on. Milan’s regulation on the welfare and protection of animals, approved by the city council on 3 February 2020, states in article 16 that no animal may be left unattended on public roads, in places open to the public or in public premises, that dogs there are led on a lead no longer than 1.5 metres, and that the keeper must always carry a muzzle, to be put on without delay if the need arises.

Annex 1 sets the fines in euros: 40 to 240 € for a dog left unattended or a keeper without a muzzle, and 150 to 500 € when faeces are not removed.

Can your dog go into Milan’s parks?

Yes, on a lead, except in the spaces set aside for children’s play. Article 17 of the regulation allows dogs into parks, gardens and public green spaces, apart from those play spaces, the green areas around them within a diameter of three metres where they are not fenced off, and flower beds closed off by a decision shown on signs.

The owner or keeper must always be present. They are responsible for handling and controlling the animal, for picking up and taking away its faeces, for keeping the dog on a lead and for carrying the muzzle. In parks, annex 1 provides for 150 to 300 € where lead and muzzle are missing, and 80 to 480 € where faeces are not picked up.

Where can a dog run off the lead in Milan?

In the “aree cani”, the areas the city sets aside for dogs to exercise. Article 18 of the regulation provides that the city allocates public green areas spread across the municipal territory for this purpose, and that dogs may be let loose there without a muzzle, provided they remain under the constant, watchful and active control of their owner or keeper. The city’s official page, updated on 10 September 2026, confirms that dogs can move and run freely inside them, and publishes the list of these areas.

The duties come down to five points: preventing any harm to people, animals or property; leaving the area at once if the dog is no longer under control; respecting the shared space; picking up faeces; not smoking. Only someone able to restrain the dog effectively if needed may take it in, on pain of a fine of 60 to 360 €.

The ten-point code the city publishes adds the habits that prevent incidents. Close the gate behind you, keep the lead or muzzle within reach, and check which dogs are already inside before going in with a large dog or with a breed covered by the “cane speciale” licence. Aggressive dogs stay out, as do females in heat and sick dogs, and the city advises against bringing toys or food, which create competition. The Guardie Ecologiche patrol these areas and can issue fines.

Dogs on Milan’s metro and buses: the rules

They travel free, muzzled and on a lead, but not at peak times. The fare document published by ATM, the Milan transport operator, dated January 2026, states that pets are carried free of charge across its whole network.

On the metro, the rules of conduct published by ATM admit small and medium-sized dogs wearing a muzzle and kept on a lead from the start of service until 7.30, from 9.30 to 17.30, then from 20.30 until the end of service, with one dog per carriage. Small pets may also travel in a container whose longest side does not exceed 50 cm, two containers per passenger at most. On escalators and moving walkways the dog must be carried in your arms, and lifts are open only to dogs accompanying a blind or partially sighted person, on a lead. Those dogs travel with no time restriction and wear a muzzle only if staff or passengers expressly ask for it.

On trams, trolleybuses and buses, ATM’s rules for passengers require the same muzzle and lead, admit one dog per vehicle and close access from 7.30 to 9.30 and from 17.30 to 20.30. In every case the animal must not disturb other passengers or block gangways and doors.

Can you take your dog into a shop or a café?

In principle yes, unless a sign at the door says otherwise. Article 16 of the city regulation allows dogs and other small pets, accompanied by their owner, into public places and places open to the public, subject to any legal provision to the contrary. The keeper must make sure the animal does not soil anything and causes neither nuisance nor damage, and restores the premises at their own expense.

To refuse access, the person in charge of the premises must display a visible sign at the entrance, having first notified the Ufficio Tutela Animali in writing. Dogs that assist a disabled person, police dogs and civil protection dogs are exempt from such a ban, and all municipal offices remain open to accompanied dogs.

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. 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 Milan?

Yes. The European Commission makes the EU pet passport mandatory for movements between Union countries, and the Italian Ministry of Health states that it replaces all other certification inside the Union. Any authorised vet can issue one, and it stays valid for life as long as the health entries are up to date.

Must my dog wear a muzzle on the streets of Milan?

It must be with you, not necessarily on the dog’s nose. The city regulation requires the keeper to carry a muzzle at all times and to put it on without delay if the need arises, with the dog otherwise held on a lead of no more than 1.5 metres. Inside the dog areas, a dog may stay loose and unmuzzled, under constant control.

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 Madrid and Lisbon.