Moving to Wassenaar With a Dog: The Complete Expat Guide (2026)

1. Getting your dog into the Netherlands

These rules apply to every dog, wherever it comes from:

• Microchip first, then the rabies vaccination. A vaccination given before the chip doesn't count.
• Rabies vaccination at 12 weeks or older, then wait 21 days before travelling. In practice your dog must be at least about 15 weeks old. The Netherlands does not admit young unvaccinated puppies.
• A maximum of 5 pets, and the owner (or a person they authorise) must travel within 5 days of the dog. Otherwise stricter commercial rules apply.
• No tapeworm treatment is needed to enter the Netherlands. The UK, Ireland, Finland, Malta and Norway do require it.

Then it depends on where you're coming from:

At the airport: coming from outside the EU, go through the red “Goods to declare” channel. Customs checks your dog's papers. A dog that doesn't meet the rules is handed to the NVWA, which can mean quarantine or return at your cost.

Travelling on through Europe first? Under the 2026 EU rules, an AHC can be used for onward travel within the EU for up to 6 months after entry, or until the rabies vaccination expires if that's sooner.

2. Register your dog within two weeks

Every dog living in the Netherlands must be chipped and registered in a recognised Dutch database. That includes dogs from abroad.

• Have your dog registered within 14 days of arrival. A Dutch vet does this: they report the import and register your dog. Bring the passport or AHC and the chip number.
• Your foreign chip is fine as long as it's an ISO-standard chip. It doesn't need replacing.
• Dogs from outside the EU can get a Dutch EU pet passport from the vet. Ask for one: it's what you'll travel with from now on.
• There are 8 recognised registration databases (NDG, Chipbase, PetBase and others). Your vet will use one of them.

While you're there, ask the vet about leptospirosis (a yearly vaccination here) and kennel cough (required by most daycares and boarding providers). Rabies vaccination is not mandatory for dogs that stay in the Netherlands, but keep it up to date if you'll travel home for holidays.

3. Dog tax in Wassenaar (hondenbelasting)

Not every Dutch municipality has a dog tax, but Wassenaar does.

• 2026 rate: €104.64 a year for the first dog, and more for each additional dog.
• You must register yourself. Do it through the online form of BSGR, the tax office that collects Wassenaar's municipal taxes. The municipality links to it on its dog tax page.
• You pay per remaining month of the year you arrive. Assistance dogs are exempt.
• BSGR runs door-to-door checks (the most recent round started in May 2026), so don't skip it.

Moving to The Hague instead? The Hague has had no dog tax since 2024.

4. Insurance and liability

• You are liable for your dog. Under Dutch law (Article 6:179 of the Civil Code), the owner is strictly liable for damage the dog causes, even if you did nothing wrong.
• Personal liability insurance (AVP) usually covers this. It's cheap and very common in the Netherlands. If your dog knocks over a cyclist or damages someone's property, the AVP pays out. Check your policy includes pets. It won't cover damage your dog does in your own home, or to property you're looking after for someone else.
• Pet health insurance is optional. Expect roughly €20–50 a month, depending on age, breed and cover. Vet bills in the first year are often higher than people expect; see our overview How much does a dog cost per month?

5. Breed rules: cropped ears, docked tails and flat faces

• Cropped ears and docked tails: cropping and docking are banned in the Netherlands, but you can live here with your own cropped or docked dog. Trading cropped dogs is banned, and many cropped dogs can't take part in Dutch shows or competitions. A planned rule change extends that show ban to all cropped dogs, including those cropped legally abroad.
• Flat-faced (brachycephalic) breeds: the Netherlands bans breeding dogs with very short muzzles. As of September 2026, there's no ban on owning one. Parliament backed a ban on trading and keeping them in a 2024 motion, but it isn't law.

6. Daily life with a dog in Wassenaar: the local rules

These are the rules newcomers most often don't know:

• Leash in the village. Inside the built-up area, dogs must be on a leash in public places, except in designated off-leash areas. Dogs are not allowed in children's playgrounds.
• Always carry a poop bag. You must clean up immediately, and you can be asked to show that you carry a bag.
• Most off-leash areas have a limit of four dogs per person, for example Park De Paauw and Backershagen (not the beach or Park De Wittenburg). Backershagen has an extra rule: all dogs on the leash from 1 March to 1 August (bird breeding season).
• No dogs at all on Landgoed De Horsten or in the Prinsessetuin, not even on a leash.
• The beach is off-leash all year, except the stretch at the Wassenaarse Slag beach cafés on summer days. See Dogs on the Beach in Wassenaar.

All the off-leash spots are in our Off-Leash Dog Areas guide.

7. Things nobody tells you

• New Year's Eve fireworks are intense in the Netherlands, often for days around 31 December. If your dog is noise-sensitive, talk to your vet in early December and plan quiet walks.
• Ticks are common in the dunes and woods around Wassenaar. Use tick prevention and check your dog after walks.
• Oak processionary caterpillars (eikenprocessierups) appear on oak trees in late spring and early summer. Their hairs can seriously hurt dogs' mouths and eyes. Keep your dog away from marked trees and nests.
• Trains: small dogs in a bag or basket travel free on Dutch trains. Larger dogs need a dog day ticket (Dagkaart Hond).
• Dogs are welcome in many cafés, shops and beach restaurants, more so than in the US or UK. Ask at the door.

8. Travelling home for the holidays

• Within the EU: your Dutch EU pet passport is all you need, with a valid rabies vaccination.
• To the UK: the UK accepts the EU pet passport. Your dog needs a tapeworm treatment from a vet 24 hours to 5 days before arrival, plus the UK's declaration form.
• To the USA: the CDC requires your dog to be at least 6 months old, microchipped, and to have a CDC Dog Import Form receipt. Check the CDC website before each trip, as the rules have changed several times.
• Coming back from an unlisted country? Do the rabies antibody test in the Netherlands before you leave. Then you avoid the 90-day wait on your return.

Your first-week checklist

1. 1Vet appointment booked (registration within 14 days)
2. 2Dog tax registered with BSGR
3. 3Liability insurance (AVP) checked or arranged
4. 4Pet health insurance decided
5. 5Tick prevention started
6. 6Local off-leash spots found
7. 7A dog walker or daycare lined up for busy days

Frequently asked questions