The RNATT: when to test, how long it lasts, what it must be paired with

Last verified: 2026-08-25

The answer

The Rabies Neutralising Antibody Titre test — the RNATT — is a blood test showing your pet developed protection from its rabies vaccination. Three numbers govern it:

A valid RNATT must exist at the time of export. An expired test is not a paperwork problem you fix at the airport; it makes the animal ineligible.

The date that catches people out

The 180 days do not run from the vaccination. They do not run from the test result, or from the date you were told the result. They run from the date the blood sample arrives at the laboratory.

If your veterinarian draws blood on a Friday and the courier delivers it on the Tuesday, your 180 days start on the Tuesday. Ask for the laboratory’s date of receipt and keep it — it is the anchor for your earliest possible travel date, worked through on waiting periods and your earliest travel date.

If your pet is already vaccinated

You may be able to test sooner than 3–4 weeks — ask your veterinarian.

Where the rabies vaccine is valid for three years, the RNATT can be performed at any time within that three-year period. A pet that has never been vaccinated still has to wait the 3–4 weeks after its primary course.

Renewing without losing six months

If your move slips and the RNATT approaches its 12-month expiry, you can retest. There is one condition, and it is strict:

the new blood sample must arrive at the laboratory within 12 months of the original sample.

Do that, and the 180-day waiting period is preserved. Miss it, and you are back at the start of the 180 days with a fresh test. If your travel date is drifting towards the anniversary of your first sample, book the retest early rather than watching the deadline.

The test alone is not enough

The RNATT works as a pair of documents. An import permit application must include:

• a copy of the RNATT report issued by the testing laboratory; and
• the corresponding RNATT declaration, completed, signed and stamped by an official government veterinarian employed by your country’s competent authority.

Only the country-specific declaration negotiated with approved trading partners is accepted. Your competent authority provides the template; to obtain it you supply the rabies vaccination certificate and the laboratory report.

Do the identity check first

An identity check reduces quarantine from 30 days to 10 — but only if it is done before the RNATT, and not in the same visit. Once the blood is drawn, that option is gone for this test cycle. See identity verification before you book the blood draw.

What this page does not tell you

• The titre threshold, or which laboratories are approved. Both are set by the department and are not recorded on this site yet.
• What to do about a failed or borderline result.
• The cost of the test, which varies by veterinarian and laboratory.