EU 2026 Health Certificates: What Animal and Animal Product Importers Must Correct

Key data

If you import animals or animal origin products for human consumption in the European Union, there is a regulatory correction you need to know about right now. The official health certification forms used to certify that a shipment meets EU entry requirements contained technical errors. Those errors have been corrected through an error correction published on 22 July 2026 in the EU Official Journal.

The corrected regulation is Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2020, which amended Annex III of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2235 — the framework regulation that establishes the models of health certificates for the entry into the EU of animals and animal origin products. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/399 is also corrected. The problem is not minor: a certificate with an incorrect model can cause the shipment to be rejected at the border control post.

What does this regulation establish?

This error correction introduces technical corrections to the official forms that must accompany shipments of animals and certain animal origin products intended for human consumption when entering the European Union from third countries.

Health certificates are mandatory documents that must be issued and signed by the competent veterinary authorities of the exporting country. Their function is to certify that the goods comply with the health requirements required by the EU. Any discrepancy between the model used and the current official model may be grounds for rejection at the border control post.

The correction affects the certificate models for the entry into the EU of shipments of certain categories of animals and certain animal origin products intended for human consumption. Although the correction is technical in nature, its operational consequences are immediate and direct.

Economic and operational impact

The economic impact of this correction does not come from a fee or new direct cost, but from the operational risk generated by the use of incorrect certificate models. The scenarios for economic loss are concrete:

• Rejection of shipments at border control posts: if the certificate presented does not conform to the corrected and current model, the competent authority may reject the entry of the goods. This implies costs for return, destruction or re-shipment.
• Delays and logistics costs: the retention of a shipment at the border generates storage costs, refrigeration (in the case of perishable products) and delays in the supply chain.
• Impact on shipments in transit: shipments already on their way to the EU that were certified with the incorrect models are at immediate risk. There is no explicit grace period recorded in the available data.
• Need for urgent update by exporting veterinary authorities: third country exporters must update their certification templates, which can generate temporary administrative bottlenecks.

For Spanish and European importers, the risk is particularly high in operations with long certification cycles or with suppliers from third countries that do not update their models quickly.

Who does it affect?

• Importers of live animals from third countries destined for the EU.
• Importers of animal origin products for human consumption (meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey and other animal products) from non-EU countries.
• Foreign trade operators who manage the customs and health documentation of these shipments.
• Veterinary authorities of exporting countries (third countries) that issue health certificates: they must update their templates with the corrected models.
• Customs agents and freight forwarders who process the entry of these goods into the EU and must verify the validity of the certificates presented.
• Quality and regulatory compliance managers in agri-food companies with international supply chains.

Practical example

A Spanish importer who is scheduled to receive a shipment of meat products from a third country in the coming days must act immediately. If the supplier in the country of origin issued the health certificate using the model of Regulation 2024/2020 before this error correction was published, that certificate may contain the technical errors now corrected.

When that shipment arrives at the EU border control post, the competent veterinary authority may detect that the model does not conform to the corrected and current version, and reject the entry of the goods. The importer would then face storage costs at the border, possible destruction of the product if it is perishable, and the need to coordinate with the supplier the reissuance of the certificate with the correct model — which in practice may be unfeasible once the shipment is in transit.

The solution: contact your supplier now to confirm that the issued certificate uses the corrected model published on 22 July 2026, before the shipment leaves the country of origin.

What should companies do now?

1. Verify all shipments pending certification: contact your suppliers in third countries to confirm that they are using the corrected certificate models, published on 22 July 2026.
2. Review shipments in transit: identify if any operation currently on its way to the EU was certified with the models prior to the correction. Assess the risk of border rejection and prepare a contingency plan.
3. Update internal document verification procedures: include in your import checklist the verification that the health certificate model corresponds to the current and corrected version of Regulation 2020/2235, Annex III.
4. Communicate with your suppliers and exporting veterinary authorities: inform your business partners in third countries about the published correction and request confirmation that their veterinary authorities have updated the certification templates.
5. Consult the official text of the correction: access the EU Official Journal to obtain the corrected models and share them with your suppliers if necessary.
6. Coordinate with your customs agent or freight forwarder: ensure that the professionals managing your import operations are aware of this correction and apply it in the pre-clearance document verification.

Official source

Consult complete regulation in official source

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/./legal-content/AUTO/?uri=OJ:L_202690609