Check-in booths at Dover Eastern Docks below the White Cliffs

Dover to Dunkirk ferry check-in, step by step

You stay in the car the whole time: booth, passport control, waiting lane, loading ramp. Check-in closes 60 minutes before departure. Outside the holidays, an hour and a quarter before at the Dover booths is comfortable; in the school holidays and on Friday and Saturday allow two hours for French passport control. This is the order you meet it in, with photos from a crossing on the Delft Seaways.

Updated 14 September 2026

Check-in in short

Check-in closes	60 minutes before departure
Recommended arrival at Dover	75 to 90 minutes before, in the holidays 120
Recommended arrival at Dunkirk (return)	60 to 75 minutes before
What you show	Booking reference or email, passports for everyone in the car
Border control outbound	UK exit checks and French entry checks, both in Dover before boarding
Border control return	French exit checks and UK Border Force, both in Dunkirk before boarding
Getting out of the car	Not needed, unless you want the terminal
Boarding	From about 45 minutes before departure

At Dover: from the A20 to the ramp

Follow “Port” to Eastern DocksFrom the A20 or A2 the signs take you into the port, postcode CT16 1JA. Keep to the DFDS lanes and look for the Dunkirk sign: DFDS sails to Calais from the same booths.
The check-in boothsGive your booking reference or show the email. The agent finds the booking and asks for the passports.
The hangerYou get a card with your lane and sailing. Hang it on the mirror; it is checked twice more on the way to the ship.
UK exit checks, then the French borderBoth here in Dover, at booths you drive up to. The French Police aux Frontières stamp you into Schengen. Under the EU Entry/Exit System, UK passport holders give fingerprints and a photo on their first trip, at a kiosk or the booth; later trips are a quick scan.
The waiting laneDrive to the lane on your hanger and switch off. Toilets, food and a small shop are alongside the lanes; there is a dog exercise area by the terminal.
BoardingAbout 45 minutes before departure the lanes go up the ramp one by one. Park where the deck crew put you, handbrake on and in gear, and take what you need for two hours. The car deck is closed during the crossing.

The DFDS hanger with lane and sailing time, from inside the car — The hanger with your lane and sailing time. Hang it on the mirror.

A DFDS agent checking the hanger at the cars in the queue — Before you drive onto the ship, your ticket is checked once more.

Cars queuing on the ramp under the bridge of the Delft Seaways — Up the ramp: the lanes go one at a time.

Motorhomes and a pick-up entering the car deck under Welcome aboard Delft Seaways — Motorhomes and tall vehicles get their own deck.

Documents

Who or what	What you need
UK passport holders	Passport issued less than 10 years before the day you enter the EU and valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave. No visa for up to 90 days in any 180. EES registration on your first entry.
EU and other passport holders	Passport or, for EU citizens, a national identity card is fine for France; for the return to the UK, EU citizens need a passport and an ETA.
Children	Own passport. A child travelling without both parents should carry a signed consent letter from the absent parent.
Car	V5C logbook, or a VE103 certificate for a hire or lease car. Insurance certificate. A UK sticker on the rear unless your plate shows UK with the Union flag.
Dog, cat or ferret	Animal health certificate from an official vet, issued within 10 days of entering the EU, valid for four months of onward travel. Microchip, rabies jab at least 21 days old. For the return: tapeworm treatment 24 to 120 hours before arriving in the UK, entered in the certificate. The booth with the Pet Travel Scheme sign checks it.

Check the passport dates now. “Issued less than ten years ago” catches out many travellers whose passport was issued with extra months rolled over; the issue date is what counts, not the expiry.

DFDS agent in the check-in booth, with the Pet Travel Scheme sign — The booth: booking reference, passports, and with a pet the animal’s papers.

Late or early?

Late. If you arrive after check-in has closed, DFDS puts you on the next sailing with space. With an Economy ticket an amendment fee may apply; with Flexi it does not. Do not phone ahead, just drive to the booth.

Early. If you are at the port well before your sailing, ask at the booth whether you can go earlier. On quiet days it often works, with Flexi always free of charge.

Checking in at Dunkirk for the way home

At Loon-Plage it works the same way, mirrored: DFDS booths, then French exit checks and UK Border Force, both on French soil, then the lanes next to the terminal building. One operator and short queues make an hour before departure plenty. UK Border Force may open the boot or the caravan for a customs check; that takes a few minutes. When you drive off in Dover there is no further control. See Dunkirk port.

The DFDS check-in booths at Loon-Plage with coaches in the left lanes — Dunkirk: cars on the right, coaches and lorries on the left.

Cars waiting on the car deck for the ramp to open in Dover — Arrival in Dover: wait in the car until the ramp opens, then straight out.

Questions about check-in

How early do I need to be at the port?

At the booth no later than 60 minutes before departure. Arrive later and your ticket moves to the next sailing with space. In Dover, add time for French passport control in the holidays.

Do I have to get out of the car at check-in?

No. Booth, border control and boarding all happen from the car. You get out only if you want the terminal while you wait, or for the EES kiosk on your first trip if the booth cannot do it.

What is the Entry/Exit System?

The EU’s digital border register for non-EU visitors. Instead of a stamp, your passport, fingerprints and photo are recorded at the French border in Dover on the first trip. It counts your 90 days in 180 automatically.

Will my car be searched?

Occasionally, at random, on either side. Customs may ask to see the boot or the caravan. It takes a few minutes; do not plan for it as standard.