*Please note that, since our Eurail and Interrail brands merged, Eurail paper Passes without a start date are no longer available. The information below only applies to customers who bought a Pass before the transition. For more information, see the FAQ section "Eurail to Interrail naming transition 2026".
If your Eurail Paper Pass does not yet have a start date, it must be activated before you can use it. It must be activated within 11 months of the purchase date.
You can get your Eurail Paper Pass activated at a European train station. This service is always free of charge. To do this, simply go to the ticket office at any large train station in a participating Eurail country. A railway official will then activate your Eurail Pass by filling in the start and end date of your Pass. They will also stamp the Pass in order to validate it.