Apply for a horse passport

If you own the horse or related animal, you must get a passport for it before it reaches 12 months of age. How to apply Apply through a Passport Issuing Organisation ( PIO ). If you have a pedigree animal, you need to register through a PIO that manages studbooks. You need a vet to implant a microchip in your horse before you can apply. Send your application by whichever date is later: 30 November of the animal’s year of birth within 6 months of the animal’s birth Applications can take up to 6 weeks. How much you pay depends on the PIO and type of animal. A passport issued more than 12 months after birth will be treated as late. It will be issued as a duplicate or replacement passport and the animal cannot be used as food for humans. There’s no expiry on horse passports - they last an animal’s lifetime.

Update or replace a passport

You need to: update the passport’s details if they change, for example if you have a new microchip put in your horse replace a passport if it gets lost Update passport details Contact the Passport Issuing Organisation ( PIO ) to get your horse’s passport updated. You can make updates through the Digital Stable in some instances. Replace a lost passport Contact the PIO that issued the original passport to request a duplicate or replacement. If you do not know which PIO this is, you can apply for a duplicate or replacement from another PIO . Apply to a PIO that manages studbooks if you have a pedigree. Your horse will not be used as food when it dies if it’s given a duplicate or replacement passport. You’re breaking the law if you apply for a replacement or duplicate passport when the original is not lost. If you find your original passport Send the passport back to the PIO that issued it. If the PIO no longer exists or is not in the UK, then send it to any appropriate UK PIO .

Import or export a horse or related animal

What you need to do depends on whether you’re importing or exporting the horse or related animal. Importing Any horse coming into the UK must have an up-to-date horse passport. This can come from: a UK Passport Issuing Organisation ( PIO ) an approved body from another country If the horse will be in the UK for more than 90 days and does not have a UK horse passport, you must register the foreign passport with a UK PIO . You must apply within 30 days of the horse’s arrival. Use a PIO that manages studbooks if you have a pedigree. There are limited circumstances where you do not need to register the foreign passport with a UK PIO . A PIO will tell you if one of those circumstances apply if you contact them. If you’re in England, Scotland or Wales, read more about the rules for: importing horses from Northern Ireland, EU countries and Norway importing horses from any other country If you’re in Northern Ireland, read more about importing animals . Exporting You must keep the passport with the horse and follow the rules for: exporting horses from England, Scotland or Wales exporting animals from Northern Ireland

Contact the Passport Issuing Organisation ( PIO ) that issued the horse passport if you have any questions. If you have concerns about the conduct of PIOs Contact the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs ( Defra ). Defra Helpline defra.helpline@defra.gov.uk You can also write to them. Defra Nobel House 17 Smith Square London SW1P 3JR

Getting and using a horse passport

When you need a horse passport

You must have a horse passport (sometimes called an ‘equine passport’) for each animal if you keep any of the following:

horses
ponies
donkeys and asses
zebras
mules, hinnies or other hybrids

The passport is a document that:

describes the animal, for example by breed, colour, species
lists all vaccinations
names the registered owner

You only need a passport for semi-wild ponies on Dartmoor, Exmoor, Wicken Fen or in the New Forest if they’re not free to roam in these areas (for example, if you sometimes keep them enclosed on your land) or you have them treated by a vet.

Use your horse passport

You must keep a valid horse passport with your animal at all times. This includes at its stable or when you move it.

You need to provide your horse’s passport:

when a vet examines or treats your animal - the medication your animal can get depends on how it’s categorised on its passport
if an animal health inspector, trading standards inspector or other enforcement officer asks to see it
when you sell or give the animal to someone else

You could get a fine if you cannot show a valid horse passport for an animal in your care.

If you buy a horse

Contact the Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO) within 30 days to update the passport ownership details.

If the seller does not give you the horse’s passport, contact your local trading standards office for advice.

You might need to take additional steps if you import a horse from outside the UK.

When your horse dies

Within 30 days of the horse’s death, return its passport to the PIO that issued it. They will update their records and invalidate or destroy the passport.

If the passport has been invalidated you may be able to get it sent back to you. Ask the PIO if this is possible.

If your horse was born before July 2009

Check if your horse is microchipped by:

looking at its passport
looking at the Digital Stable or the National Chipchecker
asking a vet to scan your horse for a microchip

If your horse does not have a microchip, you must:

get a vet to microchip it
update the passport

In England, you can be fined if your horse is not microchipped.

There are different rules in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

View a printable version of the whole guide

Getting and using a horse passport

When you need a horse passport

Use your horse passport

If you buy a horse

When your horse dies

If your horse was born before July 2009

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Getting and using a horse passport

When you need a horse passport

Use your horse passport

If you buy a horse

When your horse dies

If your horse was born before July 2009

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