Horse Passports - FAQs

Yes. Horses, ponies, donkeys, mules and zebras must have an equine passport, even if they never leave their field. This is applicable across the United Kingdom as stated in the following regulations:

• The Equine Identification (England) Regulations 2018
• The Equine Animal Identification (Scotland) Regulations 2019
• The Equine Identification (Wales) Regulations 2019
• The Equine Identification Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019

The legislation states that owners or keepers with the primary responsibility for the care of the horse, have a legal duty to ensure that the horse is correctly identified. 

The purpose of horse passports is to enable accurate identification and to protect the human food chain, ensuring that no horses that are treated with certain drugs, for example Bute, are slaughtered for human consumption. 

You must keep a valid horse passport with your animal at all times, including at its stable or when you move it. This means that the passport must always accompany your horse, and 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
• When the horse is moved into or out of the United Kingdom
• When the horse is presented at a slaughterhouse for slaughter
• When the horse is used for breeding purposes
• When the horse is transported
• When the horse is used at a competition
• When the horse is moved to new premises
  
  

It is reasonable for the yard where your horse resides to ask for your horse’s passport to be retained at the yard. If you feel uncomfortable with this, we advise you speak with your yard owner/manager and ask to see where the passports are being kept, i.e. in a locked cupboard and what the protocol is for if you need the passport for travel etc. Also, for your own peace of mind, you can take a photocopy of the passport.

The only exception when the passport is not required is when the horse is being transported for emergency veterinary treatment. 

Also, insurance companies often require details such as the Unique Equine Life Number when insuring your horse.

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

The Meat Hygiene Service is responsible for enforcing the checks carried out at slaughterhouses. In all other circumstances local authorities are responsible for enforcing the legislation.

Equine Register provides and manages the Central Equine Database and National ChipChecker for Defra. There are 81 UK Passport Issuing Organisations and Equine Register manages their data on the Central Equine Database, which houses over 1.2 million equine records. To check a microchip or access the Central Equine Database.

Failing to identify horses in accordance with the legislation could result in a fine of up to £5,000.

Yes. The legislation allows ministers to recognise designated areas of wild or semi-wild populations that remain within a specified area without the legal requirement of having to obtain a passport or microchip. The derogation is in place until certain events occur whereby the legislation stipulates what actions the owner must complete.

Please be aware that the Central Equine Database will automatically rule horses out of the human food chain in the following circumstances:

The passport was issued more than 6 months after the date of birth, or after 30 November of the year of birth (whichever is later)

• The country of birth is unknown
• The horse has more than one microchip
• The horse was imported into the UK without a valid passport

There are 81 UK Passport Issuing Organisations (PIO), and Equine Register manages their data on the Central Equine Database.

If the horse does not have a microchip, PIOs will need to be contacted individually. If your horse is of a specific breed, a good starting point will be to contact the relevant breed society. A full list of PIOs is available from Defra.

• England: Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
• Scotland: The Scottish Government
• Wales: Welsh Government
• Northern Ireland: Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

No. The horse must be issued with a UK passport. Failure to obtain a passport for your horse is an offence.

A request for a duplicate passport will need to be made with the relevant Passport Issuing Organisation. If the passport was issued by the BHS visit our duplicate passport page for more information.

Any dispute involving a BHS passport will need to be reported to the BHS Passport Office. A note will be added to the horse’s record and no further changes will be made to the passport until the matter has been fully resolved. Details of the dispute may be requested in writing by the Society. The BHS cannot directly become involved with any disputes. In such circumstances, the BHS will liaise with Trading Standards.

Any customer who is not satisfied with the Passport Office can make a complaint in writing or via email. A written acknowledgement will be provided to confirm receipt of the complaint within one working day and a written response will be provided within 15 working days.

It is mandatory for all horses, ponies and donkeys in England, Wales and Scotland to be microchipped. This allows local authorities and the police to track the owners of abandoned, lost or stolen horses, so they can be reunited with their owners more easily.

It is important to ensure you inform the relevant Passport Issuing Organisation so that the microchip number can be added to your horse’s record on the database. The vet that implanted the microchip must add the barcode sticker into the passport, and sign and stamp it to confirm they inserted it. If the BHS has issued your horse’s passport, return this to the BHS Passport Office with a passport update form to request that the microchip details are updated on the database. There is no charge for this service.

If you have owned your horse since the passport regulations were introduced in 2004 and have not obtained a passport for your horse, you are committing an offence. Therefore, you will need to apply for a passport as soon as possible and your horse will also need to be microchipped.

If you are not sure whether your horse has been previously passported, you will need to make enquiries with the Passport Issuing Organisations (PIOs) to check if the passport was originally issued by them. A full list of approved PIOs is available from  Defra. If the original PIO cannot be located, a replacement passport can be applied for. The passport will be stamped as a replacement and Section IX Part II (or Section II Part II for passports issued from 1 January 2016) will be signed by the issuing PIO, declaring that the horse is not intended for human consumption.  

If your horse is of a particular breed you can apply for a passport via the relevant breed society as long as the horse meets the specific registration requirements. Further information about registration requirements will be available directly from the breed society.

Yes. Since 1 July 2009, all new and replacement passport applications include mandatory microchipping of the horse. Freeze branding is not an acceptable alternative to microchipping under equine identification legislation.

Yes. Under current legislation, foals must have a passport and microchip within six months of birth or before 30 November of the year in which they were born, whichever date occurs later.

Before applying for a new passport, any new owner must ensure that they conduct all appropriate checks to try and locate the horse’s original Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO). If the original PIO is located, a duplicate passport can be requested.

In the event that the original PIO cannot be located, a replacement passport can be applied for. Once the PIO is satisfied that the horse was genuinely rescued, a replacement passport will be issued. The passport will be stamped as a replacement and Section IX Part II (or Section II Part II for all passports issued from 1 January 2016) will be signed declaring that the horse is not intended for human consumption.

If you would like to apply for a replacement passport with the BHS, please visit our replacement passport page. 

No. If your horse already has an official EU passport it is an offence to apply for another passport. 

All the information you need is available at gov.uk/guidance/export-horses-and-ponies-special-rules.

If you have not received your horse’s passport back after the specific processing time has passed, please contact the Passport Office on 02476 840517. The passport may have been delayed for a specific reason, in which case, the passport administrator will have made efforts to contact you to discuss the problem.

The BHS cannot be held responsible for any passports that go missing in the post. In such circumstances, horse owners will need to contact Royal Mail to attempt to resolve the issue. If the passport cannot be located, a duplicate passport will need to be applied for; the administration charge for this service is still applicable.

A change of ownership form will need to be completed before any changes are made to the passport. You can download the change of ownership form, or contact the Passport Office on 02476 840517 or email passports@bhs.org.uk to request a hard copy. 

It is important that you provide a signature for the current registered owner (the last name in the passport which has been officially endorsed by the BHS stamp) to confirm that they no longer own the horse. If you have a signed proof of purchase from the current registered owner, a photocopy of this will be accepted in lieu of a signature on the change of ownership form.

Please do not send original copies of proof of purchase in the post. As the new owner, you will still need to complete the remainder of the form.

If you do not have a signature from the current registered owner, you will also need to complete a disclaimer form.

No. It is an offence to: 

• destroy or deface a passport
• alter any details in a passport
• be in possession of a passport knowing it is forged

All updates regarding the owner of the horse must be made by the relevant Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO).

Horse passports are often issued before the horse reaches full maturity which can result in the height and colour details becoming incorrect over time. It is important you contact the relevant PIO to discuss their administration process for amending the horse’s details. 

You can get the address details changed in the passport by completing a BHS change of address form. 

A copy of a recent utility bill, issued to the registered owner at their new address, must also be provided.

In the sad event of the death of your horse, the passport must be returned to the PIO within 30 days.

If you have a BHS passport, please return this to our Passport Office with a covering letter detailing the date and cause of death. If you would like your horse’s passport to then be returned to you, please reference this in your letter and include a stamped addressed envelope with the correct postage stamps.

If you are proceeding with a mortality claim with your insurance company, ensure you contact the insurance company before returning your horse’s passport. It is highly likely the insurance company will request that the passport is sent to them before it is returned to the relevant PIO. All insurance companies are fully aware of the 30-day time restriction and will return the passport to the original PIO on your behalf before the deadline. Ensure you make it very clear to the insurance company should you wish to have the passport returned to you as a keepsake so that the insurance company can notify the PIO accordingly.   

It is a legal requirement that a horse is sold with its passport. The BHS strongly advises that buyers do not purchase the horse if it does not have a passport. The owner of the horse must obtain a passport for the horse before it is sold. If you decide to purchase a horse without a passport, an offence will be committed if the horse is then transported to its new yard without a passport.

The buyer of the horse should check that the passport matches the description of the horse. If the passport was issued after 1 July 2009 the passport may not have a completed silhouette but will have a microchip number. The BHS advises that before purchasing a horse a pre-purchase veterinary examination is completed. At the time of the examination the veterinary surgeon can check that the implanted microchip in the horse matches the microchip number in the passport. For further information, see the BHS advice on Buying or Loaning a horse.

At the time of purchasing the horse, the registered owner must give the passport to the buyer. If the horse is not being sold but the ownership is being formally transferred, the new owner must still receive the passport. 

It is the responsibility of the new owner to change the ownership details in the passport with the relevant Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO) within 30 days of the date when the change of ownership was completed, or face penalties. It is important to send the passport to the correct PIO; a full list of PIOs is available from Defra.

This also applies to those such as dealers who only possess the horse for a short period of time. The physical passport must be sent to the PIO for updating, it cannot be done online. A person who transfers a horse to another person must give them the passport at the time of transfer.
If you have a BHS passport, further details can be found on our change of ownership page.

On BHS passports, a formal change of ownership can be identified by an embossed mark or BHS stamp and an official signature from the BHS Passport Office.  

The BHS advises that before purchasing a horse, potential buyers check the horse’s passport to make sure that it contains the seller’s details as the registered owner.

In the event that you are unable to obtain a signature from the current registered owner, you will also need to complete a  disclaimer form. 

Owners must apply for a ‘new re-issue’ passport for horses coming into the UK without a valid passport from any UK-based PIO. This needs to be done within 30 days of completing the customs procedure otherwise a replacement passport is required. A full list of authorised PIOs in the UK is available from Defra.

This is still classed as a change of ownership and the new owner will need to notify the correct PIO within 30 days after purchasing the full ownership of the horse. 

• Further information on how to change the ownership if the passport was issued by the BHS

It is a legal requirement that the horse’s original passport remains with the horse. Therefore, when a horse is put out on loan the keeper must have the passport; photocopies are not acceptable.

There are a number of steps owners can take if they are putting their horse on loan but feel uncomfortable about parting with their original passport:

• Contact the relevant Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO) and advise that your horse is going out on loan. The PIO should add a note to the horse’s record and can check with you directly if they receive a request to change the horse’s ownership details
• The owner can take a photocopy of the horse’s passport for their records and can prove that the passport pre-dates any illegal replacement passports that an unscrupulous loaner may have applied for. This will be more effective if the horse has been microchipped.

No. The regulations state that only an owner of the horse can apply for a passport. The primary keeper of the horse should ensure the horse has a passport before agreeing to take the horse on loan. It is an offence to keep a horse without a passport.

If your horse has received medications which are not permitted for animals intended for slaughter for human consumption, for example, phenylbutazone, you need to contact your PIO within 14 days of your horse receiving the medication. For more information about which medications you will need to notify your PIO about, please go to gov.uk.

To safeguard the human food chain, specific medications are prohibited for use in animals that are intended for human consumption. In order to verify that the horse has been signed out of the food chain, and can therefore receive these medicines, the veterinary surgeon has a duty to check Section IX (or Section II for passports issued from 1 January 2016) of the horse’s passport. If the declaration has been signed as not intended for human consumption, the medication can be administered, supplied or prescribed to the horse.

In passports where Section IX (or Section II for passports issued from 1 January 2016) has not been signed, the owner must duly sign Section IX Part II (or Section II Part II for passports issued from 1 January 2016). If the owner refuses to sign the declaration, the veterinary surgeon must do so.

If the veterinary surgeon is in attendance due to an emergency and the passport is not available, this denies their ability to verify the status of Section IX (or Section II for passports issued from 1 January 2016). Therefore, under the legislation, they can only administer medication that is approved for food producing animals. 

Further information is available from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. 

The current legislation states that Section IX Part II (or Section II Part II for passports issued from 1 January 2016) of the passport must be signed by the Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO) to declare that the horse is not for human consumption when:

• The passport was applied for after the horse turned six months old, or 30 November in its year of birth (whichever is later). Therefore, any older horse will be automatically signed out of the food chain. 
• Any replacement or duplicate passport is issued
• An original passport has been located after a duplicate had been issued
• A Section IX page has been added to an existing passport.

No. Once Section IX Part II has been signed declaring that the horse is not intended for human consumption, it cannot be revoked. 

If your horse’s passport is missing the Section IX page, it would have been issued before 10 June 2004. Without Section IX the passport is not fully valid. The owner should contact the relevant Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO) to request Section IX is added to the passport. When a PIO adds a Section IX page to an existing passport, they legally have to sign Section IX Part II to declare that the horse is not intended for human consumption. 

If you have a BHS passport without a Section IX, please return the passport with a covering letter (including your contact details) requesting that the Section IX page is added.