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You must have a horse passport (sometimes called an 鈥榚quine passport鈥�) 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

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鈥檚 passport:

• when a vet examines or treats your animal - the medication your animal can get depends on how it鈥檚 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

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鈥檚 passport, contact your local 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鈥檚 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 or the
• 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 , and .

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鈥檚 year of birth
• within 6 months of the animal鈥檚 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.

You need to:

• update the passport鈥檚 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鈥檚 passport updated.

You can make updates through the 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鈥檚 given a duplicate or replacement passport.

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.

What you need to do depends on whether you鈥檙e 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鈥檚 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鈥檙e 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鈥檙e in Northern Ireland, read more about .

Exporting

You must keep the passport with the horse and follow the rules for:

• exporting horses from England, Scotland or Wales

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).

You can also write to them.