Single Lifetime Identification Document for Equines (“Horse Passports”)

Equine Identification and Traceability Requirements

For Horses, Ponies, Donkeys, Zebras and Crossbreeds

Obligations for owners and operators of equine animals are set out below. Click on the table of contents to navigate to each section.

If you own or operate any establishment, including land or holdings, where equines are kept, you must register that establishment with DAERA now.

From 1 February 2026 You Will Need to Provide Your Equine Establishment Number (EEN) When Applying for a Horse Passport or When Applying to Update a Horse Passport.

Register Today!

To register, visit: Equine Premises Registration form

1. Registering your equine establishment(s)

If you own or have responsibility for any establishment where equines are kept, you must register the establishment with DAERA. “Equines” means horses, ponies, donkeys, zebras and crossbreeds of those species.

Registering is simple and free, Register now.

Registering your equine establishment is a legal requirement under the EU Animal Health Law and is one of a number of measures aimed to help improve equine identification and traceability.

When you register your establishment with DAERA, you will be provided with an Equine Establishment Number (EEN).

If you keep your equine at a livery yard, it is the responsibility of the owner/operator to register the livery yard to register, you will not need to do this.

From 1 February 2026 you will be required to provide an EEN when applying for a horse passport from any equine Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO). You will also be required to provide an EEN to update your passport with any changes, such as ownership changes when you buy an equine, or to apply for a replacement or duplicate passport in the event of lost, stolen or damaged passports.

Failing to obtain an EEN means that you may be unable to buy, sell, move or export your equine without a valid, up to date passport.

Anyone keeping an equine at livery or at an establishment which they do not operate themselves, will not need to register that establishment, but should be certain that the establishment is registered. You will need to obtain the EEN from the owner/operator of the establishment when applying for a horse passport or applying to update a horse passport.

Ensuring that equines are kept only at registered establishments is the first of a number of equine traceability measures which DAERA plans to implement under the EU Animal Health Law.

The benefits of registering include:

• Enhanced equine traceability
• Disease control and prevention
• Fraud and theft prevention
• Enhanced equine health and welfare protection
• Access to advice and guidance

Registration of Equine Establishments: Questions and Answers 

2. Identification of equines

All equines in Northern Ireland need to have a Single Lifetime Identification Document (commonly referred to as a “horse passport”) to identify them. Information on how to obtain a horse passport is included on this page

Important Information for Owners/Operators: If you own or have day to day responsibility for any equine animal, you must ensure that you:

• Keep your equine only at a registered equine establishment.
• Check your horse passport(s) to ensure that all information is correct and up to date.
• Ensure that the equine’s information is accurate and up to date on the UK Central Equine Database (UK-CED). Check that your equine is entered on the UK-CED by entering either its microchip number or Universal Equine Life Number (UELN) on the UK-CED chip checker. Both these numbers can be found in the passport. If you need to update the UK-CED, you can do this by posting your passport to a DAERA-authorised horse passport issuing organisation (“PIO”) or DAERA-authorised breed society who will update the database for you. You can also update certain information via the Digital Stable app.

Ensuring that your animal is correctly identified helps to prevent theft and fraudulent activity.

Failure to correctly identify your equine is a criminal offence. You may be fined up to £5,000 if you fail to keep your animal’s identification document and the UK-CED up to date.

It is a legal requirement for all equines which reside in Northern Ireland to have a horse passport. In addition to uniquely identifying the equine, a horse passport contains information that assists in preventing equines that are treated with certain veterinary medicines from entering the human food chain, where those medicines are harmful to human health. Certain information which uniquely identifies the equine, and which is recorded in a horse passport must also be recorded on the United Kingdom Central Equine Database (UK-CED).

Equines born on or after 1 July 2009, are also required to have a transponder (microchip) implanted. Equines born before 1 July 2009 do not need a transponder unless they are moving to a new establishment where they will be resident for a period exceeding 30 days. In this case, a transponder must be implanted prior to the equine moving.

In Northern Ireland, equine owners are legally required to submit an application to an authorised equine passport issuing organisation (PIO) within six months of the date on which the equine is born. All equines must be identified and issued with a horse passport, from an authorised PIO, within 12 months from the date of birth of the equine.

You may be fined up to £5,000 if you do not have an up-to-date horse passport for your equine.

3. How to obtain a horse passport

Application forms and guidance can be obtained from an authorised Passport issuing organisation (PIO). A list of authorised PIOs is available at the link below:
Passport issuing organisations (PIO)

There are two different types of passports available to equines:

• Standard Passports (Identification only (ID-only) Passports)
• Identification only passports are for non-pure-bred equines where the breeding is unknown and/or unverified (i.e. the equine does not meet the requirement to enter an authorised breed society studbook). ID-only passports contain all the mandatory information required by law to identify an equine.

An appointment with a veterinary surgeon should be made to implant a microchip and to complete certain sections of the application form.

Extended Passports (Pure bred equines eligible to enter a stud book (Pedigree Passport))

Some PIOs are known as breed societies and operate breeding programs (traditionally called “studbooks”) for particular breeds of equine. Breed society passports contain all the statutory information required to uniquely identify the equine in the same way as a standard (ID-only) passport, plus information regarding the equine’s pedigree and a zootechnical certificate. These equines are also entered into the breeding programme (studbook) by the breed society.

A list of approved UK PIOs including those with approved breeding programs is available by the link below:
Passport issuing organisations (PIO)

A list of EU breeding programs is approved to extend into Northern Ireland (including ROI equine breed societies) is available by link:
List of breed societies and geographical scope

After you submit your application to the relevant PIO/breed society, you will receive your horse passport in the post. The time it takes to receive your horse passport can vary, and you should seek advice from the relevant organisation on their current processing times. In particular, passports for pedigree animals may take longer as DNA analysis is usually required to verify the equine’s breeding.

Once issued, the passport is valid for the lifetime of the equine.

Horse passports are small booklets that contain at least the following information which is required by law to uniquely identify an individual equine:

• The equine’s sex, colour and height;
• The date of birth (may be approximate, if necessary);
• The name of the animal;
• The owner’s details;
• The Universal Equine Life Number (UELN) assigned to your horse. This is an internationally recognised numbering system and the UELN assigned to your equine will remain with it for its entire lifetime. The first three digits represent a country code, the next three digits relate to the PIO which issues the passport and the last nine digits are issued by the PIO to identify each equine registered with it;
• The microchip number (this is not the same as the UELN. The microchip number on the transponder is the electronic link between the equine and its identification document. It displays as a three-digit ISO-3166 compatible country code and a numeric individual animal code of 12 digits which must meet the technical requirements stated in legislation and remain unique.);
• Information regarding whether the equine can enter the human food chain when it dies.

Any equine that is identified after the legal time limit of 12 months from the date of the equine’s birth, will be treated as ‘late’ and will be issued with a ‘duplicate’ or ‘replacement’ passport.

4. Lost, stolen or damaged passports

If a horse passport is lost, stolen or damaged, you must apply for a replacement or duplicate passport. You are legally required to notify the issuing PIO within 7 days of discovering that a passport is lost, stolen or damaged so that a duplicate or replacement passport can be issued. The PIO can advise what to do until a duplicate or replacement passport can be issued.

Where sufficient and verifiable information is available to identify the equine (usually in the case of a damaged or defaced passport), a duplicate passport will be issued, which will be marked as “duplicate”. Duplicate passports usually exclude the equine animal from slaughter for human consumption. Where insufficient verifiable information is available to identify the equine (usually in the case of lost or stolen passports), a replacement single lifetime identification document will be issued; this will be marked as a “replacement” passport and the equine will be excluded from slaughter for human consumption.

The PIO is responsible for updating the UK-CED to indicate that a duplicate or replacement passport has been issued to an equine and to amend the food chain status of the animal where necessary.

5. The UK Central Equine Database (UK-CED)

If your equine resides in Northern Ireland, it is a legal requirement to ensure that its identification information is included and up to date on the UK-CED. If there is any change to the equine’s identification information which is listed above (the most common examples are a change of ownership or change in food chain status), it is your legal responsibility to ensure that this information is updated on the UK-CED. You can do this by contacting your issuing PIO who will update the UK-CED on your behalf. Normally you will be required to also send the horse passport by post to the PIO so that it can also be updated. If required, PIOs can issue temporary identification documents while the horse passport is being updated.

Failure to ensure that the information on the UK-CED is up to date is an offence and it may prevent you from moving your equine outside of Northern Ireland.

6. Recording of veterinary medicines in Equines

Certain veterinary medicines, when prescribed to equines, will require the equine to be signed out of the human food chain, as those medicines are harmful to human health. It is important, therefore, to ensure that you have your horse passport available when your veterinarian is treating your equine. You should think carefully about the implications of your equine being signed out of the human food chain when it comes to the end of the equine’s life.

If you have any questions or concerns you should discuss these with your vet who can advise you.

7. Further information

The responsibilities of the Passport Issuing Organisations are set out in the Minimum Operating Standards, which can be found here:
MOPS Updated Version June 2021

For further information, please contact:

• DAERA Helpline: daera.helpline@daera-ni.gov.uk, 0300 200 7852
• DAERA Equine Traceability team: EquineID.Policy@daera-ni.gov.uk 

Equine Traceability Branch Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Clare House 303 Airport Road West BELFAST BT3 9ED

Where the term horse(s) is used in this text it refers to all equidae.