National passports

Last reviewed 23/12/2024

How do I change the ownership? 

New owners should notify the Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO) of a change of ownership within 30 days of the transfer. This is a legal requirement in England, with penalties for non-compliance. Your name, address and a contact number are required. This also applies to those who possess the equine for a short time period, such as dealers.

Where possible, owners are advised to contact the original PIO who issued the passport. However, under the Regulations you may approach any UK-approved PIO to change the ownership if they are willing to do so.

A list of bodies officially approved or recognised for maintaining or establishing studbooks in the UK can be found on the Defra website.  If your PIO is based in the UK we highly recommend that you contact them to do your change of ownership.

In order for your ownership details to be updated, the equine passport must be identified as a compliant passport. British Equestrian can update the ownership page for your equine passport if the owenrship page is bound within it. 

If you’d like British Equestrian to update an equine passport for you, you’ll need to complete the Passport Update Form.

Download Passport update form

Once completed, send your horses passport and the ownership change form to the following address:

Address: 
British Equestrian Federation (Equine Passports) 
Abbey Park 
Stareton
Kenilworth
Warwickshire
CV8 2RH

The national passport must be sent into the office to be checked for compliancy, a sticker applied and stamped and signed with our federation stamp.

It’s recommended that you send in your equine’s passport via a recorded method. Ensure to make note of the original PIO, microchip number and UELN (life number) in the event you need to obtain a duplicate passport (taking a photo of this information is useful).  

WHAT DO I DO IF MY PASSPORT DOESN’T HAVE A SECTION II (NEW PASSPORTS) OR SECTION IX TO INDICATE THE FOOD CHAIN STATUS OF THE EQUINE? 

If your passport does not have a food chain status section bound within the document, you are required to contact the original PIO, or another officially approved PIO in the UK, to have one inserted and rebound into the document.

If the PIO that you contact are not able to insert a food chain status for you, the PIO must issue a duplicate or replacement passport in accordance with Article 29 or 32 of the 2016 EU Regulation. In either instance the equine will be signed out of the food chain. 

WHAT HAPPENS IF MY EQUINE PASSPORT DOESN’T HAVE AN OWNERSHIP PAGE BOUND WITHIN IT? 

Some passports have a separate ownership document. If your passport doesn‘t have a specified ownership page bound within it, British Equestrian won’t be able to update it for you.

You’ll need to contact your original PIO or a corresponding studbook in the UK to request a duplicate passport with an ownership page bound within it, or to update the separate ownership card.

British Equestrian are unable to change the ownership on a separate ownership document.

WHAT IS BRITISH EQUESTRIAN’S FEE TO UPDATE MY EQUINE’S DETAILS TO REGISTER IT ON CED?

Changes to your equine’s passport cost £30, which includes a Royal Mail special delivery next day before 1pm postal service back to you. Most passports are completed within five working days, but please note that this can increase during busy periods. All passports will be returned within 10 working days.

All passports will be returned to the owner registered in the passport unless otherwise requested.  If you require a Fast Track Service to guarantee your passport is sent back to you within 4 working days from receipt, there is an additional charge of £10.

Please note- payment MUST have cleared before your horse’s passport is returned. If your payment has not cleared, there will be a delay in returning your horses passport, even if you have opted for our express service.

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO IF MY HORSE HAS BEEN IMPORTED FROM OUTSIDE THE UK?

If an equine is imported from a third country with a valid passport under EU law, and stays for more than 90 days, you should register the equine with a UK Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO) within 30 days of the horse's arrival into the UK. 

British Equestrian is a registered PIO and is able to log these details for you or, alternatively, you can approach another PIO. A list of UK PIOs can be found here.

A valid passport is one that has been issued by:

• a recognised body
• a national branch of an international organisation or association
• a competent authority

All valid passports must contain food chain status pages.

HOW DO I CHECK TO SEE IF MY EQUINE HAS BEEN REGISTERED IN THE UK?

You can check on Defra’s Central Equine Database to see if it has been registered by a previous owner.

WHAT DO I DO IF I CANNOT FIND MY DETAILS ON DEFRA’S CENTRAL EQUINE DATABASE?

If your equine’s passport has the correct ownership details and it has been updated and stamped by a PIO from outside of the UK, you will need to have it registered on Defra’s Central Equine Database to indicate that the horse is in the UK. 

To do this with British Equestrian, you can download our imported horse form below, and send your passport and the complete imported horse form into our office to be overstamped.

If your address details aren't correctly identified in your passport, you'll need to download our ownership change form, where the details will be updated and Defra notified. More information can be found on our changing ownership pages.(link to changing ownership pages) 

Download Passport Update Form

WHERE DO I SEND MY NATIONAL PASSPORT IF I WISH BRITISH EQUESTRIAN TO UPDATE THE DETAILS ON DEFRA’S CENTRAL EQUINE DATABASE?

Address: 
British Equestrian Federation (Equine Passports) 
Abbey Park 
Stareton
Kenilworth
Warwickshire
CV8 2RH

It is recommended that you send your horse’s passport via a recorded method and make note of the original PIO, microchip number and UELN (life number) in the event you need to obtain a duplicate passport if the original gets lost in the post. 

We recommend taking a photograph of your passport just in case it is lost so you can clearly have all the relevant details to hand when you contact the original PIO for a replacement.

 

WHAT IS BRITISH EQUESTRIAN’S FEE TO UPDATE MY EQUINE’S DETAILS AND TO REGISTER IT ON DEFRA’S CENTRAL EQUINE DATABASE?

Changes to your equine’s passport cost £30, which includes a Royal Mail special delivery next day before 1pm postal service back to you. Most passports are completed within five working days, but please note that this can increase during busy periods. All passports will be returned within 10 working days.

All passports will be returned to the owner registered in the passport unless otherwise requested.  If you require a Fast Track Service to guarantee your passport is sent back to you within 4 working days from receipt, there is an additional charge of £10.

Please note- payment MUST have cleared before your horse’s passport is returned. If your payment has not cleared, there will be a delay in returning your horses passport, even if you have opted for our express service.

 

WHAT HAPPENS IF MY EQUINE IS IMPORTED WITHOUT A VALID PASSPORT?

If your passport was issued by a recognised body but can't be amended to comply with the regulations, a PIO will need to either:

• reissue the passport if the food chain status is clear from the medicine record with correctly added pages.
• issue a duplicate/replacement passport if the food chain status is not clear.

If the passport was not issued by a recognised body, then a PIO will need to issue a duplicate or replacement passport.

If you have any questions please call 02475 313 433 or email passports@bef.co.uk. 

WHO DO I HAVE TO NOTIFY IF MY HORSE PASSES AWAY OR IS PUT TO SLEEP?

You should notify the original PIO within 30 days of your equine’s death, and the passport should be returned with a covering letter. The passport can be returned to you once it has been invalidated.

HOW DO I UPDATE MY ADDRESS DETAILS?

Please note BEF are able to change a current owners name and address details for a £10 administration fee. This can only be done for horses which have previously been registered into our database AND we hold an appropriate scan of their passport on file.

Please call 02475 313 433 or email passports@bef.co.uk to see if we have a valid passport scan held on our database.  If we do not have a scan you will need to send the passport in to us for a change of ownership which will be charged at £30. 

If the scan exists: 

1. You will be informed that you do not need to send in your equine’s passport to British Equestrian.
2. A £10 administration fee must be paid before your address label is sent to you in the post. This can be paid by bank transfer or by cheque.
3. A new address label will be printed. 
4. Defra's Central Equine Database will be updated with your new address.
5. Once you have received your label with your new address, stick it below the existing address label. 
6. Take a photo of your sticker in place on the ownership page.
7. If you are unsure where to stick it, please contact the British Equestrian office on 02475 313 433. 
8. Email the photo (with the new sticker in place) to passports@bef.co.uk, quoting your equine's name and UELN number. 
9. British Equestrian will confirm receipt of your photo. 

 

WHAT FORM DO I NEED TO COMPLETE FOR A CHANGE OF ADDRESS?

Please download the form below and tick the update current owner’s name/address box :

DOWNLOAD PASSPORT UPDATE FORM

 

WHAT HAPPENS IF MY PASSPORT SCAN DOES NOT EXIST?  

1. If an appropriate scan is NOT on file, you will be advised to send your passport and your signed Passport Update Form to British Equestrian at the following address: British Equestrian Federation (Equine Passports), Abbey Park, Stareton, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2RH. The fee for this is £30.00 which includes postage to post your equine’s passport back to you. 
2. British Equestrian will update your equine’s passport and take an appropriate scan.
3. British Equestrian will update Defra's Central Equine Database with your new address details. 
4. Your equine’s passport will be sent back to you via Royal Mail’s Special Delivery before 1pm service.

What happens if I lose my passport?

If you lose an equine passport from a UK PIO, it’s important to contact the original PIO to obtain a duplicate passport. 

If you lose an equine passport from another EU country and it’s a pedigree, you can request a duplicate passport from an EU PIO.

Where the passport is lost and the existing identity cannot be established by a microchip or a properly completed outline diagram, then a replacement passport must be issued by a UK PIO. 

If a passport is subsequently found, you must send it back to the PIO that issued it so that it can be destroyed. If that PIO no longer exists, you should return it to the nominated successor PIO. Please see the Defra website. 

It is sensible to keep a photocopy of the ID pages of your horses passport in case it ever gets lost.

IMPORTANT: It is against the law to apply for a replacement or duplicate passport when the original is not lost. 

 

WHAT HAPPENS IF I FIND THE ORIGINAL PASSPORT AFTER A REPLACEMENT OR DUPLICATE HAS BEEN ISSUED? 

If you find the original passport once a replacement or duplicate has been issued, you should send the original passport back to the PIO who issued it. if they no longer exist or are outside of the UK, send it back to an appropriate PIO. 

Terms and conditions

• Passports will only be processed if accompanied by completed and correct BEF paperwork and the relevant fee. 
• Express passports must be paid for and if payment has not cleared, this may increase the number of days  to return it to you.
• BEF cannot be held responsible for any passports that are lost or damaged in the post. We highly recommend that you send to us via a tracked method with appropriate insurance if required.
• BEF cannot get involved in ownership disputes. Please note that the passport is not a legal proof of ownership of a horse, but an identification document.