Horse passport

Clearer rules on horse passports

All horses in EU need a horse passport. This applies to all horses no matter their age or breed. A horse passport remains valid throughout the horse's life.

A foal needs its pass December 31 of the year of birth if the horse is borne no later than June 30 or before the foal is six months old if it is born July 1 or later. You may apply for a horse passport in Sweden or another member state in EU.

The passport has three main objectives:

• Ensure the horse's identity, for instance in case of trading;
• Help preventing the spread of contagious diseases; and
• Ensure that medicinal products do not end up in food.

How to obtain a horse passport

Please contact your breed society for obtaining a horse passport. If you do not know what breed your horse is, contact the Svenska Hästavelsförbundet (Swedish Horseboard). The cost for obtaining a passport varies between the different societies.

Microchip

When a new passport is issued the horse needs to obtain a microchip. Other methods to obtain a mark are used in EU, but it is the only method presently accepted in Sweden.

A horse passport and the fact that the horse is microchipped or branded mean that it can be traced if it should be lost for some reason. It also means that show and competition results can be linked to breeding efforts in the future.

Imported horses must be registered in Sweden

The passport requirement applies to imported horses as well. If the horse has a passport issued by an approved organisation in the EU, you do not need to apply for a new passport, but the passport and the horse must be registered with an organisation in Sweden if the intention is for the horse to remain here for more than 90 days. The same apply for horses that are imported from countries outside the EU. The difference in that case is that the horse generally needs a passport as well.

A list of organisations approved to issue horse passports and register imported horses can be found in the right hand column.

Certain information must be kept up to date in the passport and the database where the horse is registered. This information is:

• Whether the horse is intended for slaughter for human consumption or not
• The transponder code (chip) or other mark that links the horse to the passport
• The status as a horse for breeding or production or a registered horse

Ask your breed society about horse passports

If you have further questions, please contact your breed society or Svenska Hästavelsförbundet.

Central horse database

From July 1, 2016, there is a central horse database in Sweden. It is a database where all the horses that stay longer than 90 days in Sweden must be registered. The purpose of the database is to gather some information about horses in Sweden in one place. The information can then be used to: • Get a better idea of the number of horses e in Sweden, • see how horses are moved to and from Sweden, • search for information about the horses based on, for example, the chip number.

Do I as a horse keeper have to do anything because of the horse database?

The information to the central database is downloaded from the Swedish issuing bodies. Since your horse must be registered with an issuing body in Sweden you do not have to supply the information once more.

Here is the central horse database

In the central horse database, you can search for information regarding a horse based on, for example, its chip number or passport number. You find the horse database here. External link.