Applying for an equine passport
Do you keep 1 or more horses or other equines such as ponies, donkeys or zebras? If so, your animal is required to have an equine passport with a corresponding microchip. Equine passports can be obtained by applying to a paardenpaspoort uitgevende instantie – PPI (equine passport issuing agency), such as an organisation that manages stud books.
Last updated on 2 February 2023
Lees deze informatie in het Nederlands
Deadline for applying for an equine passport
Your horse must have an equine passport and microchip within 9 months of birth. The Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland – RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency) recommends that you have your horse microchipped within 6 months. You can then be sure that the entire process will be completed within 9 months. This is because the passport is only produced once the horse has been microchipped.
Applying for an equine passport
An equine passport can be obtained by applying to a PPI.
Is the horse registered in a stud book? If so, you should apply for the equine passport from the organisation issuing the stud book. The organisation issuing the studbook is deemed to be a PPI. Is the horse not registered in a stud book? In that case, you are free to choose which PPI you use.
A list of PPIs in the Netherlands (in Dutch) can be obtained from the RVO. Scroll down to "Uitgevende instanties" and the list can be downloaded from the link under the heading.
Rules for the equine passport and microchip
The RVO website has more information about the rules for the equine passport and the corresponding microchip (in Dutch).
Laws and regulations
EU Regulation 2016/429 (Animal Health Law), Articles 108 and 114
Besluit houders van dieren, art. 1.57 (in Dutch)