Microchipping
For all equines living in the U.K., it is now mandatory that they are microchipped. Foals must be microchipped at the point of registration by a veterinary surgeon.
Animals registered since July 2009 were required to be microchipped at the point of registration. This microchip number will be recorded in the passport and on the Society's database.
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Animals registered before July 2009 did not need to be microchipped, however since the 12th of February 2021 it has been a legal requirement for all equines to be microchipped in Wales. Similar laws are also in place in Northern Ireland, and in England and Scotland it has been mandatory since the 1st of October 2020. This means that these animals must now all be microchipped by law, and the Society should be notified of this change.
Those equines born and registered before July 2009 that were not required to be microchipped at birth MUST now be microchipped by law. Please notify the Society, we will then update our records on receipt of the correctly completed Microchip Update form which can be downloaded from the website or requested from the office. If an animal born and registered before July 2009 has previously been microchipped, and the barcode sticker attached to the passport and stamped and signed by a veterinary surgeon, then the Society must be notified of this by way of scanning the page(s) in the passport, emailing or posting them to the Society and paying the update fee if this has not already been done. If the owner is unsure if this has previously been done, they can get in touch with the office who can confirm if the microchip number has been recorded by the Society.
If this microchip previously implanted ceases to function, the animal must be thoroughly scanned to ensure its position within the body has not changed, and if the microchip still cannot be read, then a veterinary surgeon must implant a new microchip. The Society should then be immediately notified. If the passport cannot be amended (e.g. for passports issued since 2015 where sections are laminated), the Society will require the veterinary surgeon to complete a Passport Amendment form, including the location and barcode sticker of the newly implanted microchip. The existing passport must be sent to the Society along with the correctly completed application form and fee. For those passports that cannot be amended (passports issued since 2015 where sections are laminated), then the Society will issue a Duplicate passport (if the insertion point of the defunct microchip is not clear on the existing passport), or a New Reissue (retaining previous food chain status) if it is clear. See the section on Duplicate and Passport Amendments for more details on this service.
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For a full list of prices, please visit the main Passport Services page and follow the link to the Price List. Microchips can also be paid for in the Shop.
Forms can be downloaded from the Passport Services Forms​ section on our 'Downloads' page.