All ponies who have been issued with an Equine Passport should have a UELN. The UELN is a 15 digit number that identifies the country of issue (826 = England, 372 = Ireland), the pony and also the organisation that issued the passport. Owners may be asked for their pony’s UELN when completing insurance forms or show entries etc.

Some of the older NPS passports were issued before UELNs were in operation. Passports that are sent in to the NPS Office (e.g. when a change of ownership needs to be recorded) are checked and the UELN is added at this time. If you have an NPS passport which doesn’t have a UELN on the front page, this can be added (see below for requirements). Some passports issued before 10th June 2004 may need additional sections adding to them.

The DEFRA PIO Minimum Operating Standards as of 1st February 2014 require all passports to contain the following sections:

If the foal is sired by a NPS licensed stallion and the breeder has been given an NPS covering certificate, then the covering certificate doubles up as a foal registration form.

Alternatively the foal registration certificate can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.

Foals should be registered within 6 months of birth, or before 30th November, whichever is sooner, in order to comply with DEFRA regulations. Foals must be microchipped before applying for a passport.

If your part bred pony already has a passport you may want to register it with the NPS to comply with showing or breeding requirements. In this case the NPS registers the pony and overstamps its Breed Society passport. Please look at the bottom of this page for an Overstamping form and guidelines or apply to the NPS Studbook Office.

It is law (Horse Passports (England) 2008), for buyers to inform the NPS within 30 days of purchase of a pony for which the NPS has issued an Equine Passport (Registered and Non-Registered). A Transfer form must be completed and sent to the NPS with the passport and correct fee. The Transfer form can be found HERE. The fees are listed separately.

Please note that, the NPS do not record people under the age of 18 as the sole owner of a pony, but they can be registered as joint owners, providing the principal owner is over 18.

The NPS will record the change of ownership in the passport and on its database. The NPS will return the passport to the new owner. Transfers are normally processed within 5-10 working days.

As of January 2020 please be aware transfer forms will need to be signed by the seller as well as the buyer.

The rules for registration of British Riding Ponies state that colts should be licensed or gelded by the time they are two years old. When a pony is gelded the vet should either sign the Gelding Record page in the passport (not present in all passports) or complete a Certificate of Castration (available on the website).

You should then send the passport, fee and form (if required) to the NPS. The NPS will update the passport, this includes amending the pony’s registration number, and updating the NPS database.

The NPS will return the passport to the owner normally within two weeks.

If you have purchased a gelding but his passport states that he is still a colt, you should obtain proof, from a vet, that the pony is a gelding and send this with the passport and fee to the NPS.

Veterinary proof could be a markings diagram produced for another purpose (e.g. JMB) where a vet has confirmed the pony is a gelding and signed the form, a vet signing a Castration Certificate, a vet completing and signing the Stallion/Castration page in the passport or a receipt from a vet for a castration operation.

The NPS strongly recommends that a loan/lease agreement is drawn up prior to the loan of any pony. This should be signed by both parties.

Breeding: The NPS rules for registration of foals state that both the dam and the sire must be in the correct ownership, as per the people signing the Registration Application form and the Stallion Service Certificate. If a stallion or mare is on loan for breeding purposes then a Loan/Lease Form (available on the website) should be completed and sent to the NPS so that the NPS database can be amended.

Showing: The NPS rules for showing ponies state that the pony must be in the correct ownership. If a pony is on loan for showing purposes then a Loan/Lease Form should be completed and sent to the NPS so that the NPS database can be amended.

In either scenario there is no fee involved and there is no need for the passport to be sent to the NPS.

When a pony dies the passport should be sent to the NPS with a covering letter including a date of death, so that this death can be recorded on the NPS database. The NPS also stamps the passport pages indicating that the pony is deceased so that there is no danger of the passport being used fraudulently.

There is no fee for this transaction.

If you would like to keep the pony’s passport for sentimental reasons, please state in your covering letter that you would like the passport returned to you, once the pages have been stamped.

If the owner of a pony moves house, the NPS should be notified of the new address. The NPS requires confirmation of the new address in writing and if you would like the passport amending to show this change then return the pony’s passport and the fee to amend the details within the passport, update the database and this includes return by recorded delivery.

If the pony is not kept at the owner’s address then the NPS should be notified of the address where the pony is kept. This can be done via a letter or over the telephone. There is no fee for this and the passport need not be sent to the NPS office. The NPS will add this information to its record for the pony.

Please note that all ponies we register after the end of June 2009 must be microchipped to comply with DEFRA regulations. This includes foals and older ponies. If your pony is microchipped after the NPS has issued a passport, please return the passport with the Recording of Microchip and/or Brand form (available on the website) and send in to the NPS office. The fee for this is £10.00 however if you are asking the NPS to do another registration for the same pony, such as a transfer of ownership or colt to gelding change, then there is no additional fee for recording microchip information.

The same form and procedure can be used for notifying us if your pony has been Branded.

“A Prefix is a name chosen by a breeder which is used to preface the name of all foals bred and registered by that breeder and may also identify the breeder’s Stud.”

In order for foals to be registered with the NPS using a prefix:

• The prefix must be registered with the British Central Prefix Register (CPR)
• The prefix must be registered for use with the National Pony Society

Whether a prefix is a new prefix or being extended to include its use with the NPS, all forms and further guidance can be found HERE.

Please note that all ponies we register after the end of June 2009 must be microchipped to comply with DEFRA regulations. This includes foals and older ponies. If your pony is microchipped after the NPS has issued a passport, please return the passport with the Recording of Microchip and/or Brand form (available on the website) and send in to the NPS office. The fee for this is £10.00 however if you are asking the NPS to do another registration for the same pony, such as a transfer of ownership or colt to gelding change, then there is no additional fee for recording microchip information.

The same form and procedure can be used for notifying us if your pony has been Branded.