Duplicate Passports – Guidance Notes and FAQs: (v1.0)
- Is the passport genuinely lost or damaged? The owner and the Society must take all reasonable steps to determine that the passport is genuinely lost, which may involve making enquiries from a number of parties.
- Does the animal have a microchip? In order to obtain a replacement passport, the horse must be scanned for a microchip (transponder) by a Vet and a new Identity Diagram completed in all cases. Replacement passports can no longer be issued based on documentation held in the office.
If your passport is genuinely lost or damaged, please follow the steps below:
- Complete the ‘Duplicate Passport form
- Your vet must scan your horse to verify the microchip number of your horse and record the number on the form and sign and stamp the form with their practice stamp.
- If a microchip cannot be located, the Vet must insert a new one and record the transponder number on the Identity Diagram
- Return the form and Identity Diagram to our Passport Administrator with the appropriate fee
Contact Information
If you are in any doubt about whether you can apply for a duplicate passport, please contact one of the three people listed below:
IDHS (GB) Passports. Holme House, The Dale, Ainstable, Carlisle CA4 9RH
Contact email: passports@idhsgb.org.uk
Telephone: 01768 870523 (available 9-00am to 5-00pm Monday – Friday)
Administrator: Miss Carol Malin, IDHS (GB), PO Box 91, Newcastle Emlyn, SA44 9AT.
Email: admin@idhsgb.org.uk
Registration administration manager: Mrs Heather Chaplin, Middle Munty Farm, Churchstanton, Taunton TA3 7RH. Tel. 01823 601625 (before 7.30 p.m. please).
Email: chaplinheather51@gmail.com
FAQ’s
My vet has found two microchips; what should I do?
If two microchips are present, this fact must also be recorded by the vet on the identity diagram and both transponder codes recorded. Horses with two microchips must be signed out of the food chain and the fact reported to the Society immediately. Further rigorous identity checks will be required.
My horse has definitely been micro-chipped, but the vet could not find the chip. What should I do?
To an outsider, there is no evidence that it is the same horse, so the Society will need to investigate to prove or disprove this. It is worth persevering to try to locate the missing chip, but if that fails, a chip must be inserted and the horse remarked. It must be clearly recorded on the identity diagram that it is a second chip and that the first chip cannot be located. Office staff will check the original identity papers for a match, but it may be necessary to repeat DNA to prove the animal’s identity. Please ask for further advice.
The horse’s previous owner retained the passport and they will not hand it over to me. What can I do?
The Society has taken advice from Defra and Trading Standards several times on this matter. If a horse’s passport has been retained by a previous owner, the Society cannot lawfully issue a new passport. The advice is clear that it is up to the parties to resolve the issue, if necessary by taking the matter to court to compel the passport holder to give up the document.
My horse was sold to me without a passport, and I believe it has never been registered, so what can I do?
It is an offence for someone to sell a horse without a passport, or to fail to report a change of ownership, but it is not an offence to buy one. There are some derogations in place for owners who rescue or acquire a horse that through no fault of the new owner, has no passport. You must apply for registration straight away by having your horse microchipped and identified. These horses are always signed out of the food chain.
The passport is mine, why should I return it to the Society?
It is not your passport; passports remain the property of the Society and must always be returned when requested. Failure to do so is an offence.
My horse’s passport was issued in Ireland and it has been lost/become damaged. Can I apply to the IDHS GB for another one?
When the horse’s original passport has been issued by another passport-issuing organisation, the owner must approach that organisation for a replacement. The IDHS (GB) is not permitted to issue replacement passports for horses registered with other PIOs.
Why has my horse been signed out of the food chain?
Please note that all horses issued with replacement passports have to be signed out of the food chain on the passport and on our database. This is in the interests of public safety. This also applies to other horses where there is no clear chain of passport custody or where there has been a delay in first registration beyond the 31 December/6 months deadline. (MOS 3.8.3).
How do I know if my horse’s passport is original or a duplicate?
For old passports, there should be information held on the Society’s database about this. Those issued now are stamped on the front page, silhouette diagram and Section IX of any duplicate or replacement passport as ‘duplicate’ or ‘replacement’. Since 2009, failure to stamp duplicate passports has been an offence. (MOS 3.8.4).
I obtained a replacement passport, but have now found the original. What happens to this?
If a lost passport is subsequently located, it must be returned to the Society immediately, with the duplicate. The Society will record the fact that it has been found and after conducting required identity checks, the original document will be returned to the horse’s owner or keeper and the duplicate will be invalidated.
My passport has been badly damaged but remains fully bound, fully legible and free from all signs of fraud. Can I get a new one?
A new passport may be issued to ensure the document’s ongoing security. The new passport must contain all the information from the original, including an identical Section IX status.
My passport is damaged beyond recognition and is no longer bound. What can I do?
When the passport has been damaged and does not meet the criteria described above, it must be returned to the Society and a replacement passport issued as described in points 1-12 above. These animals must be signed out of the human food chain on the passport and on the database.
Why has my original passport been invalidated?
In ALL cases where a new or replacement document is issued, the Society will invalidate the old damaged document and it must not under any circumstances be returned to the owner or keeper.