How to Get an FEI Passport

The FEI or Federation Equestre Internationale is the international body governing equestrian sports. A valid FEI passport is mandatory to compete in most international FEI-sanctioned events. All FEI passports are issued and filled with a recognized national federation. In the United States that federation is the United States Equestrian Federation or USEF. An FEI passport will remain with your horse for his entire life, but it has an expiration date and will have to be revalidated every four years.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Print out a FEI Passport application from the USEF website or contact their office and ask for an application to be mailed, faxed or e=mailed to you.
2. Fill out the application, completely and carefully. You must be the owner of the horse, an active member of the USEF and a U.S. citizen to apply for a passport with the USEF. Although non-citizens may apply for a passport, they must have special permission. The horse must also be Life Recorded with the USEF.
3. Fill out a current Horse Recording Application and include the $200 USEF recording fee with your passport application, if your horse is not Life Recorded with the USEF. If your horse is Annually Recorded with the USEF you may apply to upgrade to Life Recorded when you apply an FEI Passport. An upgrade is an additional $125 fee.
4. Mail the complete form along with the required application fee to the USEF. FEI Horse Passports cost $300 and and you can pay by Visa or MasterCard, as well as by check.
5. Wait for all the information to be verified by the USEF and your FEI passport to be issued. Along with the passport they will send you an information packet for you and your veterinarian which explains how to complete the passport.
6. Read the information packet thoroughly as many passports are sent back for corrections because the directions where not read carefully or followed completely.
7. Contact your veterinarian and have him complete the description pages and diagram of your horse. They will also have to document that your horse has received his primary series of influenza vaccinations. A required booster vaccination must be administered every six months and recorded in the passport. This includes the date of administration, place, country, name of vaccine, and batch number accompanied by your vet's stamp and signature.
8. Return the passport to the USEF for further review and final validation. This process can take 4 to 6 weeks. Passports are shipped to the address the owner lists on the passport unless a written request was present by the owner when they returned the passport to the USEF for validation.