Travel and trade with horses within the EU

Transports between countries within the EU

Register as a transporter

If you are transporting horses to or from Sweden, you must be registered as a transporter. Registration as a transporter is not the same as the transporter’s permit required to transport animals as part of your economic activities. You can register as a transporter using our e‑service.

• E-service: Register as transporter – move animals between countries – in Swedish

Documentation

All horse transports that take place across national borders are subject to documentation requirements. Here are the different forms of documentation that may be required for your particular transport:

Journal

When you are transporting horses between countries, you should keep records of the transport. You can keep these records on paper or in a digital format, and you are to keep the records for at least 3 years. The records should contain information about

• which establishments were visited
• which horses were transported.

If the transport is subject to the requirement for transport documents, the above journal information can be added to the transport documents.

Transport documents

Horses transported in connection with economic activities and when the transport exceeds 50 kilometres from the animals' holding must also be accompanied by transport documents. The transport documents must contain the following information:

• origin and owner of the animal
• place of dispatch
• date and time of dispatch
• intended destination
• expected transport time.

There is a form for transport documents that you can use. However, you can also write the information in a book or similar, and you must be able to show it to the authority. If the transport is covered by the requirement for a journey log, the journey log is considered a transport document and you do not need to fill in both.

• Form: Transport documentation

Journey log

When you transport unregistered horses abroad and the transport is in connection with economic activity and takes longer than 8 hours, you must have a journey log in the vehicle. Unregistered horses are horses that do not have a FEI license or are registered in the main section of a studbook approved by the EU. On our page for animal transporters, you can find more information about what to do when your transport is subject to the journey log requirement.

• Animal transporters and journey log for transport abroad

Clean and disinfect the transport vehicle

When horses are transported between EU Member States or to and from countries outside the EU, the equipment in which the horse is transported must be cleaned and disinfected after each journey.

Plan the transport carefully

When you travel to and trade with certain countries, there may be infectious animal diseases which may restrict where you are able to transport your horses. This may mean that you cannot move them within or out of such an area. Make sure you find out what applies in the country to which your horses are to be transported.

Also make sure that you plan the transport carefully so that the horses are not held up somewhere along the way, and find out which rules apply for transport of horses in the country to which you are travelling. The rules differ between countries.

• Regulations for the wellbeing of horses during transport and the prevention of the spread of contagious diseases – in Swedish

Travelling with or moving horses between countries

These rules apply to travelling with or moving horses between EU countries as well as Norway, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Andorra, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Greenland, Liechtenstein, Monaco or San Marino.

The establishment must be registered

Establishments with horses must be registered.

If horses are to be moved from the establishment to another EU country (or to Norway, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Andorra, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Greenland, Liechtenstein, Monaco or San Marino), it is important that the establishment has been registered for at least 4 weeks before the horses are due to move.

This is because the Swedish Board of Agriculture must enter the information about the establishment in the EU-wide computer system Traces, which is used in conjunction with the transport of animals.

Your establishment must also be registered if you are bringing in horses from other EU Member States.

When you register the facility, you must answer YES to the question whether you will move animals or breeding material between the facility and other countries.

• E-service: The establishment register – places with animals – in Swedish

Registering horses at a facility (location)

You must register the horses or other equines that you plan to keep at the facility for 30 days or more. You do not need to register

• horses that visit your facility for less than 30 days
• horses that stay in Sweden for training, competition or breeding for a maximum of 90 days
• stallions that stay in Sweden for a breeding season. If a horse is moved to another facility and stays there for 30 days or more, it must be registered at the new facility. It will then be automatically removed from the register at the old facility. You register the horses in our e-service. You need the horse's UELN number to register it. You must submit your information and receive a receipt in the e-service for the registration to be completed.

• E-service: Horse – add or remove horse on facility - in Swedish

The horse must have a horse passport

When you travel with or move a horse between EU Member States, you must always bring the horse passport. An exception to this requirement is foals under 6 months of age who are travelling with lactating mare, and who will be away from the establishment where they were born for a maximum of 30 days. However, these foals must be microchipped prior to departure.

• Horse passport

Additional registration of the horse

If the imported horse is to remain in Sweden, you must register it with an organization that issues horse passports. This is called additional registration. Horses that are in Sweden for a period shorter than 90 days for training, competition or breeding do not need to be registered in Sweden. Stallions that are in Sweden for a breeding season do not need to be registered in Sweden either.

If horse is not additionally registered, it cannot travel with exemptions from health certificates, i.e. DOCOM certificates or with self-declaration for border movements.

You need a health certificate

In order to be able to travel with or move horses between EU Member States, Norway, Andorra and the Faroe Islands, you must have a health certificate. The certificate shall be issued by an official veterinarian in the country which the horse is leaving.

The animal health certificate must be issued by an official veterinarian within 48 hours or the last working day before loading.

In connection with issuing the animal health certificate, an official veterinarian must check the health status of the dispatching establishment, carry out identity checks and a health examination of the animals to be moved. The veterinarian registers the animal health certificate in the EU system Traces.

The certificate is valid for a one-way trip and for a maximum of 10 days. If you are returning home, even if this is within 10 days, you will need a new certificate.

Health certificate with a validity of 30 days

The health certificate is typically valid for 10 days after the date of issue. The health certificate may be valid for 30 days provided that the horse holds a FEI licence or is normally kept in an establishment with a low-risk status. In Sweden, at present this option is only applicable to horses with a FEI licence.

These health certificates can also be valid for a return trip to the establishment of origin. A horse can therefore travel to and from a competition with the same certificate.

Exemption from health certificates for competitions or similar activities in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway – DOCOM certificate

On September 1, 2024, derogation rules were introduced to allow registered horses to move between certain countries without an animal health certificate. Instead of an animal health certificate, a DOCOM-certificate issued in the EU system Traces is required. The rules are applicable for movement between Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland.

• About the exemption for competition and how to get started in Traces – in Swedish.

Moving horses near the Norwegian border

If you are moving your horse across the border between Sweden and Norway, a health certificate is not always required if the movement takes place near the border. In this case, the following municipalities and counties are defined as close to the border:

Municipalities and counties in Norway

Municipalities: Bamle, Skien, Kongsberg, Øvre Eiker, Modum, Ringerike, Søndre Land, Nordre Land, Lillehammer, Øyer, Ringebu, Stor-Elvdal, Alvdal, Tynset, Rennebu, Orkanger, Ørland, Åfjord, Osen, Flatanger, Nærøysund and all municipalities east of these.

Counties: Oslo, Nordland and Finnmark County

Municipalities and counties in Sweden

Municipalities: Kiruna, Gällivare, Jokkmokk, Arjeplog, Sorsele, Storuman, Vilhelmina and Dorotea

Counties: Jämtland, Dalarna, Värmland and Västra Götaland County

More requirements for moving horses without a health certificate near the Norwegian border

There are also additional requirements for a movement without a health certificate near the border to be permitted:

• The purpose of the movement must be for the horse to be used for recreational purposes or to participate in an exhibition, sports or cultural event or similar event or to work or graze near the border.
• The horse is moved from the facility where the horse is normally kept and where the horse is registered. Both the facility of origin and the facility of destination must be located near the border.
• The horse must not have come into contact with horses with a contagious disease for at least 15 days prior to the movement or after it left the establishment of origin.
• The horse must be accompanied by a self-declaration which, in addition to the information listed above, also contains a written declaration that the horse has not come into contact with horses with a contagious disease for at least 15 days prior to the movement.
• The horse must return to the country of origin within 10 days of crossing the border for the first time unless it has been moved to graze, in which case it must have returned to the country of origin within 30 days.

• Form: Egenförsäkran – gränsnära aktiviteter Norge och Sverige – in Swedish pdf, 60.2 kB.

Bringing in semen, ova and embryos from horses from other EU countries

This section describes what rules apply when you purchase semen, ova or embryos from horses from other EU Member States and Norway, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Andorra, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Greenland, Liechtenstein, Monaco or San Marino

You need a permit for insemination and activities involving embryos

In order to trade with semen, ova and embryos, you must have a permit for activities involving insemination and embryos. The semen must come from semen collection centres which are approved for intra-EU trade.

• Permits for semen and embryo activities – in Swedish