Buying a horse is more than picking up the animal and paying the purchase price. Every horse in the Netherlands must have a passport and a chip and be known in the registration system of the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency). Below is what comes your way after the purchase, and in what order to tackle it.
The Horse Passport: What It Is and What's In It
The horse passport is the animal's official identity document. It is proof of identity, not proof of ownership. Every horse, pony, or donkey is supposed to have one. The seller hands the passport over to you at the handover. If you aren't given a passport, that's a serious warning sign: according to RVO, you never buy a horse without a valid passport.
The passport records, among other things:
- The animal's details, such as the life number, the chip number, and a description with a drawn sketch.
- Pedigree, if the horse is registered with a studbook.
- A vaccination record, kept up to date by the veterinarian.
- The chapter Medical treatments (Medische behandelingen). Without this chapter, a passport is invalid. It also states whether the horse may be slaughtered for human consumption. If it says the horse may not be, that can no longer be changed. Don't change or cross anything out in the passport yourself.
The passport is issued by a studbook or by an authorized body (in Dutch: gemachtigde instantie, GI). If the horse is registered with a studbook, the passport comes from that studbook. For a horse without a studbook, you apply for it, since July 1, 2026, at a GI of your choice.
The Chip: Identification That Belongs With the Passport
Every horse born after July 1, 2009, must have a microchip. A veterinarian or a registered chipper implants it. The chip's number is linked to the passport and to the registration, so the animal and the document belong together.
When you buy, check that the chip number in the passport is the same as the one in the horse. A veterinarian can read the chip with a handheld scanner. With the chip number you can also look up on the RVO website whether the horse is in the registration system. If the number doesn't match, or the horse turns out not to be chipped while the passport says it is, resolve that with the seller first.
A foal must have a passport and a chip within 9 months of birth; RVO advises having the foal chipped within 6 months. If you buy an adult horse, this has usually already been arranged. Then it's about what changes after the handover.
Transferring Ownership: Does the Passport Go in Your Name?
No. According to RVO, you don't have to have a new owner recorded in the passport. If you do want that, contact the GI. The passport belongs to the horse, not to the owner. After a purchase, the following can come into play:
| What | Where | By whom |
|---|---|---|
| Deregistering the horse at the old location and registering it at the new one | With RVO, in the registration system (Mijn RVO) | The keeper of each location (UBN holder), within 7 calendar days |
| Registering the horse in your name | With the studbook, for a studbook horse | You, as the new owner |
A studbook can keep its own registration in a name. The KWPN lets you register a KWPN horse you bought in your name, both on the registration certificate and in the passport. The KWPN then calls you the "registered person" rather than the "owner", because those documents are not proof of ownership. The registration is needed to take part in inspections and aptitude tests and to register coverings and foals. The costs are listed in the KWPN's fee schedule. Other studbooks have their own rules: ask the seller which studbook it is and check that studbook's website.
Arrange the registration with RVO shortly after the purchase. As long as the horse is still registered with RVO at the old location, the official records are inaccurate.
Keeper Registration: The Legal Obligation to Report
Anyone who transports or boards a horse is a keeper according to RVO, even if they aren't the owner. That also applies to a boarding stable or a dealer. Keepers fall under the rules for identification and registration (I&R), administered by RVO. The purpose: animals can be traced quickly if a contagious disease breaks out.
Broadly, this means:
- Every location with horses has a unique business number (UBN). The location keeper, also called the UBN holder, applies for it. If your horse is boarded, the stable owner must have a UBN. If it stands on your own land, you need a UBN yourself.
- The UBN holder is responsible for the reports. If a horse changes location for more than 30 days, the keeper of the old location reports that the horse has left and the keeper of the new location that it has arrived. This happens within 7 calendar days (the day of the event is day 0), via Mijn RVO. You can authorize someone to do it, but the keeper remains responsible.
- If a horse stays at another location in the Netherlands for at most 90 days for competitions, horse races, shows, training, or hauling work, that doesn't have to be reported to RVO. You do record it in your own register.
- If the horse's details change, for example its studbook registration or its slaughter registration, you report that as keeper to the GI within 30 days and send the passport along.
The rules change fairly regularly; the current version is on rvo.nl. If in doubt, ask your stable owner or studbook how it's arranged in your case.
What You Keep and Maintain
Once the paperwork is in order, it's about keeping it organized. A few practical points:
- Keep the original passport with the horse. It must always be with the horse, including at a boarding stable or riding school, and can't be a copy (RVO). Write down the date on which you gave the passport to the stable owner, and both of you sign it. Without a valid passport and chip, a horse may not take part in a competition.
- Have the veterinarian sign off vaccinations in the passport. Competition entry often requires a valid vaccination record: the details are described in the guide on vaccinations, deworming, and dental care.
- Keep the purchase agreement and the proof of payment. The passport is not proof of ownership, so these are your evidence for insurance or a later sale.
Losing the passport is no small thing. Report it to a GI as soon as possible and apply for a duplicate or replacement passport; you receive it within 6 weeks of your application. A horse with a duplicate or replacement passport may not go to slaughter for human consumption (RVO). Prevention is easier than fixing it after the fact.
In Short
After the purchase, you check that the passport and chip number match, make sure the horse is registered at the new location with RVO (by the keeper of that location, within 7 calendar days), and keep the original passport with the horse. The passport doesn't have to go in your name; a studbook may ask for its own registration. The rules change fairly regularly: confirm the exact steps with RVO and with your studbook.
Sources (verified October 21, 2026): RVO: Applying for and rules on the horse passport · RVO: Registration rules for horse keepers · RVO: Reporting horses · KWPN: Transferring a KWPN horse to a new name · NVWA: Horses (chip, passport, and registration)
See also: Buying Your First Horse: What to Look For · Registering a Horse in Belgium: How HorseID Works · Vaccinations, Deworming, and Dental Care · Horse Insurance in the Netherlands · Glossary for this level