Applying for a KNHS Startpas: Step by Step

What You Need Before You Apply

Before the application can go through, three things need to be in order:

1. KNHS membership. Most riders join through a nearby club: a riding club or pony club. If you ride at a riding school with a PIP license, membership runs through that. An individual membership without a club exists too, but with it you only ride the entry-level classes (see below).
2. A registered horse or pony. Your horse must be known to the KNHS; registration runs through the chip number or UELN number from the horse passport. Ask at your stable or your instructor whether the horse is already registered, often it is.
3. A choice of discipline and level. If you're just starting out, you'll usually compete in the lowest class: class B or the entry level of your discipline. Which class you actually start in is covered in the guide Dutch Competition Classes Explained.

There are also two requirements that sit outside the application itself. For the rider, a minimum age applies: for horses, the year you turn eleven; pony riders may start younger and can ride ponies through the year of their eighteenth birthday. The precise limits per discipline are set out in the discipline regulations. And for the horse, a vaccination requirement applies (influenza): a primary course plus an annual booster. The exact schedule is set out in the KNHS regulations; check it well ahead of your first start, since an expired vaccination record means you won't be allowed to compete.

Applying Step by Step

The application runs digitally through the KNHS itself. The interface and the exact buttons change from time to time, so these are the steps in broad outline:

1. Become a member, or check your membership. If you're not yet a member, arrange that first through a club or a riding school with a PIP license. Membership is the condition for all the following steps.
2. Create an account on MijnKNHS. This is the online environment where you manage your details, membership, and competition matters.
3. Link your horse. Look up the horse by its chip or UELN number; if it isn't registered yet, sort that out first.
4. Apply for the startpas for the combination. You choose a duration: a day, a month, or twelve months. A day pass suits a one-off start; riding a full season is cheaper with a year pass.
5. Pay. The application is handled digitally. Still, arrange it at least a week ahead: a missing horse registration or vaccination takes longer to sort out than the application itself.

For the exact, current procedure, knhs.nl is always the source. The steps above are meant to help you find your way, not to replace the KNHS website.

What It Costs (2026 Rates)

The amounts below come from the KNHS 2026 rate list and change every year.

If you ride multiple horses, each additional year pass costs a bit less than the first. On top of that come the costs of the competitions themselves: entry fees, travel, and transport. An overview of what an active competition year costs is in Horse Riding Costs in the Netherlands.

Low-Threshold Ways to Begin Without a Full Startpas

A year pass isn't required for your first competition. The KNHS itself describes a few lighter ways to start. This overview reflects the situation on November 2, 2026.

Day pass and month pass. You can apply for a day pass or month pass as often as you like. For a day pass, you choose the day of the competition as the start date. With a day pass you may start more than once that day if the regulations allow it, for example for two dressage tests. Day and month passes don't renew automatically. A twelve-month pass does, unless you cancel it at least four weeks before the renewal date.

Show jumping subscription. This is a startpas for show jumpers that you switch on or off each calendar month in MijnKNHS or in the app. So you only pay for the months you ride. Cancelling for the next month must be done before the 1st of that month. The rate is the same for horses and ponies. The subscription only lets you start in show jumping competitions, not in other disciplines.

BB and Impuls. These are classes below B level in dressage, eventing, driving, endurance, and vaulting. They are not promotion classes: you earn no winstpunten (promotion points), but a ranking is usually drawn up. To enter through MijnKNHS, you apply for the free BB-startpas. An individual membership is enough for that. In dressage, the horse must still be registered, measured, and vaccinated, and a safety helmet is mandatory. If you later want to start in B or higher, apply for a regular startpas and cancel the BB-startpas. Show jumping no longer has Impuls classes: for every height from 30 cm you need a startpas, and a jumping subscription counts. The KNHS doesn't describe the startpas for BB the same way everywhere: the 2026 Dressage Discipline Regulations say a startpas with the horse is not mandatory, while the helpdesk mentions the free BB-startpas for entering. If in doubt, ask the KNHS service desk. How entering works is covered in Entering a KNHS Competition.

Online F tests. Since March 2, 2026, you can ride F tests on Paardrijden.nl, the online platform where the KNHS has tests judged. You film the test, send in the video, and receive feedback from a judge. You don't need a startpas, but you do need a KNHS membership and a relation number. Results of F tests aren't registered. If you ride a riding school or club horse, talk to your instructor first. For online tests from B to L2, you do need a startpas; a day pass for one online test exists, valid for one month.

Practice days and riding school competitions. A KNHS club or a riding school with a PIP license may organize its own competition or practice day with the F tests (bronze) and the tests of the silver stage from the KNHS rider training. Such a competition doesn't need to be applied for at the KNHS. At the practice days of the rider training at your own riding school or club, riders don't need a startpas. If you ride F tests at a KNHS competition, you need a ruiterpaspoort (rider passport). If you are a member through a riding school, you receive it with your membership.

Children. Children from age 4 can take part in Bixie&Friends practice days, with a KNHS membership and the free Bixie&Friends rider passport. If you enter through MijnKNHS, you apply for the free Bixie&Friends startpas; when entering through the riding school, it isn't needed.

Multiple Horses or Disciplines

Because the startpas belongs to the combination, it works like this:

• If you ride two horses, you apply for a separate startpas for each combination; each combination has its own points tally.
• If you ride dressage and show jumping with the same horse, one startpas is enough. Only driving, endurance, or vaulting adds a separate startlicentie.
• If you buy a horse that has already competed, you don't automatically start in class B: the new combination is placed in the highest class that both you and the horse have already reached. Check this before you enter.
• If you accumulate enough winstpunten (promotion points), you move up to the next class; how that works is covered in How KNHS Promotion Points Work.

Common Mistakes

A few things beginners often misjudge:

• Thinking "startbewijs" and "startpas" are two documents. It's one document: the startpas. Membership is the condition, the startpas the approval to compete; you need both.
• Applying for a separate pass per discipline. One startpas covers dressage, show jumping, and eventing.
• Thinking an individual membership is enough for a regular startpas. With it, you only start in the BB and Impuls classes.
• Forgetting to check the vaccination. An expired influenza vaccination simply means no start, however well prepared you are otherwise.
• Assuming a Ruiterbewijs is the same thing. The Ruiterbewijs (an exam at SRR Nederland) shows you can ride out safely, but it is not a substitute for a KNHS startpas at official competitions. See The Dutch Ruiterbewijs.

In Short

Join the KNHS first, through a club or a riding school with a PIP license, make sure your horse is registered and its vaccinations are in order, and then apply for a startpas through MijnKNHS for the combination of you and your horse. One pass covers dressage, show jumping, and eventing; choose a day, month, or year pass. If you want to start small, look at the jumping subscription, the BB and Impuls classes, or the online F tests. The exact rates and the current procedure are always available at knhs.nl. Once that's arranged, check What to Bring to the Competition and Dutch Competition Classes Explained to prepare for your first competition.

Belgium works differently: there, you apply for a competition license (often called a startkaart) through your club at Paardensport Vlaanderen. See Getting a Competition License in Belgium.

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Sources (verified September 2, 2026, entry-level options November 2, 2026): KNHS: What is a startpas? · KNHS: Startpas for dressage, show jumping, and eventing · KNHS 2026 Rate List · KNHS: Which types of startpas are there? · KNHS: Show jumping subscription · KNHS: What is an Impuls competition? · KNHS: Which membership do I need? · KNHS: How do I become a KNHS member? · KNHS: What is an individual membership? · KNHS Dressage Discipline Regulations 2026 (art. 104 and 145) · KNHS: Online F test competition on Paardrijden.nl · KNHS: What is a competition? · KNHS: Rider training stage 1, bronze · KNHS: When can you take part in Bixie&Friends practice days?

See also: KNHS Membership, Startpas and Startlicentie: The Difference · Dutch Competition Classes Explained · How KNHS Promotion Points Work