Guides / Moving horses UK–EU · Updated 30 September 2026

Moving horses between the UK and EU (Poland): certificates, border posts and returning to GB

Horses crossing between Great Britain and the EU need an export health certificate, a planned border control post, advance notification and a customs declaration, in both directions. Here is the sequence, based on gov.uk and European Commission guidance.

This guide is also available in Polish.

Since the UK left the EU single market, a horse travelling from Great Britain to Poland (or anywhere else in the EU) is treated as a live animal entering the EU from a non-EU country. That means veterinary certification before departure, a planned route through an EU border control post, advance notification on the EU's own system, and a customs declaration. Coming back to Great Britain has its own set of rules. This guide walks through each stage in the order you will meet it.

Step 1: choose the right export health certificate

To move a live animal from Great Britain to the EU you must complete an export health certificate (EHC) and supporting documents. For horses, gov.uk lists several certificates, and picking the wrong one is a common cause of delay:

Read the certificate notes on gov.uk carefully before booking anything: each one sets its own conditions for residency, supervision and testing.

Step 2: book an official vet early

The EHC is signed by an official vet, a vet in private practice who also works on behalf of the government. You contact them to book the appointment for blood tests, and they must confirm that the residency and isolation conditions are met before they will certify.

The main conditions gov.uk sets out are:

• Equine infectious anaemia test: within 90 days of travel for registered sporting horses staying under 90 days; within 30 days of travel for permanent exports and all other temporary movements.
• Residency: registered horses must have been kept on a holding for 40 days, or since entering Great Britain.
• Veterinary supervision: registered horses must have been under veterinary supervision for 30 days, or since birth or entry.
• Unregistered horses: a 40-day holding period and at least 30 days kept separate from other equines.
• County Parish Holding (CPH) number: the official vet will not certify a move from your premises without one.

Work backwards from your travel date. If the test window is 30 days and the vet's diary is full, a sale or competition date can slip easily.

Step 3: horse passports and identification

Registered horses travel on their industry-issued horse passport. Unregistered horses need a government-issued supplementary travel ID from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), and gov.uk states it is valid for a single journey only. Keep the passport with the horse and make sure the details match the EHC exactly, because the certificate and the animal are checked together at the border.

Step 4: route through an EU border control post

Live animals entering the EU must be presented at a border control post (BCP) for veterinary checks. Gov.uk tells exporters to plan the trade route so that the animal can be inspected at an EU BCP, and warns that not every BCP accepts unregistered equines, so check before you choose a ferry crossing. For a lorry heading to Poland, the BCP is usually at the first EU port you reach, not at the Polish border, so the choice of route decides where the inspection happens.

Advance notification on TRACES

The EU does not use the UK's IPAFFS system. Instead, you or your EU-based import agent must notify the BCP in advance on TRACES that the consignment is coming. TRACES is the European Commission's online platform for animal and plant health certification, and since December 2019 it has been used to issue the Common Health Entry Document (CHED) for animals entering the EU across all border control posts. In practice, your importer or their agent in the EU raises the CHED; the UK side supplies the EHC details.

Step 5: the customs declaration

Veterinary clearance and customs clearance are separate. Gov.uk states that a customs declaration must be completed before the horse arrives at the EU border. On the UK side, an export declaration is made in CDS; on the EU side, an import declaration is made in the country of entry, and both parties will need an EORI number. If the horse is only going abroad temporarily, for example for a competition, ask your agent at the planning stage how the movement should be declared so the horse can come back without being treated as a fresh import. Our guide on returned goods relief explains the general principle for goods that leave and come back.

Step 6: welfare during transport

You must meet legal requirements that protect animal welfare during transport. Long journeys by road and sea from Great Britain to Poland involve rest, feed and water planning, and your transporter should be able to show how they comply. Build the time spent at the BCP into the journey plan.

Temporary movements for competitions and events

Competition horses are the one area where the rules recognise that a horse is going to come back. The EHC list on gov.uk includes a certificate for registered horses on stays under 30 days and one for competition horses at FEI events on stays under 90 days, and the equine infectious anaemia testing window is longer (90 days) for registered sporting horses staying under 90 days. Even so, a temporary trip still needs an EHC, a BCP inspection on entry to the EU and a customs declaration. Plan the return leg at the same time as the outward one.

Returning to Great Britain

When a horse comes back from the EU, it is an import into Great Britain, and gov.uk's guidance on importing live animals from the EU applies:

• Health certificate: every consignment needs one. The EU exporter applies for the GB health certificate in their own country, using the model templates, and it will set out any testing and keeping conditions.
• Horse passport: equines imported to Great Britain from the EU must have an up-to-date horse passport.
• IPAFFS pre-notification: the importer must notify at least one working day before the animals are expected to arrive at the point of entry.
• Risk category: live equines from the EU are classed as high risk under the Border Target Operating Model.
• Where checks happen: live animals from the EU can enter through any point of entry, with checks at the destination. The horse must stay there for 48 hours or for the time indicated on the health certificate.

A customs declaration is also needed on arrival in Great Britain. See our guide to the CDS import declaration for how that side works.

Buying a horse from the UK for Poland

If you are the Polish buyer, most of the veterinary work is done in the UK by the seller's official vet, but the EU-side notification and the import declaration are your responsibility or your agent's. Easy Clearance has a longer page on importing horses and breeding animals into Poland, written from the importer's point of view. Whichever side you are on, agree in writing who books the official vet, who raises the TRACES notification and who files each customs declaration before the horse is loaded.

Related guides

• Importing honey from Poland and the EU into Great Britain

• Importing plants and seeds into Great Britain: phytosanitary rules

• Border Target Operating Model: risk categories for EU food and plant imports

Sources

• Export horses and ponies: special rules (GOV.UK)
• Import live animals and germinal products from the EU to Great Britain (GOV.UK)
• TRACES (European Commission)

General information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements on gov.uk or with a registered agent before you ship.