A cattle passport that goes missing stops that animal in its tracks, because it cannot move without one. This covers what to do when a passport is lost, stolen, damaged or never arrives, and when an animal has none at all.
If a cattle passport is lost or stolen in England or Wales, GOV.UK says you must apply for a replacement within 14 days of realising it is missing. Use form CPP9A, give the animal's ear tag and pay £20 per animal. Do not move the animal off the holding until the replacement arrives, usually within 14 days. If BCMS cannot trace the full movement history, you get no replacement and no refund, and a notice of registration instead. A passport that never arrived is replaced free if reported within 6 weeks.
Act the day you notice. GOV.UK gives you 14 days from realising the passport is missing to apply for a replacement, and the animal cannot leave your holding until it arrives. The steps for England and Wales are:
The form asks for more detail if it was stolen or destroyed: the police officer dealing with the theft, or your insurer and who is handling the claim. Have those to hand. GOV.UK says a replacement usually arrives within 14 days of applying.
If the passport turns up afterwards, tell BCMS as soon as possible. On the form you undertake to return the original if it is recovered.
GOV.UK's replacement page does not mention damaged passports, and I could not find official guidance that does, so I will say only what the paperwork supports. The CPP9A form says to use it when you do not have the original passport, and it applies the same 14 days if the passport is missing or damaged. If it is damaged so badly that you cannot read the tag number, dam or movement history, treat it like a lost one. If unsure, phone BCMS the same day.
Two cases are not replacements at all. If the details are wrong, such as the sex or date of birth, return the passport to BCMS immediately. Corrections are free, but you cannot move the animal until the corrected passport is back. BCMS wants a calving record if the date of birth changes or three or more changes are needed.
If the movement history section is full, you do not need a new passport. Record further moves on an A4 continuation sheet and keep it with the passport. Scotland is different: ScotEID says it replaces passports free where the movement boxes on the reverse are full.
No. Before a replacement is issued, BCMS carries out checks, including tracing the animal's movements. GOV.UK says that if the movement history cannot be traced you will not get a replacement and there is no refund. You receive a notice of registration, form CPP35, instead, and the animal cannot leave the holding without a movement licence.
The form says an animal on a notice of registration cannot be slaughtered for human consumption, so a lost piece of paper can cost you the animal's sale value.
What helps BCMS trace the animal is your own paper trail. Before you apply, gather the purchase invoice, the market or dealer paperwork, the movement receipts or reference numbers, and your holding register entries. The form asks when and where you obtained the animal. If you bought it, the previous keeper may hold a record of the movement, so call them. Our holding register guide and cattle movement 3-day rule guide cover the records and receipts.
Newly issued passports go astray in the post too. GOV.UK says BCMS aims to send passports within 3 days for online or phone applications and 7 days for postal ones. If more than 14 days have passed since you applied, contact BCMS.
Timing decides the cost. If you tell BCMS within 6 weeks of applying that the passport has not arrived, you get a free replacement. After 6 weeks the fee is £20 per animal. The GOV.UK page warns not to delay or you may have to pay a replacement fee. ScotEID applies the same six-week free window in Scotland.
Diary the date you apply and look again a fortnight later. The 27-day passport rule covers how to apply, and our free cattle passport deadline calculator works out the date. The usual trap is a calf sold or moved before anyone noticed the passport had not come.
That is a different problem from a lost passport, and it is covered by a different guide. If the application did not reach BCMS by the day the calf was 27 days old, BCMS will not issue a passport and you get a notice of registration. Our guide to cattle without a passport explains the restrictions, the DNA route and the appeal.
Other animals can be without a passport for reasons that are not your fault. Cattle imported or moved into England or Wales from outside Great Britain can only be applied for by post. Cattle born or reared in the UK before 1 August 1996 are restricted: you apply to the APHA Specialist Service Centre in Worcester for a movement licence, and those animals are permanently excluded from the food and feed chain.
One narrow case helps in an emergency. A calf under 27 days old that has to move for welfare or exceptional reasons, such as flooding or fire, before its passport arrives can move under a licence. Contact the BCMS helpline immediately with the application details, and send the licence with the animal.
For a lost or stolen passport, the rule is one line long: do not move the animal off your holding until you have the replacement. That includes sale, market and abattoir. Tell the buyer or haulier early.
For an animal refused a passport and holding a notice of registration, GOV.UK allows only a licensed move. Animals over 48 months can go only to an approved BSE sampling site, and animals under 48 months only to a hunt kennel or knacker's yard. BCMS sends a movement licence, form CPP1b, which you hand to the receiving site. You do not need to report that movement, and you update your holding register with the date the animal left.
Reporting duties carry on regardless. Deaths must be reported within 7 days, and cattle that have been lost or stolen must be reported to the police and BCMS, with the passport posted to BCMS within 7 days of becoming aware of the loss. Our cattle death reporting guide has the detail.
Wales follows the GOV.UK guidance above, with the Welsh BCMS number 0345 050 3456 and the move of cattle reporting to EIDCymru planned from November 2026. Until then, keep using BCMS unless you are told otherwise.
In Scotland, ScotEID reintroduced a £20 fee per passport for lost, stolen, destroyed or damaged passports from 1 January 2023. Corrections are free, as are passports that never arrived if you report within six weeks of issue. The Scottish Government says to contact ScotEID if a passport has not arrived within 14 days of registration, and that you must not move an animal without a valid physical passport. Check the current fee with ScotEID.
Northern Ireland runs its own system through DAERA and NIFAIS. I could not verify its replacement rules, so ask DAERA directly before relying on any figure above. Our guide to ScotEID, EIDCymru and NIFAIS lists the contacts.
FarmHQ is a farm office app for UK cattle and sheep farms, in beta. It keeps tag numbers, movements and passport status together, with Ask Farmer Joe drafting entries for you to confirm. See pricing.
In England and Wales you must apply within 14 days of realising the passport is missing. Use form CPP9A, give the animal's ear tag and pay £20 per animal. Do not move the animal off the holding until the replacement arrives, which is usually within 14 days of applying.
It costs £20 per animal in England and Wales, and £20 per passport in Scotland. Corrections for wrong details are free. A passport that never arrived is replaced free if you report it within 6 weeks of applying, and after that the fee applies. If BCMS cannot trace the animal, the fee is not refunded.
No. GOV.UK says you must not move the animal off your holding until you have a replacement passport, and cattle cannot move without a full passport. Warn the buyer, market or haulier early, and apply as soon as you notice the passport is missing.
You receive no replacement passport and no refund. Instead you get a notice of registration, form CPP35, and the animal cannot leave the holding without a movement licence. It cannot enter the human food chain, so keep purchase invoices and movement receipts that help BCMS trace it.