National Equine Identification and Traceability System

The National Equine Identification and Traceability (NEIT) system is led by the New Zealand Equine Health Association, a non-government charity that represents the New Zealand equine industry in matters relating to equine disease and welfare.

NEIT aims to enhance the equine sector's ability to respond quickly and efficiently to a post-border disease outbreak, which is directly linked to the potential success and expense of that response. Read more here:

ABOUT NEIT — National Equine Identification & Traceability

What does this mean for horse owners?

From 1 August 2025, you’ll see a new option when registering your horse on the NZ Companion Animal Register (NZCAR) — the ability to also register your horse on the National Equine Identification and Traceability (NEIT) system with just a tick of a box.

If you're registering your horse on NZCAR, or already have your horse registered, you can now choose to also register with NEIT at the same time — no double entry or extra fees.
If you only want to register with NEIT (and not NZCAR), you can do that too by visiting www.neit.org.nz and applying directly.

What does this mean for Approved Users?

More detailed information for Approved Users registering animals on behalf of their guardians can be found here [insert new page link].

FAQ

The National Equine Identification & Traceability (NEIT) system aims to enhance the equine sector's ability to respond quickly and efficiently to a post-border disease outbreak, which is directly linked to the potential success and expense of that response. Read more here: ABOUT NEIT — National Equine Identification & Traceability

The New Zealand Companion Animal Register (NZCAR) and the National Equine Identification and Traceability (NEIT) system serve different purposes but can work together to support better outcomes for horses and their guardians.

NZCAR is New Zealand’s national lost and found microchip database, designed to help reunite animals—including horses—with their registered guardian if they become lost or displaced (such as in a natural disaster). It provides lifelong identification, with guardian contact details accessible 24/7 by approved users like vets, councils, and animal responders.
NEIT, on the other hand, is a separate system developed and managed by the New Zealand Equine Health Association (NZEHA). Its purpose is to support national biosecurity and equine disease response. NEIT stores information to help authorities contact horse owners quickly during disease outbreaks and other biosecurity events. It is governed separately from NZCAR, and data from NEIT is shared with MPI (Ministry for Primary Industries) for planning and response.

While both systems use the same microchip number, NZCAR is focused on reuniting lost animals, while NEIT is focused on equine health and biosecurity at a national level.

Horse owners can choose to register with one or both systems, and from 1 August 2025, a tick box in the NZCAR registration process will make it easy to share information with NEIT if desired.

Note: Although NEIT registration is currently voluntary, it may become a required tool in future national biosecurity planning. Opting in now helps prepare the sector for stronger protections and smoother responses - and ultimately supports the health and wellbeing of all horses across Aotearoa.

Companion Animals NZ (NZCAR custodian) is providing the back-end software for NEIT. As part of this work, we are also providing a connection between the systems to allow horse owners to share their data easily between systems – without duplication or additional cost. However, it is important to note the governance and management of the NEIT System will be entirely separate, overseen by the NZ Equine Health Association.

From 1 August, there will be an option when registering a horse on NZCAR to also automatically create a registration on the NEIT system too – simply clicking the checkbox will seamlessly take the horse and guardian information across. There is no extra cost and your details will be automatically on both systems.

You may wish to ensure you understand more about NEIT before choosing this option - take a look at the NEIT website contact for more information: National Equine Identification & Traceability

The NZ Equine Health Association governs the data on NEIT. To meet its biosecurity objectives the data will be shared with the MPI.

Data collected by NEIT will only be used by the NZEHA and shared with the MPI biosecurity team as part of biosecurity planning and responses, of which they have agreed to a cost share agreement as part of the Government Industry Agreement.

The NZEHA’s purpose in collecting this data is very clear: to respond quickly to an outbreak of an equine disease. By knowing where horses are and who owns them, NZEHA can contact the right people quickly, keeping them updated and giving them information pertinent to the situation, which will likely be fast-moving. The goal of this is to protect horses, shorten the duration of the response by limiting the spread of disease, and keeping costs down due to fewer horses being affected. For further clarification on this, please reach out to the NEIT team: Contact — National Equine Identification & Traceability

If you wish to register a horse directly with the National Equine Identification and Traceability (NEIT) system only, without linking it to the New Zealand Companion Animal Register (NZCAR), you’ll need to apply through the NEIT website: www.neit.org.nz.

This process is managed solely by the New Zealand Equine Health Association (NZEHA), which oversees the NEIT system for biosecurity and disease response purposes. Once approved, you’ll be able to register horses independently within NEIT.

Please note: While NZCAR provides an optional link to NEIT for convenience, registering through NZCAR is not required if you prefer to work with NEIT directly. For more details or to get started, visit www.neit.org.nz and contact their team directly with any questions.

To become an Approved Implanter on the National Equine Identification and Traceability (NEIT) system, you’ll need to apply directly through the NEIT website: www.neit.org.nz.

This registration process is managed by the New Zealand Equine Health Association (NZEHA), who oversee NEIT and its biosecurity functions. Once approved, you’ll be able to record microchip implantations directly into the NEIT system, independent of NZCAR.

Being a registered implanter ensures accurate traceability of horses for national disease response planning and helps support the wider health and welfare of New Zealand’s equine population.

For full details or to apply, visit www.neit.org.nz and contact their team with any questions.

Note: If you’re already an Approved User of NZCAR, you can choose to transfer horse and guardian details to the NEIT system (with the guardian’s permission) by simply selecting the opt-in tick box during registration. However, please be aware that this does not automatically grant you full access to the NEIT system. If you wish to view or manage registrations within NEIT or become an Approved Implanter, you’ll need to apply separately through the NEIT website.

No. If you’re already an Approved User of NZCAR, you can choose to share horse and guardian details to the NEIT system (with the guardian’s permission) by simply selecting the opt-in tick box during registration.

However, please be aware that this does not automatically grant you full access to the NEIT system. If you wish to view or manage registrations within NEIT or become an Approved Implanter, you’ll need to apply separately through the NEIT website.

For full details or to apply, visit www.neit.org.nz and contact their team with any questions.

If you’ve scanned a horse and the microchip is not registered on NZCAR but shows that it is registered with the NEIT system, you’ll need to contact the NEIT team directly for assistance in identifying and contacting the guardian.

Because NEIT is a separate system managed by the New Zealand Equine Health Association (NZEHA), NZCAR does not have access to NEIT data or the ability to view or share those details.

You can visit www.neit.org.nz for contact information or to reach their support team. If you need further guidance or you're unsure what the scan result means, feel free to contact us at NZCAR and we’ll do our best to point you in the right direction.