GovWire

Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) are the standards for how official ear tags for cattle should perform and be tested.

If the Livestock Unique Identification Service (LUIS) support team is satisfied with the results of your welfare assessment, theyll write to tell you that you can send your tags for PAS tests.

What you need to do

Once youve been approved to start PAS testing, you need to ask an ISO17025 accredited laboratory to test your tags and applicators to meet PAS 44:2019 for cattle. You must pay for any costs associated with these tests.

In addition to PAS, the laboratory will check that electronic identification (EID) tags meet the cattle EID technical standards.

You can find a laboratory on the UK Accreditation Service.

Once the PAS and EID technical standards testing have been completed, send a copy of the laboratory report to the LUIS support team.

Telephone: 0345 050 9876
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Email: luis@livestockinformation.org.uk

The laboratory report must contain the signature of the tester.

Your tags will not be approved until you:

• confirm in writing that you have read and will meet the cattle ear tag manufacturers and suppliers code of practice
• submit a sample of the plastic tag, containing the words PAS 44
• make any changes (if required by the LUIS support team) to your proposed marketing materials
• are given access to LUIS - this is the computer system which allocates the unique identification codes

What happens next

The LUIS support team will write to you when your tags have been either:

• approved (usually within one month of receiving the laboratory report)
• not approved (within 10 working days of receiving the laboratory report)

If your ear tags are approved

Youll receive the access codes you will need to input tag orders onto LUIS. Your ear tags will be added to the approved ear tag manufacturers and suppliers list.

If your ear tags are not approved

The LUIS support team will tell you why your tags have not been approved, and will request any further information or testing that you may need to do. You can submit an appeal against non-approved tags within one month.

Using tags already marketed in the EU

Cattle ear tags marketed in the EU may get approved if you can demonstrate that the ear tag meets equivalent UK standards. You must provide evidence that the ear tags have been tested to the equivalent of PAS 44:2019.