United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Premises Identification

Program Aid No. 1800

The First Step Toward a National

Animal Identification System
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Photo credits: The cover photograph was taken by USDA Agricultural Research Service

photographer Scott Bauer. Captions indicate the source of all images inside the brochure.

Issued October 2004
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The first step in implementing a national animal identification

system (NAIS) is identifying and registering premises that are

associated with the animal agriculture industry.

What should producers know about the NAIS?

The number of animal disease outbreaks that have been reported

around the globe over the past decade—and the single cow in the

United States that tested positive for bovine spongiform

encephalopathy in December 2003—have greatly intensified

public interest in developing a national animal identification

program for the purpose of protecting animal health. The

European Union, Canada, and Australia already have animal

identification systems in place. A strong U.S. identification system

is in increasing demand as a necessary component of our

Nation’s agricultural infrastructure.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has made the

implementation of an NAIS one of its top priorities. When fully

operational, the NAIS will be capable of tracing a sick animal or

group of animals back to the herd or premises that is the most

likely source of infection. The system will also be able to trace

potentially exposed animals that were moved out from that herd or

premises. The sooner animal health officials can identify infected

and exposed animals and premises, the sooner they can contain

the disease and stop its spread.

USDA’s long-term goal is to establish a system that can identify

within 48 hours all premises and animals that have had direct

contact with a foreign animal disease or a domestic disease of

concern. To meet this goal, USDA must develop a practical yet

comprehensive infrastructure that collects and records information

about the movements of animals. Premises registration is vital to

this effort.
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Why is premises registration the first step of the NAIS?

The identification of premises that allow for the commingling of

animals (production points) is the foundation of the NAIS and must

be established before animals can be tracked. Knowing where

animals are located is the key to efficient, accurate, and costeffective epidemiologic investigations and disease-control efforts.

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS),

working with State and Tribal cooperators, will assign unique

premises identification numbers to actual locations involved in

livestock commerce or the movement of animals or poultry. In the

event of an animal disease outbreak, animal health authorities will

have this premises location data at their fingertips to ensure that

disease investigations progress rapidly and efficiently.

After premises are registered, another component of the NAIS—

animal identification—will be integrated into the system. Unique

animal identification numbers will be issued to individually

Premises identification numbers will be assigned to actual locations, such as this Colorado

farmstead. The “prem I.D.” number will remain tied to the location, not to the person or

company that owns it. (USDA photo by John White.)
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identified premises. In the case of animals that move in groups

through the production chain—such as swine and poultry—

producers themselves will be able to assign unique identifiers to

each lot based on a standard protocol. (During a transition period,

certain current animal identification methods will also be accepted

into the NAIS.)

After both premises and animals are identified in this uniform

manner, the ultimate goal of the NAIS—animal tracking—will

become possible. When identified animals travel through the

production chain or to fairs or exhibition sites, their numbers will be

linked to each identified premises where they are moved or mixed

with animals from other premises. In this way, a travel record of

each animal will be created through the input of State, Federal,

and industry participants.

Participation of auction barns and livestock markets, such as the one pictured above, is

integral to the success of the NAIS. These premises are animal concentration points where

livestock from many disparate locations commingle. In the event of an animal disease

outbreak, epidemiologists need to be able to trace an animal’s movements to any premises

where it might have been infected or exposed other animals to the disease. (Photo provided

by Tod Fleming of the Equity Cooperative Livestock Sales Association and reproduced with

their kind permission.)
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Define “premises.”

In terms of the NAIS, a premises is any geographically unique

location associated with animal agriculture that would allow for the

commingling or movement of animals or poultry or that is involved

in commerce. Under this definition, farms, ranches, feedyards,

auction barns, and livestock exhibitions and fair sites are all

examples of premises.

The exact definition of “premises”

will be determined by each State’s

or Tribe’s animal health authority.

Local animal health officials will be

better able to address regional

variations in production systems

and methods, including how to

identify open range and public

grazing lands such as those found

in the West. (USDA Agricultural

Research Service photos by Scott

Bauer [sheep] and Jack Dykinga

[cattle].)
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Each State’s or Tribe’s animal health authority, working in

conjunction with Federal officials, will determine a more precise

definition of premises for areas under its purview. A “one-size-fitsall” definition of a premises is not always possible, even if

everyone adheres to the same general principle of identifying the

location of animals. Differences in production systems and

methods from one region to another will need to be taken into

account. For instance, livestock in Western States are commonly

raised at least part of the year on open range and public grazing

lands, while those in the Midwest are more typically raised on

privately owned farms year ’round. The best way to address such

issues is to rely on the expertise of the animal health officials at

the local level. They know the producers and the type of

production systems in their area.

What are the components of the National Premises

Identification System?

The National Premises Identification System includes the

premises number allocator, premises registration systems, and a

national premises information repository. These are all necessary

components of the overall NAIS.

The premises number allocator is maintained at the national

level. Through this allocator, USDA can assign a unique premises

number to a valid address or other verifiable location description

where animals may come into contact with each other (e.g., a

ranch, farm, livestock market, or slaughter establishment) or to an

address that has some other association with the animal industry

(e.g., a diagnostic laboratory or a veterinary clinic). A single

premises number will be used for each location, regardless of the

number of species associated with it. In other words, a producer

will not have a separate premises identification number for beef,

dairy, swine, etc. Check with your State’s or Tribe’s animal health

authority for further clarification regarding what you need to do to

register your premises.
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A premises registration system is a database program. It stores

necessary information about the premises, which is assigned a

unique identification number. In the event of an animal health

investigation, the information collected through the premises

registration system would allow animal health officials to get in

touch with the appropriate contact person quickly.

States and Tribes are responsible for handling premises

registration in areas under their purview. Through premises

registration systems, they will be collecting information such as the

premises street address, the name and telephone number of the

person authorities should contact during a disease traceback

involving the premises, and the type of operation (market, farm,

etc.). In addition, the date that information about the premises was

initiated and the date it was “deactivated” are kept so the

appropriate people (with knowledge of animals on the premises

during the time in question) can be located. Data will be

maintained for 20 years. The information collected through these

systems will be vital to stopping future disease outbreaks and

completing existing eradication programs.

APHIS is providing a standardized premises registration system

that States and Tribes may elect to use. However, some of these

entities may opt instead to use a system that they developed or

that a third party developed. State and Tribal authorities will

determine which premises registration system will be used in their

area. As long as the system has been evaluated by USDA and

found to be compliant with the national data standards and with

other technical requirements (e.g., communication integrity and

system security), it may be used.

Certain pieces of data entered into the premises registration

system will be forwarded electronically to a National Premises

Information Repository. The information repository centralizes

agreed-upon data and is necessary to support the overall NAIS.

For example, the National Premises Information Repository will
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Fair and exhibition sites will require

premises identification numbers

because livestock often commingle

with animals from other herds

during shows. An entity that is

involved in the NAIS but does not

manage or hold livestock (e.g., a

breed registry or tag manufacturer)

will require a Nonproducer

Participant Number to take part in

any aspect of the NAIS. (APHIS

photo by R. Anson Eaglin.)

allow APHIS to record which Animal Identification Numbers (AINs)

are distributed to a specific premises (see below for more

information on AINs). AIN managers will use the National

Premises Information Repository to confirm that a producer has a

valid Premises Identification Number before official animal

identification numbers will be distributed to that location.

What types of numbers will be assigned through the

National Premises Identification System?

Two types of numbers will be incorporated into the NAIS through

the national premises identification system.

National Premises Identification Numbers are nationally unique

numbers. USDA will assign one permanent number to each

premises (location) involved in animal agriculture through State

and Tribal premises-registration systems. The premises number
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will not change when a property is sold. National Premises

Identification Numbers contain seven alphanumeric characters.

Example: A123R69.

USDA and State and Tribal cooperators will also assign unique

Nonproducer Participant Numbers to those entities that are

involved in the NAIS but do not manage or hold livestock. Such

entities include breed registries, identification providers, service

providers, veterinarians, and others. These entities will be required

to have an official Nonproducer Participant Number in order to

participate in any aspect of the NAIS. APHIS is establishing

enrollment or application procedures for nonproducer participants.

Nonproducer Participant Numbers will follow the same numbering

scheme as premises identification numbers. As such,

Nonproducer Participant Numbers will contain seven alphanumeric

characters. Example: H892345.

What do producers and others need to do to register their

premises under the NAIS?

Because USDA is phasing in the NAIS, all States and Tribes will

be moving forward with premises registration over time. Check

with your State’s or Tribe’s animal health authority or with your

local Extension agent for more information about when you can

register your premises and how to do it.

Does it cost anything to register a premises?

The decision of whether to charge an administrative fee is up to

each State.
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Why can’t USDA–APHIS use the Farm Service Agency’s

numbers or the Food and Drug Administration’s numbers

or some other type of number already in existence to

register farms and ranches?

The NAIS is a standardized system designed to protect animal

health. Through it, APHIS will assign nationally unique numbers to

animal premises based on their specific geographic locations.

Most “farm numbers” currently in existence do not meet APHIS’

needs for one or more of the following reasons: they are county or

State specific, so the numbers distributed through them are not

nationally unique; they correlate a number with the address of the

individual who owns the farm or ranch instead of with the actual

geographic location of the animals; or they assign numbers that

are subject to change based on ownership of the land.

Under the NAIS, a premises number would remain the same for a

specific tract of land even if ownership of that property changes.

The NAIS requires that each premises receive a nationally unique number based on

geographic location. Under the NAIS, the farm pictured above would always retain the

same premises identification (e.g., A123R69), regardless of who owns it. (USDA photo by

Keith Weller.)
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What happens after producers register their premises?

Following premises registration, producers may participate in

animal identification and tracking programs as provided in their

area. As the NAIS progresses, the AIN will be implemented. USDA

will issue AINs to animal identification managers, who will be

responsible for producing AIN devices. The AIN managers will also

manage the AIN distribution network. Once this system is in place,

producers will be able to contact an AIN distributor in their area to

obtain official AINs. The identification will be attached to the

animals in a way that is appropriate for the species. For example,

cattle producers may use eartags on their animals, while

LaMancha goat producers may require a different type of

identification method because their animals have very small ears.

Potential AIN distributors include breed associations, Federal area

offices, State departments of agriculture, and identification

companies, among others. Producers should check with their

Federal, State, or Tribal animal health authority to determine whom

they should be contacting about AINs.

The AIN will allow a single animal to be identified with a lifetime

number that can be printed on a tag, affixed, or assigned to the

animal. Certain methods, as determined by industry, may include

electronic chips encased in a tag. The AIN may also be associated

with the animal’s biometrics (DNA, retinal image, etc.). The format

for the AIN is 15 numeric characters, the first three reflecting the

internationally recognized country code for the United States (840).

Example: 840123456789012.

An AIN distributor will submit to a national information repository a

record of the numbers provided to each premises. By obtaining

numbers from an AIN distributor, the producer will, in effect,

automatically provide a record of the animal’s origin (or the location

of where it was initially identified in the early stages of the NAIS).
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Group/Lot Identification Numbers may be an option for species

in which animals move as a group through the production chain

(e.g., swine and poultry). Group/Lot identification numbers contain

the national premises identification number of the location where

the group was established and a six-digit number reflecting the

date the group was created. This format will result in a unique

number. Example: A234567100302. In this example, “A234567” is

the premises identification number and “100302” represents the

date the record was created, October 3, 2002.

Once the NAIS is fully implemented, producers should be able to register their premises

and then contact a USDA-approved animal identification number manager to obtain official

AINs. Group/lot identification numbers will be an option for species, such as swine, that

typically move as a group through the production chain. (USDA photo by Gene Alexander.)
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Please note: Other identification numbering systems defined in

the Code of Federal Regulations will remain official through an

NAIS transition period. Producers should check with a State,

Federal, or Tribal animal health authority for more information

about obtaining AINs and Group/Lot identification numbers for

various species.

Will this information be kept confidential?

USDA is aware of producers’ concerns about the confidentiality of

information collected as part of the NAIS and is taking them very

seriously as APHIS explores the most effective means for

collecting animal and premises identification information.

Accordingly, USDA is investigating various options for protecting

the information in the NAIS from public disclosure. It is important

to note that the national repositories will include information only

for animal and disease tracking purposes.

When will the NAIS be fully implemented?

Currently, USDA has no set timeline for fully implementing the

NAIS. The identification of premises and animals, while requiring

significant resources, is a fundamental and straightforward

objective. However, collecting and reporting animal movement

information to establish a travel record of each animal’s life is an

enormous undertaking, requiring significant development and

testing and substantial infrastructure.

Because of its complexity, USDA plans on phasing in the NAIS to

provide a timely and cost-effective program while ensuring that it is

functional, practical, and reliable. Initially, the program will be

implemented on a voluntary basis, but USDA may eventually

require premises and animal identification. Some States have

already enacted legislation to make certain aspects of the NAIS

mandatory within their borders.