Registration Requirements

The American Border Collie Association is dedicated to recording accurate pedigree information for owners and breeders of working Border Collies. These guidelines were developed to help insure the quality and accuracy of pedigrees in the registry.

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Who may use the ABCA’s Registration Services?

  • ABCA membership (annual or life) is required to register a litter of pups or to register a dog from another accepted registry.
  • Registration applications for litters may only be submitted by the breeder (owner of the dam at whelping).  This applies to entire litters, partial litters, or individual dogs.
  • Membership is required to transfer ownership of a dog.
  • Membership is not required to obtain replacement certificates or to add CEA or OFA notations.

Requirements for ABCA Registration

Dogs must fall into one of the following four categories:

  1. Are offspring of parents registered with the ABCA.
  2. Are registered with or are offspring of dogs registered with the International Sheep Dog Society (ISDS). This includes dogs with ISDS Register on Merit (ROM) numbers.
  3. Are registered with the Canadian Border Collie Association Section A Registry (CBCA), the American International Border Collie registry (AIBC), North American Sheep Dog Society (NASDS), the Australian Working Border Collie Registry (AWBC), or the South African Sheepdog Association (SASDA) provided they meet these criteria:
    • There is a complete 3-generation pedigree
    • All ancestors in the pedigree must have an ABCA, ISDS, CBCA, AIBC, NASDS, or AWBC registration number. Dogs registered with AIBC or NASDS through their respective ROM programs are not necessarily eligible for ABCA registration.
    • Offspring of dogs registered on the Border Collie (B) register of the SASDA may be registered in accordance with the rules governing registration of offspring of ABC-registered dogs.
  4. Have completed the ABCA ROM program.

Special Cases

Dogs not clearly eligible are handled on a case-by-case basis. These include dogs which:

  • Are registered with ROM numbers in the CBCA, AIBC, or NASDS
  • Have incomplete pedigrees from CBCA, AIBC, NASDS, or AWBC
  • Have specific situations where the Registrar of the ABCA feels the Officers and Directors should review the applications. Individual cases will be strengthened if the dogs in question can be traced back to ancestors in the ISDS stud book.

Dogs Ineligible for ABCA Registration:

The ABCA is a working stockdog registry and believes that breeding for conformation standards rather than working ability is detrimental to the health and working ability of the Border Collie.  The ABCA does not recognize any registry that promotes conformation showing of Border Collies.  Consequently:

  • Registration with the American Kennel Club, Canadian Border Collie Association Section B Registry, United Kennel Club, the Kennel Club (UK), Federation Cynologique Internationale, Australian or New Zealand Kennel Clubs, Brazilian Border Collie Association (ABBC) or any such body will not be accepted as a basis for registration with the ABCA.
  • Dogs or bitches which have been named a “Conformation Champion” by a conformation registry are not eligible for ABCA registration, even if they otherwise meet the requirements for registration. The ABCA will de-register any ABCA registered dog or bitch should it be named a “Conformation Champion” after January 1, 2004, and will not register the offspring of any dog or bitch named a “Conformation Champion” after that date.

Registration with Non-Breeding Status

At the breeder’s discretion, particular dogs, pups or entire litters may be registered with a non-breeding status. Breeders can use this type of registration to ensure that pups with genetic health problems, or who are going to homes where their working ability will not be tested, will not produce pups eligible for ABCA registration. Both the breeder and current owner must agree to the non-breeding status when the pup is registered and the restriction can only be lifted later if both agree (for example, if the current owner later does train the dog for herding and the dog demonstrates good working ability). If a non-breeding form is submitted with a registration or transfer there is no extra fee. There is a fee to remove non-breeding status.

Non-Breeding Status Form

Register on Merit (ROM) Program

Dogs whose registration applications are rejected because of inadequate pedigree information may be able to enter the registry through the register on merit program (ROM) program.    Go to ROM page

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