The Coggins form VS 10-11 is the USDA document that records Equine Infectious Anemia testing for a horse, donkey, or mule. To get one filled out, you schedule a Category II federally accredited veterinarian to draw a blood sample, complete the form with your horse’s identifying details, and submit both to an APHIS-approved laboratory. The lab records the result on the form and returns a copy to you as proof of a negative test, which most states require before your horse can cross state lines, enter a show, change ownership, or move to a new boarding facility.
Finding a Vet Who Can Do the Test
Only a Category II accredited veterinarian authorized in the state where the blood is drawn can perform this test. That accreditation comes through the USDA’s National Veterinary Accreditation Program and covers federal animal health work, including EIA testing and interstate health certificates. The vet’s signature on the form certifies that they personally drew blood from the animal described, and it carries professional and legal liability for the information on the page.
If you already use an equine vet, ask whether they hold Category II status before booking the appointment. If you don’t, contact your state’s NVAP coordinator or the state veterinarian’s office for a referral. Paper copies of the form itself come from the same offices; the vet typically supplies it, but you can request one directly.
What to Have Ready Before the Appointment
Your vet completes the form, but the identifying information has to come from you. The form asks for the horse’s name, age (or approximate age in years or months if the exact birth date is unknown), breed, sex, and color. If the horse has no registered name, the vet enters “NONE” and records a unique identifier instead, such as a microchip or registration number.
You also supply the physical address where the horse lives at the time blood is drawn. That means the actual farm, stable, or racetrack. A P.O. Box won’t work, and a veterinary clinic address only counts if the horse actually resides there. If the horse is at a sale or auction and the home address is unknown, the market location can be used. The form also collects your name and mailing address as the owner.
Before the vet arrives, look over your horse and note the permanent markings: white on the face and legs, whorls, cowlicks, brands, tattoos, and scars. A written narrative of these features is required on every form, even when photographs are attached. The more accurate that description, the less likely the form gets returned.
What Happens During the Appointment
The vet fills in the form while examining the horse and drawing the blood sample. Key blocks include the horse’s physical description, the owner’s information, the premises address, and the vet’s national accreditation number. The form also asks for the reason for testing: sale, show entry, interstate movement, or change of ownership. That entry helps state regulators track equine movement and confirm compliance.
The form has space for a visual representation of the horse alongside the written narrative. Vets can hand-draw markings on the printed outline or attach digital photographs. APHIS still requires the narrative description of permanent white markings, brands, tattoos, scars, and whorls on every submission, regardless of whether photos are attached. If photographs are used, they should be clear enough to confirm what the narrative describes; images showing both sides of the horse and the face give the lab and state officials what they need to match the animal to the paperwork.
Paper Form or Electronic Submission
The form exists in two formats. The paper VS 10-11 dated February 2018 is one; the VSPS e10-11 electronic version, submitted through USDA-approved platforms such as GlobalVetLink, is the other. Since April 2020, USDA has required all veterinarians and laboratories to use one of these current approved versions.
Electronic submission is faster. Digital platforms connect vets directly to more than 160 APHIS-approved labs, allow batch signing and sending of certificates, and deliver results to the owner’s online account without waiting for mail. Photo uploads through mobile apps also cut down on blurry or missing images, a frequent cause of paper rejections.
Lab Testing, Cost, and Turnaround
The lab runs one of two tests to detect EIA antibodies. The agar gel immunodiffusion test, the original Coggins test, has been the standard since the 1970s. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, or ELISA, is a newer screening method that detects antibodies earlier and produces faster results, though with a higher rate of false positives.
Any non-negative result at an approved lab, whether positive, suspect, or equivocal, must be forwarded to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, for confirmatory testing. That step can add up to five days. If you are working against a travel or event deadline, build that possibility into your timing.
Costs vary by test and region. An AAEP veterinary fee survey found AGID tests ranging from roughly $29 to $91, with a median around $46, and ELISA tests ranging from about $32 to $165, with a median around $75. A separate farm call fee, typically between $10 and $109 depending on distance, usually applies on top. Coggins clinics hosted by breed clubs or cooperative extension offices sometimes offer lower bundled rates.
Samples must reach the lab within 30 days of collection. Older samples are rejected regardless of whether they were frozen. Every field on the form must be completed or marked N/A; incomplete forms come back to the vet without being processed.
Getting Your Result
The lab records the result directly on the form and distributes five copies. Part 1 goes to the submitting veterinarian. Part 2 stays with the laboratory. Part 3 goes to you, the owner. Part 4 goes to the USDA Veterinary Services Assistant Director. Part 5 goes to the state animal health official in the state where the blood was drawn.
Part 3 is the document you carry to shows, present at state lines, and hand to boarding facilities. Keep it with the horse whenever you travel. Many facilities and event organizers will ask to see the original or a verified copy. If your vet used an electronic platform, results may also live in your online account, which is useful when you need to share proof on short notice.
How Long a Coggins Test Stays Valid
No single federal validity period is printed on the form. The destination state sets the rule. Most states accept a negative Coggins for 12 months for interstate movement, but some require testing within six months, and international travel requirements are typically stricter. Before hauling across a state line, check with the animal health official in the destination state, not just your home state. Event organizers and fairgrounds may impose their own windows that are shorter than the state minimum.
Letting a test lapse before a trip or a competition risks being turned away at the gate or pulled over during a roadside inspection. A fresh test takes time, especially if confirmatory testing is needed, so don’t leave it until the week before a major event.
Common Reasons Forms Get Rejected
Most rejections trace back to a handful of preventable errors:
- Missing or blank fields. Every block must be filled in or marked N/A, or the entire submission comes back.
- Skipping the written narrative of markings when photos are attached. The narrative is required either way.
- Blurry or poorly lit photographs that don’t clearly show the described markings.
- Samples that arrive at the lab more than 30 days after collection. If blood is drawn on a Friday before a holiday weekend and the shipment sits in transit, the clock keeps running.
Confirm shipping timelines with the lab, especially in spring when testing volume surges and labs are busiest.
If the Horse Tests Positive
A confirmed positive changes everything. EIA has no vaccine and no cure. An infected horse remains a carrier for life and poses a transmission risk to nearby equines, because the virus spreads mainly through biting insects moving blood between animals.
Under USDA Uniform Methods and Rules, a confirmed positive horse must be quarantined within 24 hours. Every equine within 200 yards of the reactor is also placed under quarantine and tested. The owner faces three options: euthanasia, lifetime quarantine at the home premises with at least 200 yards of separation from other equines, or movement under permit to a federally or state-inspected slaughter facility. A reactor not sent directly to slaughter must be permanently branded with the state’s National Uniform Tag code number followed by the letter “A.”
Interstate movement of a horse without a current negative Coggins, or in violation of destination-state rules, falls under the Animal Health Protection Act. Civil penalties can reach $50,000 per violation for an individual and $250,000 per violation for a business, with a lower $1,000 cap for a first-time individual violation where no money changed hands.