The registration certificate contains the information and pedigree of a pedigree dog. It is a confirmation of a litter meeting the registration requirements of the Finnish Kennel Club. In Finland, breeders register their litters in the Finnish Kennel Club's dog register, either to the main studbook FI or to the appendixes of the studbook ER. If there is a mention EJ in the dog's studbook, the dog is not to be used for breeding.

Cross-breed and unregistered dogs

The Finnish Kennel Club also has an identification marking register, where dog owners can report an unregistered dog with an identification marking. In this case, the owner reports their own information and the dog’s chip number and distinguishing marks to the Finnish Kennel Club. Using the identification marking and registering, the dog’s owner will be found quickly in case the dog goes missing or is stolen, for instance.

Imported dogs

A dog imported to Finland registered to a foreign register acknowledged by the FCI can be registered to the Finnish Kennel Club by the owner. The imported dog must have an identification marking and the number of its microchip or tattoo must be in the dog’s registration certificate or passport. A separate pedigree certificate, for instance an Export Pedigree, is required for importing dogs from some countries. When importing dogs from Nordic countries, the original registration certificate from the country of origin is sufficient with the exception of Norway and Denmark from where the owner certificate from the country of origin is also required.

Examples of the most common countries of import and the required documents  

The Netherlands

laminated pedigree + a separate export pedigree document

USA

a registration certificate + a separate certified pedigree document

Bulgaria

a pedigree certificate + a separate export pedigree document

Ireland

an export pedigree certificate + a registration certificate document

United Kingdom

certified export pedigree

Austria

a pedigree + a separate export zertifikat document

Lithuania

a certified pedigree + a separate export pedigree document

Germany

a pedigree from the breed club + a separate export pedigree document from VDH

Belgium

pedigree + a separate export pedigree document

Examples of countries from where one document suffices (the export pedigree)

Spain, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, France, Serbia, Russia (laminated), Estonia