Rule 1, Sec. 1. The Board of Directors shall establish the rules and regulations for the registration and transfer of animals, including the establishing of fees and charges, and any other rules and regulations which shall be designed to maintain and protect the Jersey breed, and the Board of Directors shall annually cause to be published all rules and regulations as established by it during the previous year.

Rule 1, Sec. 2. Descendants of animals heretofore registered in the AJCA Herd Register; registered Jersey cattle imported to the United States from countries having herd books recognized by the Association, without change of permanent identification or ownership while in transit, and their descendants, may be registered on proof of their purity of descent, or of their exportations from the Island of Jersey in conformity with the rules established by the Board of Directors of the Association. The Board of Directors may establish rules denying registration for sons of declared genetic recessive carriers.

Eligibility

Rule 2, Sec. 1. No animal bred in the United States shall be registered until both its sire and dam are registered; and, to preserve the identity of registered animals, all animals offered for registration must be permanently identified in a manner described in these Rules for the Registration and Transfer of Jersey Cattle.

(a) Animals that exhibit the characteristics of Jersey cattle may be registered in the Herd Register by qualification through compliance with the procedures and requirements of the Genetic Recovery Program.

(b) Females sired by Registered Jersey sires and out of dams of other breeds may be recorded in the Herd Register by qualification through compliance with the procedures and requirements of the Jersey Expansion Program.

(c) Females out of dams recorded as Genetic Recovery (GR) or in the Herd Register (HR) and sired by sires of other breeds may be recorded in the Herd Register by qualification through compliance with the procedures and requirements of the Jersey Expansion Program.

Rule 2, Sec. 2

(a) For Animals Identified by Tattoos

All calves identified by tattoos must be tattooed before leaving individual pens or ties. One or both ears may be used, and the letter and numbers in the ears must be stated on the application for registration. No two animals of the same sex in the same herd may have the same tattoo. Tattoos must include at least one letter and one number. The letters I, O, Q and V may be used only if accompanied by an additional letter in the same ear, or approved by the Executive Secretary.

Tattoos may not exceed a total of seven letters and numbers in each ear. It is the owner’s responsibility to maintain a valid and legible tattoo in the ear of each animal owned.

When a tattoo correction is required, the owner must notify the AJCA of the correction, which will then be made in the records of the Association. When a tattoo becomes faded, the owner must re-tattoo the animal in the same ear with the same tattoo.

(b) For Animals Identified by Eartags

Prior to leaving individual pens or ties, all calves identified by eartags must be identified in both ears with tags approved by the Association’s Board of Directors. These tags will include an American ID number, state of origin, and herd management number. No two animals in the same herd of the same sex may have the same herd management number.

It is the owner’s responsibility to maintain eartags in the ears of each animal owned, and when a tag is lost, the owner must contact the Association and order a replacement tag.

When an animal enters the herd with a duplicate herd management number, the owner must contact the Association and order replacement tags for one of the animals. The replacement tags will retain the animal’s prior American ID number, but must have a herd management number that is unique to the new herd.

Tags approved by the Association’s Board of Directors are Allflex Tamperproof™ Ear Tags.

Rule 2, Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of each member or other person registering cattle in the Association’s Herd Register to keep accurately on forms devoted to this use a complete and consecutive record for each animal in the herd, showing date of service and name and number of animal served, name of sire used, date of calving, sex of calf and permanent identification. Such records shall be kept for at least one year after the date on which the animal leaves the herd.

Rule 2, Sec. 4. No owner of registered Jerseys shall allow two or more Jersey bulls over six months of age in the same area with any female.

Rule 2, Sec. 5. If the application for registration of an animal shows that the sire was under 9 months of age at the date of service, or the dam was under 15 months of age at date of her progeny, the animal cannot be registered without the specific approval of the Executive Secretary.

Rule 2, Sec. 6. All animals born as a result of artificial insemination shall be eligible for registration in the Herd Register of the AJCA provided the artificial insemination complies with the rules and regulations approved by the AJCA. All bulls from which semen is collected must be parentage verified along with their living non-parentage verified parents and listed with the Association. All semen must be properly and permanently labeled.

Rule 2, Sec. 7. Animals may be registered in the name of individuals, farms or corporations, as the owners thereof; provided, however, when the ownership of a farm is transferred, including the cattle thereon, all cattle then registered and standing in the name of such farm must be transferred to the new owner of such farm and the transfer fees paid thereon.

Rule 2, Sec. 8. The breeder of an animal is the owner of the dam at the time she was served.

Rule 2, Sec. 9. Animals must be registered by their first owners. The first owner of a calf is the owner of the dam at the time the calf was born.

Rule 2, Sec. 10. Blank forms for registration will be furnished by the Association on request. No registration application can be made except using a method approved by the Association.

Rule 2, Sec. 11. Application for registration of animals must give:

(a) The sex of the animal.

(b) The name desired for the animal.

(c) The date of birth.

(d) The animal's permanent identification.

(e) Whether the animal resulted from artificial insemination.

(f) Whether or not the animal is a twin.

(g) Whether the animal is polled or horned.

(h) Whether or not the animal is the result of embryo transfer or clone.

(i) The name and Herd Register number of the sire.

(j) The name and Herd Register number of the dam.

(k) Signature and owner number of the applicant who shall be the first owner of the animals, defined in Rule 2, Sec. 9.

Rule 2, Sec. 12. (a) No two animals recorded within fifteen years of each other shall have the same name. The Executive Secretary is authorized to refuse to register or shall reissue names under: (1) names of celebrated animals whose name may not ever be used again [For a name to be considered celebrated: if a bull, he must have a USDA Sire Summary; if a cow, she must have a son with a USDA Sire Summary.], (2) names of different spelling, but like pronunciation, (3) names that are misleading as to sex, origin or relationship, (4) names that are obscene or profane, (5) names reasonably calculated to indicate type or performance ratings, and (6) any other name deemed by the Board of Directors to be objectionable.

(b) Changing Names. Names of animals may be changed, upon application for such change made to the Executive Secretary; provided that the Registration Certificate is returned, the name desired is not already in use and that no progeny has been recorded from said animal. Prefix names may not be changed without permission of the breeder. The fee for changing a name shall be established by the Board of Directors.

(c) Numerals in Names. The numerals 2nd, 3rd, 4th, (or second, third, fourth) etc. can be applied only to offspring of the animal bearing the name used, if of the same sex, in sequence with the date of birth.

(d) Length of Names. No name of an animal shall be accepted which contains more than a total of twenty-seven (27) spaces, letters and characters, including the numeral affix. Apostrophes will not be used.

(e) Prefix Names. A breeder of registered cattle may reserve for his exclusive use a prefix name, when not in use, or very similar to other prefix names in use in the files of the AJCA. The name may not be used by any other breeder unless such other breeder submits the written permission of the proprietor of the reserved prefix. The proprietor’s right to the prefix name shall be lost by five (5) consecutive years of non-use of the prefix.

(1) The prefix can be a farm name, but it cannot be a name that pertains to known and established bloodlines of Jersey cattle, i.e. Design, Sybil, St. Mawes, etc.

(2) Only animals bred by the proprietor of a prefix may bear the prefix name of the breeder.

(3) In reserving the prefix names, seniority in use shall control, and upon a request to use a prefix that has theretofore been in use, the Executive Secretary shall consult the senior user and allow him to reserve the prefix, and failing so to do within thirty days, the later user may reserve such prefix.

(4) A name used by each of five (5) or more owners five or more times in the five years preceding a request is considered to be in common use and may not be reserved by any one breeder.

(5) A charge established by the Board of Directors will be made for reserving a prefix name, except when obtained in connection with membership. A certificate of such reservation will be provided the proprietor of the prefix.

(6) The denial of the right to register a prefix name shall not constitute a denial to the right to use an unregistered prefix name.

(7) Upon the sale of a farm and a majority of the herd therewith, or upon the sale of the majority of a herd, by the registered user of prefix name, such registered prefix name may be transferred to the purchaser of the majority of such herd, provided the transfer is forthwith recorded with the Association and the appropriate fee is paid therefore. Members of a family may use the same prefix, if names and owner numbers of family members have been submitted to the Association.

(8) A reserved prefix may be used, but is not required to be used, when a person authorized to use the reserved prefix is both Breeder of record and First Owner of the animal being registered.

(9) The reserved prefix of the Breeder of record must be used when naming animals, when the First Owner of the animal being registered is not also the Breeder of record. The Breeder of record may waive this requirement upon written notification to the AJCA at the time transfer of ownership is filed.

(10) When the rights to flush a female are sold, the seller (i.e., Breeder of record) may grant to the buyer the right to name the resulting animals using the buyer’s reserved prefix, if the buyer makes the mating decision and buys all resulting embryos. The seller must submit written permission allowing use of the buyer’s reserved prefix along with the transfer of ownership of the embryos to the Association.

Rule 2, Sec. 13. When twins are registered, both must be registered at the same time except as follows:

(a) When applying for registration of a female born twin with a male, the female’s application will be stamped with the appropriate fee and returned to the owner. When the female twin is proven a breeder, she can be registered by returning the original application with the fee stamped on the application.

(b) When applying for registration of only one twin, notice must be given of the birth of the other twin.

(c) When applying for registration of only one twin when the other twin is dead, the date of death must be reported.

Rule 2, Sec. 14. Animals resulting from embryo transfer may be registered provided the following requirements are met:

(a) The sire involved must be parentage verified and his semen used in accordance with the AI rules of the Association.

(b) The donor dam must be parentage verified.

(c) (1) Every tenth embryo transfer female will be parentage verified at the owner's or breeder's expense. (2) Animals to be parentage verified will be chosen at random by AJCA staff. DNA kits with necessary paperwork will be sent to the owner for all animals chosen for parentage verification. (3) The AJCA will require, at its discretion, parentage verification of other animals from the flush in the event the chosen animal's DNA results in a parentage exclusion.

(d) A donor dam may be inseminated with semen from more than one bull provided:

(1) All requests must be made at least three days before breeding the donor dam.

(2) Donor dams must be parentage verified (with the results in the Association office) before any interpretations will be accepted.

(3) All bulls considered must be parentage verified in the United States. All interpretations are provided in writing.

(4) All progeny from ET recoveries using semen from more than one sire will be required to be parentage verified. The AJCA is not responsible or liable for progeny resulting from pooled semen; it is used at the risk of the breeder.

(e) All embryo transfer calves shall have the letters "ET" included in their names as a suffix. Calves resulting from split embryos shall have the letters "ETS" included in their names as a suffix. Calves resulting from nuclear transfer (cloning) shall have the letters "ETN" included in their names as a suffix.

(f) A fee determined by the Board of Directors shall be charged for each embryo transfer calf registered.

Rule 2, Sec. 15. In case of the failure or refusal of the first owner of an animal to sign an application for registration, upon satisfactory evidence being submitted, the Executive Secretary may register the animal without the signature of the first owner.

Rule 2, Sec. 16. (a) No certificate of registration shall be issued until the fee is paid; nor shall any name or number be assigned by the Association until every requirement has been complied with. The certificate given by the Association shall constitute the receipt for the fees, but such certificate shall not be binding on the Association in case of error.

(b) The fees for the registration of animals shall be established by the Board of Directors.

(c) Dead ancestors may be registered to complete pedigrees of living animals.

Rule 2, Sec. 17. The Executive Secretary may, upon written application by the registering breeder, waive the female registration fee over 12 months of age for all females registered at one time and accept the registration fee established by the Board of Directors, but only one such waiver shall be granted to a breeder in his lifetime.

Rule 2, Sec. 18. A member of the Association may register cattle at member’s rates in an individual name or in a farm name, partnership or corporation name, but cannot register cattle at member’s rates under more than one name. All applications for the registration of farm, partnership or corporation animals at member’s rates must be counter-signed by the member of the Association who is a member of such farm, partnership or corporation or pursuant to a duly executed power of attorney of such member.

Rule 2, Sec. 19. The AJCA permits persons having deeply held religious beliefs which prohibit membership in organizations to become AJCA Associate Breeders upon payment of an Associate Breeder fee equal to the regular membership fee. These breeders shall receive member’s registration rates.

Rule 2, Sec. 20. The same fees as those charged members of the Association shall apply to state agricultural colleges and universities, state experiment stations and state educational institutions not operating for profit, when approved by the Board of Directors.

Rule 2, Sec. 21. The same registration fees as those charged to members of the AJCA shall apply to junior members of the Association under such rules and conditions as shall be approved from time to time by the Board of Directors.

(a) A senior member and his/her child, who is a junior member, may register cattle in their partnership name at membership rates. When junior membership expires on December 31 of the year the child reaches the age of twenty-one (21), lifetime membership is required.

Rule 3, Sec. 1. Animals imported into the United States from countries having herd books recognized by the Association must be registered by their importers, and shall be admitted to registration after full compliance with the rules of the AJCA.

Rule 3, Sec. 2. Animals imported from the Island of Jersey, to be eligible for registration in the AJCA Herd Register, must have qualified for and been registered in the Island Herd Book; except that bulls under twelve months of age and heifers not yet in milk at the date of their shipment from the Island are eligible if a certificate of birth is issued for each animal by the Secretary of the Island Herd Book, giving the recorded or folio number of the animal, and the name, number and qualification of both sire and dam as recorded in the Island Herd Book.

Rule 3, Sec. 3. Animals imported from Great Britain, to be eligible, must have been registered in the Herd Book of the Jersey Cattle Society of the United Kingdom.

Rule 3, Sec. 4. A certificate of export must be filed with the Association in the case of every animal imported from the Island of Jersey or from Great Britain before it can be registered. Said certificate must state the identity of the animal and its breeding, signed by the Secretary of the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society or the Secretary of the Jersey Cattle Society of the United Kingdom, and must bear a statement of the facts as to the shipment of the animal and the name of the consignee, signed by the shipper. The correctness of all statements and the genuineness of all signatures must be certified to by the authorized agent of the Association, resident on the Island of Jersey or resident in Great Britain, as the case may be.

Rule 3, Sec. 5. Animals imported more than two years previous to the date of application shall not be entitled to entry unless the Board of Directors authorizes it.

Rule 3, Sec. 6. All applications for the registration of imported animals must meet requirements as established by the Board of Directors.

Rule 3, Sec. 7. No certificate shall be issued until the fees are paid; nor shall any number be assigned by the Executive Secretary until every requirement has been complied with.

The fees on animals imported from the Island of Jersey and Great Britain shall be established by the Board of Directors.

Rule 3, Sec. 8. Animals imported from Canada, to be eligible for registration in the AJCA Herd Register, must be already registered in the Canadian National Livestock Records. Animals imported from Canada which have been born on the Island of Jersey or in Great Britain, to be eligible for the AJCA Herd Register, must meet all requirements pertaining to the registration of animals imported directly from Jersey or Great Britain.

Rule 3, Sec. 9. The fees for registration of animals (both male and female) which have been bred in and imported from Canada to the United States shall be established by the Board of Directors.

Rule 3, Sec. 10. Imported animals cannot be registered under names which do not meet the requirements of Rule II, Sec. 12. The foreign name may be used if not a duplicate of a name already in the AJCA Herd Register or too long.

Rule 3, Sec. 11. The fees for the registration of animals imported in dam shall be the same as for those bred in the United States.

Rule 3, Sec. 12. (a) Semen may be imported from any bull who is eligible for importation himself.

(b) All imported semen must be used in accordance with the AJCA rules for Registration and Transfer, including the payment of listing fees.

(c) The importer must supply the Association with a 14-ancestor tabulated pedigree approved by the breed society in the country of origin for each bull from which semen is imported.

(d) Each bull from which semen is imported will be assigned a number in the AJCA Herd Register. The name of each bull shall include the prefix "IS" and two additional letters indicating the country of origin (e.g., "ISIJ", "ISNZ", "ISGB", "ISDK").

(e) Each bull from which semen is imported must be blood typed at a laboratory whose results are acceptable to the laboratory routinely used by the Association. It shall be the importer’s responsibility to have the blood type on file with the Association before semen is imported.

Rule 4, Sec. 1. Every change in ownership of a registered animal or embryo shall be promptly recorded with the AJCA by the seller in order that progeny of the animal may be registered and subsequent changes in ownership recorded. In the case of a change in ownership of an animal or embryo where the seller has been paid in full, an application for the record of such change in ownership shall be immediately completed in every detail by the seller, including the new owner’s name and date of sale, and must be promptly sent to the Association, together with the proper fee. Date of sale is defined as the date the buyer takes possession of the animal. If the animal is a female, it must be stated whether or not she has been served. If served, the date must be given, with the name and Herd Register number of the service sire. Open transfers are condemned and declared to be a violation of the By-Laws and subject to disciplinary action of the Board of Directors. Failure to comply with this rule is a direct violation of the By-Laws of this Association. The AJCA looks to the seller for all transfer fees.

Rule 4, Sec. 2. Applications for recording changes in ownership are printed on the back of the registry certificate. In addition, transfer application forms are furnished on request by the Association. Should an error be made when completing the transfer information on the registry certificate, write VOID across the form and complete a separate transfer form.

Rule 4, Sec. 3. If the Board of Directors shall determine that a record of change in ownership is incorrect in any material respect, the Board of Directors shall cancel the record of change in ownership.

Rule 4, Sec. 4. In case of the failure or refusal of the seller to give an application for the record of change of ownership, the record of such change may be made by the Executive Secretary upon receiving satisfactory evidence of the sale of the animal and its identity.

Rule 4, Sec. 5. (a) No certificate of record of change in ownership shall be issued until the fee is paid. The certificate given by the Executive Secretary shall constitute the receipt for the fee, but such certificate shall not be binding on the Association in case of error.

(b) Changes in ownership may be recorded at the regular fee if the application is received at the Association office within sixty days (60) after the date of sale, otherwise an additional fee shall be charged except for the following cases in which the intraherd transfer shall apply:

(1) Estates. Transfers to heirs or devisees of a deceased owner, provided all living animals in the recorded ownership or all animals received by one heir or devisee at one time are transferred at the same time and within one year of the owner’s death.

(2) Families. Transfers to another member of the immediate family (husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother, sister, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law) of the prior owner, provided that all living animals in the recorded ownership or all animals purchased by one partner at one time are transferred at the same time.

(3) Partnerships. Transfers to a partnership in which the prior owner becomes a partner, or upon the dissolution of a partnership, to a member or members of the dissolved partnership, provided that all living animals in the recorded ownership or all animals purchased by one partner at one time are transferred at the same time.  

(c) When the change in ownership of a farm or business entity does not require a change in the name of recorded owner on the registration certificate, a fee is required unless the transaction is between members of an immediate family (husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother, sister, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law) and the percentage change does not exceed 51 percent. The fee required to be paid shall be determined by multiplying the number of living registered Jersey animals in the ownership of the farm or business entity by the appropriate transfer fee of the Association then in effect. Individual transfer of the animals is not required.

Rule 4, Sec. 6. Duplicate certificates of registration and change in ownership will be furnished on request at a fee established by the Board of Directors.

Rule 5, Sec. 1. If the Board of Directors shall determine that the registration of an animal is incorrect in any material respect, the Board of Directors shall cancel the registration; provided however, that no registration that has stood for three years shall be cancelled unless authorized by a vote of not less than ten directors. If the registration of an animal is determined to be incorrect and is cancelled, all registrations of its descendants shall also be cancelled, and its descendants then living or later born, may not be registered except through the Genetic Recovery Program. If the registration of a animal that has been registered for three years or more is determined by the Board of Directors to be incorrect, but the registration is not cancelled, all registrations of the animal’s sons and grandsons, and their descendants, shall be cancelled and the descendants of that animal may not be registered except through the Genetic Recovery Program.

Rule 5, Sec. 2. The Executive Secretary may, upon due notice to the owner or breeder, investigate or cause to be investigated, examined, identified or parentage verified any animal or herd of Registered Jersey cattle and may examine the breeding and herd records maintained for the purpose of verifying applications both for memberships and registering of animals or for the purpose of verifying records on file in the Association office or for the purpose of investigating other matters in which the Association may be interested.

Rule 5, Sec. 3. Every certificate of registration or change in ownership is based on statements contained in the application thereof, and neither the AJCA, nor any officer, director, agent nor employee thereof shall be liable for any error contained in any certificate resulting from a false or erroneous application or for any damage caused by such error, or damages caused by striking any animals from the Herd Register pursuant to Section 1 of this Rule V.

Sec. 4. Should a Jersey breeder be guilty of any conduct which endangers the good order, welfare or credit of the Association, or which is detrimental to the interests of the Jersey breed, that breeder may be denied all privileges as to registration, record of change in ownership, official testing, type trait appraisal or show ring participation. Evidence establishing any such conduct on the part of a breeder must be submitted for consideration of the Board of Directors before any privileges are denied.