Hat tags and quality marks: what they show and what they do not.

What a quality mark is

A test standard describes how a helmet model must perform in a laboratory. A quality mark is a separate promise: that a certification body keeps checking the product. The FEI's 2026 headgear list (which we read through copies hosted by other bodies, because the FEI's own page could not be opened) defines quality testing as monitoring the ongoing quality of the product according to the original standard, and US Equestrian's posted list uses the same definition. USEF adds that the standard and the quality testing may appear on the same label or on separate ones.

BSI describes its Kitemark as ensuring ongoing quality through continuous monitoring, and says it is a Notified Body for CE marking and an Approved Body for UKCA marking for helmets. Equestrian Australia's February 2026 list is clear that the CE mark on its own is not a quality mark in the sense its rules mean.

The marks the bodies name

The FEI's list shows examples of quality testing labels and says they are "not limited to" these. The UK unified 2026 rule pairs each accepted standard with particular marks:

Snell is a special case. The FEI says Snell certification already combines the standard with follow-up quality testing, so no extra quality mark is needed for a Snell helmet. US Equestrian names the certification routes it accepts as SEI for ASTM helmets and BSI or IC for PAS 015 and VG1.

When the FEI needs a quality mark

The FEI list makes the quality testing marking one of two requirements that must both be met, alongside the testing standard, and adds that from 1 January 2028, when two standards are needed, the quality mark is required for at least one of them. Equestrian Australia's February 2026 notice requires a quality test mark on at least one standard in every case except VG1 in 2026. The two appear to agree. Some secondary summaries say quality marks only matter from 2028; that is not how we read the FEI list, but this reading is ours, so the FEI's own text and its officials should be treated as the authority.

The UK's single pink tag (2026)

In the UK, British Riding Clubs, British Eventing and The Pony Club share one hat tag in 2026. It is pink and carries the logo of whichever of the three bodies applied it, and a tag from any of the three is accepted at all three. Tags from other organisations are not accepted. According to the BRC Hat Rules 2026, an official steward applies the tag at declaration after checking the standard, its date and the quality mark, and a hat whose internal labels have been removed will not be tagged. A hat that does not meet an accepted standard is not tagged, and a rider may not ride anywhere at a BRC event without a tag.

The Pony Club's 2026 hat rule says hats already carrying a Pony Club, BE or BRC tag need not be checked again, although spot checks may be made. It also states plainly that tagging is an outside check of the label inside the hat, and that it does not mean anyone has checked the hat's fit or condition.

The pink tag has been through a reissue before: Equestrian Trade News reported in December 2022 that UK bodies would re-check compliant hats and re-tag them with new pink tags during the 2023 season.

Equestrian Australia: yellow to green

Equestrian Australia uses tags so officials can identify compliant helmets, and is moving from yellow tags to green ones to match its phased standards. Its notice of 4 February 2026 sets out the timetable:

• 2026 and 2027: yellow and green tags are both accepted; green is for helmets that meet the 2028 standards.
• 2028: only green under FEI rules; yellow or green under EA national rules.
• From 1 January 2029: only green.

EA said on 22 April 2026 that green tags were available in every state, and that a helmet meeting EA's 2029 standards may be green-tagged and used straight away.

What a label, a mark and a tag cannot tell you

None of these checks a particular helmet's fit or condition. The Pony Club says so about its tag. The BHS recommends hats to an accepted standard with a quality assurance mark such as the Kitemark or SEI mark, fitted by a BETA-trained fitter, and advises against second-hand hats. Whether a helmet is accepted on the day is for the body's current rules and its officials. The helmet rules by body page lists each body's accepted standards, and the helmet standards checker compares a label with them for a chosen date.