How breeder verification works

Buying and selling heritage animals should never come down to guesswork about who is on the other end. Breeder verification is how HoofnHorn confirms who a seller is and that they operate a farm.

Why we verify breeders

The animal you are looking for is rarely ten miles down the road. A specific breed or bloodline may be three states away, and buying it can mean sending thousands of dollars to someone you have never met.

Driving out to stand in front of every animal is not a realistic answer. Fuel, hotels and time away from your own farm are real costs, and you can still come home without an animal.

We built HoofnHorn so that legitimate buyers and sellers can know who they are dealing with. Verification gives breeders a place to build a reputation, and it gives buyers more information about who is selling.

What verification means for you

For buyers

When you buy from a verified breeder

  • Know who you are dealing with.

    A verified breeder has confirmed their identity, so a real person stands behind the farm.

  • Buy from a farm we have confirmed.

    HoofnHorn has confirmed that the seller operates a farm, not only that they hold an account.

  • Bid with confidence from anywhere.

    You can consider an animal three states away without guessing who is on the other end of the sale.

For sellers

When you sell as a verified breeder

  • Earn the trust of buyers you have never met.

    Your listings show buyers that you are a verified breeder, so they can bid with confidence.

  • Keep more of every sale.

    A verified breeder pays a closing fee of 4% when an animal sells. The standard rate is 5%.

  • Sell without waiting for review.

    Your listings are published when you submit them. Until you are verified, your listings go through our standard review.

Every fee we charge is listed in the fee schedule.

What a listing shows

Every listing shows where its seller stands. A seller is in one of three positions.

Verified breeder
The seller has confirmed their identity, and HoofnHorn has confirmed their farm. The badge tells you a real person stands behind the farm.
Farm not confirmed
This seller has confirmed their identity. HoofnHorn has not confirmed their farm.
Identity not confirmed
This seller has not confirmed their identity or their farm with HoofnHorn.

Verification is optional. A seller can list and sell animals without it.

What verification covers

Verification applies to the seller. It is not a statement by HoofnHorn about any animal, document or sale.

A listing never shows a seller’s ID, their photographs or the name on their document.

Getting verified

Verification has two steps, completed in order.

  1. Step 1 of 2

    Confirm your identity

    Our partner Stripe checks your government photo ID and a photograph of your face, and confirms that the two are the same person. The check takes about two minutes and is easiest on a phone.

  2. Step 2 of 2

    Confirm your farm

    Provide your farm website, your breed registry membership, or your farm paperwork. A farm review can take up to 4 business days.

The identity check is required for the badge. Farm paperwork confirms your farm, not your identity. If Stripe cannot check your ID, email support@hoofnhorn.com and we will help you.

You can list animals at any point. When you are verified, listings that are waiting for review are published.

Get verified

Before you start the identity check

Have the following ready before you begin.

  • A valid government photo ID. Use the document itself, not a photocopy or a photo of one on a screen, and make sure it has not expired.
  • A phone, if you have one. Phone cameras usually take clearer photos than webcams.
  • Even lighting. Avoid glare, strong overhead lights that shadow your face, and sitting directly in front of a bright window.
  • The whole document in frame. Lay it flat and keep every edge inside the picture.
  • Nothing covering your face. Remove sunglasses, a mask or a low hat brim.

You have three tries at the identity check, and a check that fails still uses a try. If you need more, email support@hoofnhorn.com from your account email address.

Your information

What HoofnHorn receives

Stripe tells us your name as it appears on the document, and whether the check passed. We do not receive your date of birth, your document number or the address on your ID. Your document and photographs go directly to Stripe and never reach our servers.

What buyers see

Your listings show whether you have confirmed your identity and whether your farm is confirmed. Buyers never see your ID, your photographs or the name on your document.

Farm paperwork

You can upload an IRS EIN letter, a state farm or business registration, or breed registry papers. Only HoofnHorn staff see them. They are never shown to buyers and never sent to an automated system.

After you are verified

Your farm name and website cannot be changed from your account once you are verified. To change them, email support@hoofnhorn.com.

Deleting your identity information

If you close your account, we ask Stripe to delete the copy it holds for us, including the images.

Stripe also keeps its own copy as a controller in its own right, and that copy is not ours to delete. Write to privacy@stripe.com to ask Stripe to remove it, or to stop Stripe using your identity data to improve its technology.

What we collect and who we share it with is set out in the privacy notice.