📄Paperwork and legal stuff

Nobody joins 4-H for the paperwork, but missing one form can keep you out of the ring. This page walks through every document, in the order you’ll need them. It’s based on the 2026 NCJL Terms & Conditions; read the full PDF too, because you and your parent sign that you have.

1. 4-H enrollment (ZSuite)

You must be an active 4-H (or FFA) member to show. Enroll every fall. How to enroll.

2. NCJL Terms & Agreement (signed form)

• Print the Exhibitor & Parent Terms & Agreement page from the Terms & Conditions. Both the exhibitor and a parent sign it.
• Give it to the club leader by March 15. The leader must turn in a signed copy for every exhibitor to the NCJLC secretary by that date or the animal will not be tagged. No exceptions.
• You’ll also upload the signed form to your ShoWorks account.
• Any request to change a rule must go to the NCJL board at least 45 days before fair.

3. ShoWorks online entry ($40 per animal)

ShoWorks at navajojlsa.fairwire.com is the NCJLC’s entry system. It is separate from ZSuite.

1. Create an Exhibitor account (one per kid). Save the login; it’s yours for years and it’s also where you buy wristbands.
2. Complete the IRS W-9 online first. The NCJLC needs it to pay you after the sale.
3. Make a Market entry for each animal you’ll bring (pigs, lambs, goats, steers, turkeys).
4. Make a Showmanship entry for each species.
5. Enter your YQCA number and expiration date.
6. Upload your signed Terms & Agreement.
7. Pay $40 per animal.

Do this before tagging day. The superintendent won’t tag an animal that isn’t entered.

4. YQCA certificate

Youth for the Quality Care of Animals. Required every year, must be valid through the last day of the fair, and you need the number for your entry. Bring the printed certificate to tagging and check-in. Details.

5. Arizona Seasonal Pass

What it is

Arizona law (ARS 3-1346) requires livestock to be inspected when it changes ownership or moves. The Seasonal Pass from the Arizona Department of Agriculture is the youth-exhibitor version: it covers your project animal’s moves to shows and the fair for the season, so you don’t need a livestock inspector every time you load the trailer.

How to get it

1. Go to seasonalpass.azda.gov and create an account.
2. Apply for a pass for each market animal, with the exhibitor’s name on it (not just the parent’s).
3. You’ll need the animal’s description, tag numbers (Scrapie tag for lambs and goats, premise/840 tag for pigs and steers), the seller’s information, and the ownership date. In many cases the breeder’s self-inspection at purchase is enough; the Department will tell you if an inspector must come out.
4. Print it. Bring a copy to fair check-in. You cannot check in without it. You keep the original.
5. After the fair, complete the original and return it to the Department of Agriculture.

Heads up: Steer families should apply as soon as they buy their calf. Small-stock families should apply as soon as they pick up their animals in spring. Don’t wait until September.

6. Ownership deadlines

Before tagging, the animal must have been in your possession and ownership for:

Species	Days	2026 deadline	2027 projected
Beef	150	April 18, 2026	~April 17, 2027
Swine, lambs, goats	95	June 12, 2026	~June 11, 2027
Market turkey	112	May 26, 2026	~May 25, 2027

Keep your bill of sale with the date. It’s your proof.

The animal must be yours in every sense: you purchased, raised, fed, cared for, and trained it, and you can control it. Animals that don’t meet that standard are removed from the fair and can’t sell.

7. Ear tags and tagging day

Every market animal needs the right identification tags and the official NCJL tag.

• Lambs and goats: an official Scrapie ID tag (looks like AZ1234-0222).
• Swine: an Arizona or state premise ID tag or an official USDA 840 tag.
• Beef: the NCJLC highly recommends a USDA or RFID 840 tag to avoid government-regulation delays.

Then, on tagging day (set by your species superintendent), the superintendent puts in the NCJL ear tag:

• One tag per animal is free. Extra or replacement tags are $1 each.
• If your animal already has a show tag from somewhere else (other than the premise tag), it gets removed and replaced with the NCJL tag.
• Lost a tag? Tell the NCJLC immediately; they’ll issue a replacement.
• Can’t make tagging day? Arrange an earlier date with the superintendent. Nothing is tagged after tagging day.
• Steers must be led from the trailer to the scale and be manageable on tagging day.
• All males must be fully castrated (turkeys excepted).
• Doing Bred & Fed? The completed form, signed by the breeder, is due at tagging.

If something goes wrong

• Sifted at tagging (rejected): you have 15 days to find a replacement, with the superintendent’s approval.
• Animal dies (photo proof required): the NCJLC may allow a replacement. Pigs, lambs, and goats must be replaced at least 45 days before check-in; beef at least 75 days. Replacements still have to meet the original ownership requirement unless the NCJLC says otherwise.

8. Pre-fair show requirement

Every project animal must be shown in at least one bona fide livestock show before the fair: a SAILA show, jackpot show, livestock show, livestock camp, or small-stock show or camp. It’s to make sure animals are trained and safe. Verification must be provided to the NCJLC before the fair. Keep your entry receipt or a photo of your ribbon.

9. Weights, ages, and standards

Species	Min weight	Max	Age / other
Beef	1,000 lb	1,400 lb pay weight	Under 24 months. Sold by the pound. Double-tied (halter + neck rope).
Swine	220 lb	320 lb show weight	Born Dec 1 – Mar 1. Sold by the head.
Lamb	95 lb	180 lb show weight	Under 12 months, milk teeth only. Sold by the head.
Goat	55 lb	130 lb show weight	Under 12 months, milk teeth only. Wethers disbudded before 3 weeks; scurs ≤ 1 inch. Meat-goat type (USBGA/ABGA). Sold by the head.
Turkey	15 lb	—	Broad Breasted Bronze or White, 4–9 months.

Animals under the minimum are moved to the prospect class and cannot be sold at the sale.

10. Health rules

• Animals must be healthy, sound, parasite-free, and drug-free. Any animal may be checked by a veterinarian at the fair. Unhealthy animals are sent home immediately, at your cost.
• The USDA Wholesome Meat Act applies because these animals enter the food supply. Follow every drug label (dose and withdrawal time). If illegal residues are found in the carcass, the whole carcass can be condemned and the buyer’s money is returned.
• Only chemicals approved by a licensed veterinarian may be used in the pens.
• Insurance on your animal is recommended, not required.

11. Money and taxes

• Complete a W-9 online before your entry.
• The NCJLC takes a commission from the sale to pay for the auctioneer, awards, and advertising. Cleaning fines are also deducted.
• If your sale proceeds are $600 or more, you’ll get a 1099 in January. That’s normal; a parent may need to include it on taxes.

12. Fair-week paperwork

At check-in you’ll show: the Seasonal Pass copy and a current YQCA certificate. You’ll also declare at the scale which animal you’re showing in showmanship (if you have two of one species) and which animal you’re selling (if you have more than one species). Have those NCJL tag numbers written down. More on the fair week page.

Paperwork checklist

• ZSuite enrollment approved
• YQCA completed; certificate printed; number and expiration noted
• NCJL Terms & Agreement signed by kid and parent, to club leader by March 15
• ShoWorks account; W-9 done; Terms uploaded
• ShoWorks market entry per animal + showmanship entry per species; $40 each paid
• Bill of sale dated before the ownership deadline
• Correct ID tag (Scrapie / premise or 840)
• Tagging day attended; NCJL tag number written down
• Bred & Fed form (if applicable) turned in at tagging
• Seasonal Pass issued in exhibitor’s name; copy printed for check-in
• Pre-fair show done; proof saved
• Record book submitted by county deadline