Glossary

Fédération Cynologique Internationale

The international federation of national kennel clubs, based in Belgium, that recognises breeds worldwide and assigns each one to a country of origin.

Also called: FCI, World Canine Organisation, Federation Cynologique Internationale, international kennel federation

The Fédération Cynologique Internationale, or FCI, is a federation of national kennel clubs in many countries. It is based in Thuin, Belgium. It does not register individual dogs itself. Its members keep their own national stud books and agree to respect one another's pedigrees.

The FCI recognises several hundred breeds and sorts them into ten numbered groups. For each breed it names a country of origin, and that country's club writes the official breed standard. This means an FCI standard can differ in detail from the one used by the American Kennel Club or The Kennel Club in the UK.

The AKC and the UKC are not FCI members. For owners, the main point is that a kennel registry in one country may accept papers from another. Check which papers a particular show or sport requires.

Last reviewed November 8, 2026

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Related terms

Kennel registry An organisation that keeps records of dogs and their parentage, issues registration papers and pedigrees, and often runs shows and sports. Breed standard The written description of an ideal dog of a breed, covering size, proportions, coat, colour, movement and temperament, used to judge dogs and guide breeding. United Kennel Club A US registry founded in 1898 that registers many working and hunting breeds and also runs sports, with its own breed groups and standards. Purebred A dog whose parents and ancestors belong to one recognised breed and are recorded in a registry, so its ancestry can be traced on paper.