Microchipping your dog: what UK law requires (and the bit most owners forget)
Every dog in the UK must be microchipped and registered by eight weeks old. Most owners know that. What many forget is the second half of the rule: the details on the database must be kept up to date. A chip linked to an old address or a dead phone number won’t bring a lost dog home.
By Jérôme Mascarin, dog trainer and founder of Canibest · updated 11 November 2026
Your dog must be microchipped and registered on an approved database by eight weeks old. Breeders must do this before a puppy leaves them.
When you buy or adopt, the breeder or rescue registers the transfer, and you must check your details are on it.
You must update the database if you move, change phone number or rehome the dog.
Not complying can mean a fine of up to £500 for no chip, and up to £500 for not being registered.
A chip doesn’t replace the collar: in public, your dog must still wear a tag with your name and address.
What is a microchip?
A tiny chip the size of a grain of rice, injected under the skin between the shoulder blades. It has no battery and no GPS: it simply holds a unique number. When a vet, a council warden or a rescue scans it, the number leads to your details on the database.
It’s done in seconds, like a vaccination. It must be fitted by a trained professional: your vet, the council or a rescue centre, sometimes for a small fee.
Check your details today
Find your dog’s chip number on the vaccination card, the breeder’s paperwork or by asking your vet to scan it. Then look it up on the approved databases checker linked from GOV.UK, log in to the right database and check your name, address and phone numbers.
Moving house? Put “update the microchip” on the same list as the bank and the electoral roll.
Buying a puppy? Watch out
A puppy offered “chipped” but not registered in the breeder’s name, or registered to someone else, is a red flag for puppy farming or theft. Ask to see the registration before you pay, and make sure the transfer is done in your name.
Only use databases on the government’s approved list: some sites have been removed from it.
Microchips: your questions
Can a microchip track my dog?
No. It has no GPS. For tracking, you’d need a separate GPS collar.
Does microchipping hurt?
About as much as a vaccination: a quick pinch. Many puppies don’t react at all.
What about cats?
Cats in England must be microchipped too since 2024, by 20 weeks old.
