Free tool
Check a pet microchip number
Paste the number from your pet's paperwork. This tells you whether it's the right shape for a real chip, what its first three digits mean, and where to go to find the database holding it.
Type a number and this will tell you whether it's the right shape for a microchip, and what its first three digits mean.
What a chip number is made of
A modern chip carries 15 digits and nothing else: no letters, no name, no address. The first three are the country it was registered in, written as that country's ISO number: 826 for the United Kingdom, 372 for Ireland, 250 for France. The other twelve are the chip's own number, unique to your pet.
Numbers starting 900 to 999 are different. Those three digits belong to the company that made the chip rather than to a country, so they tell you nothing about where your pet lives. The chip is no less valid: scanners here read it exactly the same.
Older pets often carry a 9 or 10-character chip from before the standard settled, and those can contain the letters A to F. Most scanners still read them, but not every one does. If your pet has one, ask your vet to scan and confirm the number next time you're in.
What this can't tell you
It can't tell you who owns the pet, and no public tool can. The owner's name and phone number sit on a database that doesn't publish them, which is the point of it. A vet, a rescue, a dog warden or the police can ring the database and have the owner contacted straight away. What this page does is make sure the number you're carrying to them is the right one.
How to find which database it's on
- Look at the paperwork from your vet, breeder or rescue. The database's name is usually printed on it, next to the chip number.
- Ask any vet. They look the number up in seconds, normally while you wait, and it costs nothing.
- Use a lookup service: Check-a-Chip and the MyPet microchip search both tell you which database holds a number.
- If nothing comes back, ring the database you think it is anyway. Records do get mislaid when one database buys another.
Once you know which one, our guide on updating your microchip details covers changing your number or address, including what to do when you can't remember the login. Moving house is the moment most chips quietly stop working.
The approved UK databases
These are the databases the government lists as compliant. A chip only satisfies the law if it's registered on one of them, so if yours isn't on this list, register the number on one that is. There's more in our guide to every approved UK microchip database.
- AnimalData
- Animal Microchips
- Animal Tracker
- ChipHERO
- Chipped Monkey
- Chipworks
- DKC
- FidoID
- Greyhound Chip ID (racing greyhounds only)
- HomeAgain
- Identibase
- Lost Paws
- MicroChip Central
- My Animal Trace
- MyPet
- National Veterinary Data Service
- Pet Database
- Pet Identity UK
- Petlog
- PetScanner
- ProtectedPet
- SmartTrace
- UK PETtrac MicroChip Database
- We Trace Pets
What the law asks for
- Dogs in the UK must be microchipped and registered by 8 weeks old.
- Cats in England must be microchipped and registered by 20 weeks old.
- The record has to sit on one of the approved databases above, with details that are up to date.
- The fine for getting it wrong is up to £500. More to the point, an out-of-date record is the same as no record when somebody is holding your pet.
- A dog in a public place also has to wear a collar with its owner's name and address on it. Our guide to UK dog tag law covers that, and the wording maker lays it out for you.
Questions
How many digits is a pet microchip number?+
Fifteen. Every chip fitted in the UK for years now follows the ISO standard, which is 15 digits with no letters in it. Older chips, still in plenty of grown-up pets, are 9 or 10 characters and can contain the letters A to F.
What do the first three digits of a microchip number mean?+
They are either the country the chip was registered in, written as its ISO country number (826 is the United Kingdom, 372 is Ireland, 250 is France), or a code from 900 to 999, which belongs to the company that made the chip rather than to any country.
Can I find out who owns a pet from its microchip number?+
No, and neither can anyone else outside the system. The databases hold the owner's details and don't publish them, for obvious reasons. A vet, a rescue, a dog warden or the police can ring the database and have the owner contacted.
Is this microchip checker free?+
Yes, and there's nothing to sign up for. The number stays in your browser: it isn't sent to PetTag or to anyone else.
My pet's number doesn't come up on any database. What now?+
Have your vet scan your pet and read the number off the scanner, in case a digit was copied down wrong. If the number is right but no database holds it, the registration was never completed, which is more common than people expect. Register it yourself on any approved database: that is what the law asks for.
I've found a pet. What do I do with the chip number?+
You need a scanner to get the number in the first place, so take the pet to any vet, or ring your council's dog warden. They scan for free and contact the owner through the database. Our guide on finding a dog or cat walks through the rest.