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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.

It's on the paperwork from your vet, breeder or rescue, usually next to a barcode. Spaces and dashes don't matter.

This stays in your browser. The number isn't sent to us or to anyone else.

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 this can't tell you

Who owns the pet: no public tool can, as the databases keep owners' details private. A vet, a rescue, a dog warden or the police can ring the database and have the owner contacted straight away.

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 998 are different. Those three digits are a maker's code, given out by ICAR, the body ISO appointed to do it, so they belong to the company that made the chip rather than to a country and tell you nothing about where your pet lives. (999 is ICAR's code for test chips, so a pet's chip shouldn't start with it.) 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.

How to find which database it's on

  1. Look at the paperwork from your vet, breeder or rescue. The database's name is usually printed on it, next to the chip number.
  2. Ask any vet. They look the number up in seconds, normally while you wait, and it costs nothing.
  3. Use a lookup service: Check-a-Chip and the MyPet microchip search both tell you which database holds a number.
  4. If nothing comes back, ask a vet to check the number, or ring the database named on your paperwork.

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.

Buying a dog or puppy? Its chip should already be registered, to the breeder or to the person selling it. Our guide on checking a dog isn't stolen covers that and the other checks to make before you pay.

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.

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 998, which belongs to the company that made the chip rather than to any country. 999 is kept for test chips.

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 may never have been completed. 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.

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