How to set up your PetTag, step by step

1. Point your phone's camera at the QR code on the tag and tap the link that appears. There's no app to download. If it won't read, see how to scan a QR tag.
2. Create a free PetTag account, or log in if you already have one.
3. Choose which of your pets the tag is for, or add a new pet with their name, whether they're a dog or a cat, and their breed if you like.
4. You're taken to your pet's profile. Add a photo and anything a finder should know, then press Preview public page to see exactly what someone gets when they scan the tag.

• A clear, recent photo, so a finder knows they have the right pet.
• Medical notes: medication, allergies or conditions someone should know about in the first hour.
• Behaviour notes, such as "nervous of strangers, please don't chase him".
• An emergency contact, such as a neighbour or a family member, for when you can't answer.

Leave your home address off: the page doesn't need it, because a finder can message you instead. Our guide on what a stranger sees when they scan has more on what's worth sharing.

Your phone number and email are hidden unless you choose to show them. A finder can always message you through the form on your pet's page, and we email you their message straight away. Messages are also kept under Messages on your dashboard.

To let finders call or email you directly, tick "Show my phone number" or "Show my email" under Contact & privacy on your pet's profile. The number shown is the one on your account page.

• Open your pet's profile and press Lost mode. It switches every tag your pet has.
• Their page then says they're reported missing, so anyone who scans the tag knows to get in touch.
• We email you when the tag is scanned, with the rough area it was scanned in. If a finder shares their location, it appears under Sightings on your pet's profile.
• Press Lost poster on your pet's profile to print a poster with their photo, your number and a QR code that opens their page.
• When they're home, press Active to switch lost mode off.

Then work through our lost dog or lost cat checklist: lost mode helps, but it works alongside telling the microchip database, the council and your neighbours.

Hang it from the collar's D-ring with a split ring. In the UK, a dog in a public place must also wear your name and address on its collar or on a tag, so keep an engraved tag or collar plate as well. Our guide on how to put a tag on a collar shows how.

• Scan the new tag and choose your existing pet. Their page, photo and notes carry straight over, with nothing to type again.
• If the old tag is lost, switch it off: press Disabled on that tag's card on your pet's profile, and it stops showing your pet's details.
• Need a replacement or a spare for a second collar? Order one from the shop.

Email support@pet-tag.app or send us a message. If it's about a particular tag, include its code: the eight letters and numbers at the end of the tag's web address, which are also on your packing slip.