How much does it cost to microchip a cat or dog? (UK 2026)

PDSA says microchipping usually costs between £10 and £30, and the RSPCA says a vet will usually charge around £15 for a dog, though prices vary. Defra's 2020 consultation put it at generally £15 to £30.

Every dog must already be microchipped by 8 weeks old, so a puppy should come with a chip. You'll usually only pay for one yourself for an older dog that was never chipped, or one whose chip has stopped working.

Cats Protection says to expect £20 to £30, depending on where you live. The RSPCA and Battersea both put it at about £10 to £30, and GOV.UK gives an average of around £25 for microchipping and registration.

In England, cats must be microchipped by 20 weeks old, so it can often be done at the same visit as a kitten's vaccinations or neutering. Ask your vet whether that's cheaper than booking it on its own.

Offers change and most depend on where you live or your income, so check before you go. These were on each organisation's own website in October 2026:

• Battersea microchips dogs free at its London centre, by appointment.
• Blue Cross charges £10 at its animal hospitals in London and Grimsby, for people on certain benefits or a state pension who live nearby.
• The RSPCA's own hospitals and clinics microchip free with any operation, for clients registered for reduced-cost care on means-tested benefits.
• Cats Protection works with partner vets so cat owners inside the M25 on qualifying benefits or low incomes can have their cat neutered and microchipped for £10.
• Woodgreen microchips cats during free home health checks for a suggested £5 donation, in some postcodes around Cambridge and Peterborough.
• Some councils' dog wardens microchip dogs free, for example in Westminster and Croydon. Others don't, so ask yours.
• Dogs Trust covers microchipping, with other preventative care, for dogs whose owners are experiencing homelessness, through homelessness services in over 100 towns and cities.
• Adopting? Rescues microchip their animals before they go home, and it's part of the adoption fee.

• Dogs: microchipped and registered by 8 weeks old, everywhere in the UK. Our guide to dog microchipping law covers the rest.
• Cats in England: microchipped and registered by 20 weeks old. Our guide to cat microchipping law covers the rest of the UK.
• In England, you can be fined up to £500 if your dog or cat isn't microchipped, or isn't registered on an approved database.
• A microchip must be fitted by a trained professional, so it isn't something to do yourself.

The chip itself is a one-off, but your details live on a database, and you must keep them up to date by law. Some databases charge to change your address or to move a pet into a new keeper's name, and a few now charge every year. Defra estimated a change of details at about £10. Here's what some of the main databases say on their own websites (checked on 4 October 2026):

• Petlog (the Royal Kennel Club's database): since 13 January 2026, new customers need a paid plan to update their details, either Petlog Secure at £15 a year or Petlog Reunite at £39 a year, and a transfer of keepership costs £39 a year.
• identi (formerly Identibase): a £39 transfer fee, which includes 12 months of its Alert plan. Basic members have to upgrade, from £15 a year, to change their details.
• Animal Tracker: now part of identi, and its transfer pages send owners to identi (checked on 6 October 2026).
• UK PETtrac: £6 to change your address on a standard registration, and phone or email changes are free. A one-off £16.95 upgrade makes address changes free for life.
• MicroChip Central: a £15 + VAT transfer fee, paid by the new keeper.
• HomeAgain: free registration, transfers and changes of details.

So before you buy a puppy or kitten, ask which database its chip is on: it decides what you'll pay to move it into your name. Our guide to updating microchip details shows how, and if you don't know where a chip is registered, our microchip number checker explains how to find out.

Microchipped dogs are more than twice as likely to be reunited with their owner (GOV.UK, 2024). But a chip only works if the details are right: only about 31% of the chipped stray dogs councils took in last year had the correct owner details, according to the Dogs Trust Stray Dog Survey. There are more figures in our lost and stolen pet statistics.

A chip can only be read with a scanner, which means a trip to a vet, a rescue or the council (a phone can't read one). A tag on the collar is what anyone can read on the spot, so the two work together: a QR code tag lets whoever finds your pet reach you straight away, for £10, paid once.