Update microchip details: free to £15 a year (UK 2026)

It's usually on your pet's vaccination record, their adoption or purchase paperwork, or a letter from the microchip database. If you can't find it, a vet, dog warden or rescue centre can scan your pet for it.

There are more than 20 government-approved microchip databases, including Petlog, identi (formerly Identibase), UK PETtrac and HomeAgain. If you're not sure which one holds your pet's record, enter the chip number on the Check-a-Chip website, which GOV.UK links to.

If you don't know, you're far from alone. In a 2020 YouGov survey of 1,510 dog owners in Great Britain, 70% didn't know the databases are separate private companies, 60% couldn't say which one held their dog's record, and 46% had never logged into one. Of those who hadn't updated their details, 57% said it was because they didn't know how (Discover Animals, 2026).

Contact that database online or by phone, and update your address, phone number and email. Some databases charge for changes: Petlog customers who joined from 13 January 2026 need a plan from £15 a year (earlier customers can still update for free), PETtrac charges £6 to change an address, and some, like HomeAgain, are free (our guide to what microchipping costs lists more). Only use a database on the GOV.UK approved list, and log in on its own website rather than through a link in an email, because look-alike sites send fake “renewal” emails (see microchip scams): in England, you can be fined up to £500 if your dog or cat isn't registered on one.

The microchip record should move into your name when you buy or adopt a pet. Ask the breeder, seller or rescue for the chip number and which database it's on, then ask the database to transfer the pet to you. Some databases need the previous keeper to start or confirm the transfer, so sort it out when you collect your pet. Our guide to transferring a microchip to a new owner has each database's steps and fees.

In England the law puts this on you: the new keeper must record their name, address and phone number with the database, unless the previous keeper has already done it, and it's an offence to pass on a dog, or a cat over 20 weeks old, without a chip (regulation 9 of the Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023). Our guide to dog microchipping law has the rest.

If your pet goes to a new home, transfer the record to the new keeper. If your pet dies, let the database know, so the record is closed and nobody is contacted by mistake.

A microchip can only be read with a scanner, and changes can take a few days to go through. A PetTag profile updates the moment you save it, and anyone who finds your pet can scan the tag with their phone: see our QR code dog tags and cat tags.