Microchipping Law in England: What Dog and Cat Owners Need to Know (Especially Before You Board)

Before your dog or cat goes into boarding, check that the microchip is registered with your current address and phone number. In England this is also a legal requirement, for both dogs and cats.

Dogs

Since 6 April 2016, every dog in England over eight weeks old must be microchipped and registered on a compliant database, under the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015. The keeper's details on the database must be correct, including full name, address and phone number(s).

If a dog isn't chipped, or the registered details are wrong, the keeper can be served a notice giving 21 days to fix it. Not complying can lead to a fine of up to £500.

Cats

Cats have been covered since 10 June 2024, under similar rules:

• Owned cats must be microchipped before they reach 20 weeks old.

• The owner's details must be kept up to date on a pet microchipping database.

• An owner of an unchipped cat has 21 days to get it done, or may face a fine of up to £500.

• Indoor-only cats are included.

• Free-living cats with little or no human interaction or dependency, such as farm, feral or community cats, are exempt.

When the change was announced, the Government said there were over 9 million pet cats in England and roughly 2.3 million of them weren't chipped. It also said microchipped dogs are more than twice as likely to be reunited with their owners.

These rules apply in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own legislation.

Before a boarding stay

A pet in unfamiliar surroundings is more likely to bolt through a door left open for a moment, and a chip only helps if the details behind it are right. If you've moved, changed your mobile number or taken over a pet from a previous keeper since the chip was registered, a scanner will return details that no longer reach you.

• Find the chip number on your vet paperwork, or ask your vet to scan it, then log in to the database it's registered with and check your address and phone number.

• Give your boarder the chip number, a contact number you'll answer while you're away, and a back-up contact.

• Keep the chip number somewhere you can reach it, in case you ever need to report a pet missing.

You can find licensed kennels, catteries and home boarders on the PetPortal directory.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Treasured pets now safer as microchipping for cats becomes compulsory

• GOV.UK: Compulsory dog microchipping comes into effect

Correct as of October 2026.