Microchipping of Cats and Dogs Regulations 2023

SI 2023/468 · England, dogs compulsory since 2016

The law that makes microchipping, and up-to-date registration, compulsory for every dog in England.

01 What It Is

Compulsory microchipping of dogs in England began in 2016 under the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015, and the duty now sits in the Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023, which replaced the original dog rules and extended chipping to cats. Every dog must carry a compliant microchip and be recorded, with current keeper details, on an approved database.

02 What It Covers

The duty has two halves that matter equally: the physical chip implanted in the dog, and the keeper’s up-to-date contact details held on a compliant reunification database. A chip alone, registered to an old address, does not meet it. The regulations also set the conditions a database operator must satisfy to be compliant. Scotland and Wales run their own equivalent microchipping rules.

03 How It Is Checked

Enforcement is complaint-driven rather than by routine inspection. A keeper found with an unchipped or unregistered dog can be served a notice requiring them to comply within a set period, and a failure to do so can bring a fine. A vet may certify that a particular dog should not be chipped on health grounds, the one recognised exception.

04 Why It Matters

A microchip is what turns a stray or stolen dog back into someone’s dog. It is the thread that reunites a lost animal with its keeper, helps return a dog after theft, and supports tracing an owner who has abandoned or neglected one. For that thread to work the registration has to be current, which is the part owners most often overlook.

Primary sources

The Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023legislation.gov.uk
Get your dog microchipped, GOV.UKgov.uk