Animal welfare and rehoming organisations

With animal welfare at the heart of everything we do, Chipworks' commitment to the welfare industry and pets is our priority. We recognise the important role that cat and dog rescue centres and shelters play in reuniting lost pets with their keepers and the rehoming process.

If you are trying to locate which UK database a microchip is registered on, all Defra compliant UK databases are required to provide an integration tool so that anyone can search via any of the database websites. The site that links to the gov.uk compulsory microchipping pages is https://www.check-a-chip.co.uk. If a chip is not registered, this site will also suggest which database to contact for further information e.g. the implanter the chip was issued to, as well as identifying the originating country for any unregistered foreign chips.

For any foreign chips you wish to locate, you can use EuroPetNet (EPN) at https://www.europetnet.com/pet-id-search.html. However, not all European databases are linked to EPN in the same way that in the UK, only Chipworks and Petlog are members.

Whilst horses are required to have a microchip implanted for the purpose of the passport, those chips do not have to be registered on a Defra compliant database, although more and more horse owners and vets are choosing to do so. However, there is a Central Equine Database https://www.equineregister.co.uk/home which identifies the passport issuing office based on the microchip number associated with the passport. The PIO will hold details of the registered keeper.