How Microchips Enable International Recovery
A lost pet abroad can still find their way back to you, as long as your chip record is current and you know which search tools a finder will use.
There's no international microchip registration, and no single world database holding every pet's details. Recovery across borders works through a chain: a scan, a search tool, then the national database that holds your record. If that chain is in place before you travel, a finder abroad can still reach you.
How a finder abroad gets from the chip to you
A vet or shelter abroad scans your pet and gets a 15-digit number. That number is all the chip holds: a three-digit prefix plus a 12-digit animal number, unique to your pet. The number links to your record on a database, where your name, phone and address sit; the chip itself can't go out of date, but the record can.
Europetnet is an index database for national members. It covers a group of national and local associations across Europe. Petmaxx is another search tool, which describes itself as built to reunite lost pets with their owners. Its reach goes beyond Europe, with databases in the United States, Brazil, South Africa and Australia.
Both tools work the same way. The finder enters the chip number, and the tool says which database holds the registration. Europetnet checks its own index and connected member databases. If there's a match, the result shows the organisation holding the record, and the finder contacts that organisation.
Neither tool hands over your details. The finder never sees your name or number; your database contacts you. Europetnet doesn't take registrations either, so you register and update your record through the national database in your own country.
If your pet goes missing abroad
Report your pet missing to your UK microchip database straight away. Then follow the same steps you would at home: local vets, shelters and wardens where the pet went missing. Our guide to what to do in the first hour walks you through them.
If the country you're in has a national database, report the loss there too, as a second report on top of your UK one. France, for example, runs a lost and found system built on its national file of dogs, cats and ferrets. Owners can declare an animal lost there, and the public can declare one found. I-CAD, which runs the French national file, says anyone not yet registered can ask for a temporary registration of contact details valid for two months, so the agency can reach them if an animal is found.
If you've moved abroad with your pet, keep your Pet Database record active so it can still be searched internationally, and register the chip on a local database in the country where your pet lives too.
Found a foreign-chipped pet in the UK, or moving here with one
If you've found a pet with a chip number that no UK database recognises, try Europetnet or petmaxx and contact whichever database they name. If the search returns nothing, Europetnet says to double-check the 15-digit number first, then contact the national database; its search page also invites you to email so it can try other ways of tracing the chip. If the chip isn't registered anywhere, petmaxx says it tries to give information about the chip's origin where it can.
If you're moving to the UK with a pet chipped overseas, there are deadlines to meet. In England, you must make sure a cat or dog brought in from abroad is microchipped within 30 days of entry, whatever its age. In law, "microchipped" means a compliant chip and the record held on a compliant UK database, so an overseas registration on its own doesn't count.
The other UK nations set their own deadlines. In Scotland and Wales, a dog brought in must be microchipped within 30 days. Northern Ireland works differently: it's an offence to take possession of a dog before you hold a licence for it, so get the licence sorted before the dog arrives. Northern Ireland sets no separate grace period for a dog brought in, so it's worth checking with your local council there before you travel.
You usually don't need a new chip. A foreign chip only needs replacing if it doesn't meet the UK standard or can't be read. Pet Database accepts any microchip from anywhere in the world, and checks your pet's details meet UK requirements. You can register a foreign chip with Pet Database.
Before you travel: what helps if your pet goes missing there
Your pet's chip is scanned at check-in, so the number can be matched to the one on their animal health certificate. Travel companies in the EU can read chips meeting the ISO 11784 and 11785 standards; if yours doesn't, you may need to bring your own reader, so check with your travel company first.
Ask your vet to scan the chip before you book anything. If it can't be read, you'll have to start the preparation again: a new chip, a new rabies vaccination, a new animal health certificate and the waiting period. If it only reads sometimes, your vet can implant a second chip, and both numbers are recorded on the certificate. The Pet Database guide on updating your pet's chip for international travel covers this in full.
Put a collar tag on your pet with your name, holiday address and contact details, as well as the chip. In England, Wales and Scotland, a dog in public must wear a collar and tag with the owner's name and address anyway.
The record on your UK database is where a finder's trail ends; keep it up to date, and they can reach you. Consider adding UK-based emergency contacts to the record too, so someone reachable here can take the call if you're out of signal or mid-journey.
Common questions
Does my pet's chip number show which country it comes from?
Not reliably. The three-digit prefix is either a country code, used for official national schemes, or a manufacturer code for a private supplier. On its own it won't show which country your pet is from. Country codes run up to 899, while manufacturer codes run from 900 to 998.
Do I need an international pet passport?
If you live in England, Scotland or Wales, you can't use a pet passport to travel from GB to the EU, even one issued in an EU country. From 22 April 2026, that includes passports issued in Northern Ireland too. You need an animal health certificate instead, and a new one for every separate trip from Great Britain to the EU.
Does my pet need to be registered again in the country we're visiting?
Check the rules where you're going. France, for example, requires a dog, cat or ferret brought in from abroad to be entered in its national file within seven days. The rule doesn't apply if the stay is under three months.
Before you travel, register your pet's chip or check that your record is up to date. A finder's call ends at that record, so it's what must stay reachable from abroad.
