Five steps between your dog's chip and your phone
A chip only brings your dog back if it is registered. Here is exactly how to link the chip number to your contact details, one step at a time, free for life with United Pet Club.
Registering your dog's microchip, step by step
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Step 1: Have your dog chipped
Not chipped yet? Book in at your vet surgery. The procedure takes seconds and needs no sedation. You leave with a slip showing the chip's ID number: keep it safe until registration is done.
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Step 2: Choose a registration service
Some chip brands run their own database, but you are not tied to it. Register with United Pet Club instead and you get a registry that accepts any brand of chip and feeds into the AAHA universal lookup tool.
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Step 3: Enter your dog's information
You will need the chip's ID number (usually fifteen digits), your dog's name, breed, age, and a photo, plus your own name, address, phone number, and email. Check every field before submitting. One wrong digit in the chip number breaks the whole link.
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Step 4: Check for registration fees
Some registries charge a one off or recurring fee, others charge nothing. Know what you are agreeing to before handing over your details, including whether the registration lapses or renews on its own.
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Step 5: Keep the record current
Update the registry the moment you move, change numbers, or switch email addresses. A chip registered to an old address is barely better than no registration at all.
Why registration matters for every British dog
A microchip is a small implant, about the size of a grain of rice, placed under your dog's skin between the shoulder blades. It carries a unique ID that a scanner reads in seconds, but the number is useless until a registry ties it to you. Dogs get loose more often than owners expect: a slipped lead in the park, a bolt at fireworks, an open gate on moving day. In Britain there is a legal angle as well, since microchipping dogs has been a legal requirement in England, Scotland and Wales since 2016, and the law expects the registered details to be kept up to date, not merely the chip to be present. A pet ID tag on the collar helps too, being the quickest way for a neighbour to reach you without a scanner, but tags come off and chips do not.
Registration earns its keep beyond a lost dog. Travel rules in many countries lean on a registered chip, so sorting it early spares you paperwork later. The record also serves as evidence of who a dog belongs to: if a dog changes hands through a sale, a rescue, or a dispute, the registry shows whom the dog is linked to and since when. Owners wanting extra recovery tools on top of the basics, such as SMS alerts or a live agent line, can compare our registration plans. And a dog with no chip yet can still be registered for free, with the chip number added after the vet visit.
What a registered chip earns you
Faster reunions
A registered chip shortens the gap between a rescue centre scanning your dog and your phone ringing, sometimes from days to hours.
Easier travel
Plenty of countries expect a registered microchip before a dog may enter. Sorting the registration early avoids hold ups, and a pet passport keeps the accompanying paperwork tidy.
A record that stands up
If ownership is ever questioned, in a dispute, a rehoming, or a kennels mix up, the registry shows whom the dog is linked to and since when.
Less pressure on rescues
Every dog reunited quickly frees kennel space and staff time for the strays that need it more.
What dog owners want to know
What is the difference between chipping a dog and registering the chip?
Chipping is the physical implant, done once at the vet. Registering is the separate step of linking that chip's number to your name and contact details in a database. A dog can be chipped yet unregistered, and an unregistered chip cannot lead anyone to you.
Can I register my dog's chip on more than one database?
Yes. Listing the chip in several databases widens your coverage, since not every shelter checks every registry. Registries on the AAHA universal lookup, United Pet Club among them, make this far less of a worry.
I adopted a dog that already has a chip. How do I put it in my name?
Contact the registry currently holding the chip and ask for an ownership transfer, with your adoption paperwork as proof. You can also register the chip afresh with United Pet Club, and a current registration takes precedence over a stale one.
Does the registration need renewing every year?
Depends on the registry. Some want periodic renewal, some do not. United Pet Club's registration is free for the life of your dog with no renewal at all.
What happens when a rescue centre scans my dog?
The scanner displays the chip's ID number and the registry holding it. Staff search the number, find your contact details, and ring or email you directly.
Where can I register my dog's microchip in the UK?
You can register it free with United Pet Club: create an account, enter the 15-digit chip number, and add your contact details. Any brand of chip a UK vet implants qualifies, and keeping the record current also keeps you on the right side of the microchipping rules for dogs in England, Scotland and Wales.
Do it now, before you need it
Linking your dog's chip to your contact details takes a few minutes. Questions first? Contact us any time.