What does a microchip number mean?

The structure: country code plus unique number

The first three digits are the country code or the manufacturer code. Country codes you meet most often in the Netherlands and Belgium: 528 Netherlands, 056 Belgium, 276 Germany, 250 France, 826 United Kingdom.

The twelve digits after that are unique to that one animal. Together they form a number that exists only once and is never issued again.

Why the number does not tell you where the animal is held

A common misunderstanding is that the digits after the country code show which database holds the animal. They do not. At most they say something about where the chip came from, not about where the owner registered their details.

So a chip implanted in the Netherlands may be held in a Belgian database, and a chip with a German country code may be registered here. The only way to be sure is to look the number up.

What if the number is shorter or longer?

Shorter numbers occur with older chips from before the ISO standard. Those sometimes have ten characters and may contain letters (FECAVA or Trovan). Our search page accepts those too.

If the number is longer than fifteen digits, something extra has probably been typed in. Count again: exactly fifteen, without spaces or dashes.

The number is not the same as the passport number

A pet passport holds two numbers that are easily confused: the fifteen-digit microchip number and the passport number, which starts with letters (for example NLD or BEL). The passport number belongs to the booklet, the microchip number to the animal.

If you are looking someone up by microchip number, use the fifteen-digit number.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find my animal microchip number?

In the pet passport, on the registration certificate from the database, and in the records of the vet who implanted the chip. If you do not know it, have the chip read free of charge at a vet, a shelter or a participating chip reader.

What does 528 at the start mean?

528 is the ISO country code for the Netherlands. A chip starting with 528 was issued in the Netherlands. That does not automatically say where the animal is registered now.

My microchip number starts with a zero, is that right?

Yes. Belgian chips start with 056 and therefore with a zero. Leave that zero in place; without it the number is incomplete.

Can I tell from the number which database it is?

No. The number says something about where the chip came from, not about the database where the owner registered their details. Look the number up; we check our own register plus nine Dutch and fifteen international databases.

My microchip number contains letters, is that a problem?

No. Older chips from before the ISO standard use a code with letters and digits. Our search page accepts those too. New chips are always fifteen digits.

Can a microchip number be issued again?

No. Each number exists only once and stays linked to that one animal, even after the animal has died. That is why a registration stays and only the status changes.

Look up a microchip number

Free, no account. We check our own register plus nine Dutch and fifteen international databases.

Look up a microchip number