Look up the chip number of a stray animal

Chip number

Search

Fifteen digits, no spaces or dashes. An older number of ten or thirteen characters also works.

1. 1

   Have the chip scanned

   A chip cannot be seen with the naked eye. A vet, a shelter or an affiliated chip reader scans it in a few seconds, usually free of charge. Looking for one yourself? The map shows the addresses near you.

2. 2

   Copy the number exactly

   A chip number has fifteen digits. Older chips may have ten or thirteen characters. Leave out spaces, dots and dashes, and check the digits once; a swapped pair gives an empty result rather than an error.

3. 3

   See what the first three digits say

   Those three digits are the country code. 528 is the Netherlands, 056 is Belgium, 276 Germany, 250 France. If the number starts with 900, 939 or 981, it is a manufacturer code without a country. That tells you which country to search in next.

4. 4

   Look the number up

   Enter the number in the field above. We check our own register first and then the other Dutch and international databases.

5. 5

   If the animal is with us, we do the rest

   We notify the owner straight away. You will not see their name, address or phone number; that is privacy, not obstruction. If you want to keep the animal for now or hand it to a shelter, let us know.

6. 6

   If it is nowhere, report it as found

   A chip that is registered nowhere is more common than you would think: it is often forgotten after a move or a sale. Report the animal as found, so everyone who filed a missing report can see it, and we hold the photo against the open reports.

What if the number is not known anywhere

That almost never means the animal has no chip; it means the registration was never updated. After a move, a sale or a death the chip stays with an owner who is no longer there. The number exists, but no reachable address hangs off it.

Do two things in that case. Report the animal as found, so it becomes visible to everyone who filed a missing report. And call the council where you found it: it is legally responsible for taking in stray animals and knows which shelter it works with.

Which other databases there are

The Netherlands and Belgium have no single central register. A chip number may be with us, with one of the other Dutch registers, or with a foreign database if the animal was imported. That is why, on a miss, we search the other sources straight away and show which database does know the number.

The page about other databases lists which registers exist and what each is for. Buying an animal? Use the buyer check: it verifies the number before you pay.

What we measure ourselves

1.443 chips have been scanned through the affiliated network so far, and there are 31 addresses where that is free. Right now 390 missing reports are open that a found number could match.

The current counts, with the date they were taken, are on the statistics page. They are figures about ChipReaders itself, not about the Netherlands and Belgium as a whole.

Frequently asked questions

How do I read a chip number?

You cannot read it yourself: a chip scanner is needed. A vet, a shelter or an affiliated chip reader does it in seconds, usually free of charge.

Does looking it up cost anything?

No. Searching is free and needs no account. Only registering an animal costs a one-off 4.99 euro.

What if the animal is not with ChipReaders?

Then we search the other Dutch and international databases as well and show you where to look next. If you find nothing anywhere, report the animal as found.

Will I get the owner name and address?

No. We never show personal details. We contact the owner ourselves and they then get in touch with you.

My number does not have fifteen digits, is that right?

It can be. Older chips have ten or thirteen characters and may contain letters. Enter what you see; our search field accepts those formats too.

Look up a chip number now

Free, no account, and if it is known to us we alert the owner straight away.

Go to the search page