Update your microchip registration

1. 1

   Log in to your account

   Go to the login page and sign in with the email address you used to register the animal. If you have forgotten your password, use the recovery link; it arrives within a few minutes.

2. 2

   Update your contact details

   Your profile holds your phone number, email address and address. This is the most important part: your phone number is the only thing a finder of your animal sees. Check it immediately if you have changed number or provider.

3. 3

   Update the animal details

   On the animal itself you change the name, breed, colour, sex, date of birth, weight, distinguishing features, neutering and the photo. You can also correct the microchip number and the passport number here if a digit is wrong.

4. 4

   Check that the change has come through

   Afterwards, look up your own microchip number on the search page. You then see what a finder sees. If that is correct you are done; nothing further needs confirming.

Updating or transferring: the difference

An update is when you remain the owner and something changes: you move house, get a new number, or the animal name is spelled differently. You do that yourself and it costs nothing.

A transfer is when the animal gets a different owner, for example on sale or adoption. For that you create a transfer code and give it to the new keeper, who uses it to put the animal in their own name. The new keeper then pays the one-off registration fee of 4,99 euro.

What if your animal is held in another database?

In the Netherlands and Belgium several microchip databases exist side by side. A microchip is held by the database where it was first registered, usually by the vet or the breeder. You then make changes there, not with us.

If you do not know where your microchip is held, look up the number on our search page. We check our own register plus nine Dutch and fifteen international databases, and point you to where the microchip is known.

Why this matters more than it seems

A microchip is not a transmitter. It holds only a number, and that number refers to the details in a database. If an old phone number is held there, a vet will read the microchip but nobody reaches you.

That is the most common reason a microchipped animal still does not come home. Checking takes two minutes, and it is wise to do so once a year and always after moving house or changing number.

Frequently asked questions

What does it cost to change my details?

Nothing. Changing your contact details and your animal details is free at ChipReaders and included in the registration.

I have bought an animal, how do I put it in my name?

That is a transfer, not an update. The previous keeper creates a transfer code and gives it to you; with it you put the animal in your own name. You then pay the one-off registration fee of 4,99 euro. If the previous keeper did not create a code, please contact us.

I have forgotten my password

Use the recovery link on the login page. You receive an email at the address you used to register the animal. If it does not arrive, check your junk folder; if that does not help, contact us.

My animal is in another database, can I move it to you?

A microchip number can be known to several registers. You can register your animal with us even if it is already held elsewhere. Do remember to keep the details at that other database up to date as well, because a vet may end up there.

How often should I check my details?

Once a year is a good rhythm, and always straight after moving house or changing phone number. We also send a reminder about this ourselves.

My animal has died, what should I do?

Deregister the animal in your account. The registration then remains but the animal is no longer shown as active, and you stop receiving reminders.

Check your details now

Logging in takes half a minute and the change is active immediately. Then look up your own microchip number to see what a finder sees.

Log in and update