Microchip requirements for travelling with a dog or cat

The rules at a glance

What the EU regulation requires

Since 22 April 2026, non-commercial movements of dogs, cats and ferrets have been governed by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131. It sets out identification twice, in almost the same words: Article 7 covers travel from one Member State to another, and Article 13 covers entry into the EU from a non-EU country.

• The pet is identified with an injectable transponder, in other words a microchip. The chip must follow the code structure and technical specifications of ISO 11784 and 11785, with compliance assessed under ISO 24631-1. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/132 wrote these requirements into Regulation 2019/2035.
• If the chip does not meet those standards, the owner, or the person they have authorised in writing, must provide a reader on request so the identification can be checked.
• A clearly readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011 is still accepted. For imports from outside the EU, the French Ministry of Agriculture's guidance note also asks for proof of when the tattoo was done.
• To enter the EU from a non-EU country, the chip must have been implanted by a vet.
• A pet identified before 22 April 2026 under the rules in force at the time remains compliant for travel between Member States and does not need a new chip.

Country code required from 2028

From 1 January 2028, a newly implanted chip must carry a code starting with the ISO 3166 code of the country where the pet is first identified. Chips implanted before that date without a country code remain valid for travel between Member States. Article 13, which governs pets entering the EU from outside, does not include the country-code requirement, and the European Commission confirms that a pet coming from a non-EU country for a short stay, chipped under its home country's rules, does not need a chip with a country code.

Where the chip number is recorded

The EU pet passport records where the chip is, the date it was implanted or read, and its code. The health certificate used to enter the EU from a non-EU country carries the same details. Our article on the EU pet passport for dogs and cats explains what else the passport holds, and our page on vet and health documents for pet travel sets out what each document is for.

Chip first, rabies vaccine second

The EU model health certificate (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/705, Annex III) is explicit: the chip or tattoo must be checked before anything is entered on the certificate, and identification must always come before any vaccination and, where relevant, any test. The rules on vaccine validity (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/133) add that the vaccination date cannot be earlier than the date the chip was implanted or read, as entered in the identification document. The French veterinary authority (DGAL) puts it simply: vaccination must always follow identification to be recognised.

A rabies vaccine given before the chip was implanted therefore does not count for travel. The pet has to be vaccinated again after chipping, then wait 21 days after that new primary vaccination; if a titre test is required, the blood sample must be taken at least 30 days after it. Doing both on the same day is fine, as long as the vet implants or scans the chip before the injection.

Non-EU countries apply the same logic. Japan requires the chip before the first rabies vaccination, Great Britain requires a pet chipped after its vaccine to be vaccinated again, and the US CDC treats a vaccine given before the chip as invalid for a dog that has been in a high-risk country. The full timings are in our article on the rabies vaccine and antibody titre test.

In France: compulsory identification and the I-CAD register

France requires identification even for pets that never travel. According to service-public.fr, it is compulsory for dogs over 4 months and cats over 7 months, and for any dog or cat before it is sold or given away, at the expense of the person handing it over. A vet implants the chip (an approved tattooist can apply a tattoo), and the pet is then registered in the national I-CAD file with its owner's name and address. The vet hands over a provisional certificate, and I-CAD later sends the permanent identification card. Tell I-CAD whenever your address or phone number changes. Service-public.fr states that keeping an unidentified dog or cat born after 1 January 2012 can lead to a €750 fine.

Arriving in France: I-CAD registration within 7 days

Unless the stay is shorter than three months, a dog or cat arriving from a non-EU country or another Member State must be entered in the national file within 7 days (French order of 9 November 2023, Article 15). You take its passport or health certificate to a vet, who checks the identification, records the details and gives you a provisional identification certificate valid for one month, or for as long as any official health surveillance lasts. The vet reports any irregularity to the departmental authority for the protection of the population. Registration fees are set by I-CAD.

Before registering the pet, the vet checks that its chip number is not already assigned to another animal; if it is, the pet is identified again. A chip implanted abroad that an ISO 11785 reader can read is kept. If such a reader cannot read it, the order requires the vet to remove the chip and identify the pet again (Article 16). The other arrival formalities are on our page about bringing a dog or cat into France.

What destination countries check

When you leave France for a non-EU country, the destination's rules come on top of the EU ones, and each authority checks the chip in its own way. This is what the competent authorities of some common destinations say.

Vaccines, titre tests, permits and quarantine differ just as much from one country to the next: see leaving France with your pet and the guide for each destination.

Have the chip scanned at every step

Unreadable chips, migrated chips and second chips

No EU text sets out step by step what to do when a chip stops responding. The rules that exist come from the authorities that have published them.

• Entering the EU: a pet whose identification cannot be verified does not meet the conditions of Regulation 2026/131. The authorities can then isolate it, send it back out of the EU or, as a last resort, have it put down, at the owner's expense (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/273).
• France: when a chip cannot be read, the authorised person locates the faulty chip, removes it and sends it to the register's operator, then identifies the pet again with a tattoo or a new chip, as the keeper chooses (order of 9 November 2023, Article 27). An extra marking can be added voluntarily, but the order allows "only a mix of identifier types", such as a tattoo alongside a chip; the new I-CAD card then shows both numbers.
• Great Britain: if your vet cannot read the chip, all the preparation has to be done again: a new chip, a new rabies vaccine, a new blood test for pets coming from an unlisted country, and a new passport or certificate showing the old and new numbers. If the chip reads only some of the time, the vet can implant a second one without removing the first, and record both numbers, the date they were read and the date of the new chip in the passport.
• Australia: the vet should try several scanners, and an X-ray can locate a chip that has moved. A pet with two compliant chips needs both numbers on the permit application, every lab report, the health certificate, the titre declaration and the identity check. If it has one compliant chip and one non-compliant chip, only the compliant one is used.
• United States to the EU: for a pet with a non-ISO chip, the US veterinary service (APHIS) says to travel with a scanner or have a second, ISO chip implanted, and to make sure both numbers are on the health certificate.
• Japan: the AQS has reported the same number being given to different animals under some 900 prefixes; a new chip and repeating the required steps may then be needed.

When a new chip goes in after the last rabies vaccine, the question is whether each country involved still recognises that vaccine. We check this with your vet before any new injection.

Common mistakes

• Giving the rabies vaccine before the chip is implanted or read, so the vaccine does not count.
• Copying the number wrongly onto a certificate or lab form. Australia accepts no amended lab report, and Hong Kong turns away a pet whose number does not match.
• Travelling with a chip nobody has scanned since it was implanted.
• Keeping a 999 chip for Australia or New Zealand, or a 900 202 chip for Japan.
• Travelling with a non-ISO chip and no reader.
• Relying on a tattoo without proof that it was applied before 3 July 2011.
• Having a second chip implanted without both numbers going onto every document.
• Missing the vet visit for I-CAD registration within 7 days of moving to France.

Pre-departure checklist

• Your vet has scanned the chip and the number matches the passport.
• The chip's standard and prefix suit the destination, and you have a reader if it is not ISO.
• The date the chip was implanted or read comes before the rabies vaccination date.
• The same number appears on the vaccination certificate, titre report, health certificate and import permit.
• If you are moving to France for three months or more, a vet appointment for I-CAD is booked within 7 days of arrival.

Frequently asked questions

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