{"topic_id":"gb_pet_microchip_registration","category":"pet-identification","context":"---\ntopic_id: gb_pet_microchip_registration\ncategory: pet-identification\ntitle: \"Great Britain compulsory pet microchipping and database registration (dogs by 8 weeks, England cats by 20 weeks, £500 fine)\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"UK Government (GOV.UK) — 'Get your dog or cat microchipped', landed 2026-08-12 via Tokyo relay\"\nsource_file: pdf-parsed/gov-eu-landing/govuk_dog_microchip.txt\ndate_parsed: 2026-08-12\ntokens_estimated: 260\nverified: true\nverification: c1_substring\nsource_document: \"GOV.UK — Get your dog or cat microchipped\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"UK Government (DEFRA)\"\n  title: \"Get your dog or cat microchipped\"\n  url: \"https://www.gov.uk/get-your-dog-microchipped\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-08-12\"\n  ref: \"\"\n  doc_type: \"official web page\"\n  needs_review: false\nlicense: open_government_licence_v3\n---\n\nGreat Britain mandates government-standard pet identification via microchip plus database registration. `You must make sure your dog or cat is fitted with a microchip and registered on a database.`\n\nDeadlines differ by species and nation: `All dogs in the UK must be microchipped and registered by the time they’re 8 weeks old.` and `If you live in England your cat must be microchipped and registered by the time they’re 20 weeks old.` (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: cat microchipping is optional). Enforcement: `You can be fined up to £500 if your dog or cat is not microchipped when they need to be.`\n\nThe chip must be fitted by a professional: `Your pet’s microchip must be fitted by a trained professional.` Separate from the chip, `If you have a dog, it must still wear a collar and tag with your name and address when in a public place.`\n\nThis is the government pet-identification/registration regime (Dir1) that underpins the travel rules in `gb_pet_import_rules`.\n\nSource: `pdf-parsed/gov-eu-landing/govuk_dog_microchip.txt` (GOV.UK, landed 2026-08-12).\n## Claims (verified C1 substrings of source_file)\n- `You must make sure your dog or cat is fitted with a microchip and registered on a database.`\n- `All dogs in the UK must be microchipped and registered by the time they’re 8 weeks old.`\n- `If you live in England your cat must be microchipped and registered by the time they’re 20 weeks old.`\n- `You can be fined up to £500 if your dog or cat is not microchipped when they need to be.`\n- `Your pet’s microchip must be fitted by a trained professional.`\n- `If you have a dog, it must still wear a collar and tag with your name and address when in a public place.`\n","sources":["UK Government — Get your dog or cat microchipped (retrieved 2026-08-12)"],"source":{"authority":"UK Government","title":"Get your dog or cat microchipped","url":"https://www.gov.uk/get-your-dog-microchipped","retrieved":"2026-08-12","ref":"","doc_type":"official PDF","source_document":"GOV.UK — Get your dog or cat microchipped","verification_file":"pdf-parsed/gov-eu-landing/govuk_dog_microchip.txt"},"source_document":"GOV.UK — Get your dog or cat microchipped","source_file":"pdf-parsed/gov-eu-landing/govuk_dog_microchip.txt","trust":{"authority_tier":"ungraded","fidelity":"verbatim","license":"open_government_licence_v3","display_grade":"pending"},"tokens_estimated":260,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}