Dog Microchips in South Africa: How to Check One and Keep Yours Up to Date

A microchip only gets a dog home if someone scans it and the number leads to a phone number that still works. This guide covers both sides: what to do with a dog you have found, and how to check your own dog's chip.

What a microchip does

A microchip is an implant the size of a grain of rice, placed under the skin between the shoulder blades. It holds a number and nothing else. The number only leads to you if it is registered on a database with your current phone number.

Found a dog? Get it scanned

Take the dog to any vet or SPCA. Scanning is free and takes seconds. They look the number up and the microchip company contacts the owner. You will not be given the owner's details directly. Then report the dog as found so the owner can see it.

There is more than one database

South Africa has no single government register, and microchipping is not compulsory. Chips are registered with the company that supplied them. The main ones are:

• BackHome (Virbac)
• Identipet
• Five Star ID
• GetMeKnown

If a chip number is not found on one database, ask the vet to try the others.

Your own dog: three checks

1. Find the number. It is on the vaccination card or adoption papers. If not, a vet can scan it.
2. Confirm it is registered. Contact the microchip company and ask what details they hold. A chip that was implanted but never registered leads nowhere.
3. Update it every time you move or change your phone number, and when a dog changes owner.

If your microchipped dog is missing

Phone the microchip company, report the dog missing and confirm your number. Then report the dog as lost. Keep the chip number in your own notes, not in the public listing.

A chip is not a tracker

A microchip cannot show where a dog is. It only works when someone finds the dog and has it scanned, so a collar tag with a phone number is still worth having.