Dogs, cats and ferrets in Portugal must normally be microchipped and registered in SIAC.
SIAC is Portugal’s national companion-animal database.
The registration links the microchip number to the animal and its registered keeper.
This can help a veterinarian, shelter or public service contact the keeper when a lost animal is found.
Tracing is not always simple.
The chip may have been registered with old contact details. The animal may also have a foreign or manufacturer-coded chip.
Older Portuguese database names may still appear in international searches.
Use ChipTrace to check available databases, identify possible country or manufacturer information and find the next tracing step.
Which microchip databases are used in Portugal?
Portugal uses one national database called SIAC.
Portugal also takes part in EUROPETNET.
The main tracing routes are:
- SIAC through ChipTrace and Petmaxx
- The public SIAC search
- EUROPETNET as a separate manual search
- Veterinary, shelter, breeder and rescue records
- Databases in countries where the animal previously lived
What is SIAC?
SIAC stands for Sistema de Informação de Animais de Companhia.
It is the national registration system for dogs, cats and ferrets in Portugal.
SIAC brought several older Portuguese systems together.
These included:
- SIRA
- SICAFE
- SIRAM in Madeira
- RACES
Records from these older systems should now form part of SIAC.
The public search on the SIAC website can confirm whether a 15-digit microchip is registered.
The keeper’s private contact details are not normally shown to the public.
An authorised user can use the record to contact the keeper.
How does ChipTrace search Portugal?
ChipTrace searches SIAC through Petmaxx.
Petmaxx checks connected microchip databases.
A result may identify SIAC as the database holding the registration.
ChipTrace does not display the registered keeper’s private details.
SIAC, a veterinarian, shelter or another authorised service can use the record to contact the keeper.
Can EUROPETNET find a Portuguese registration?
Yes.
Portugal is a member of EUROPETNET.
The Portuguese member may still appear under the older name SIRA.
An EUROPETNET search checks the participating Portuguese database and may identify a Portuguese registration.
ChipTrace provides a button or direct link that opens EUROPETNET.
The user then completes the search manually on the EUROPETNET website.
ChipTrace does not perform the EUROPETNET search itself.
A negative EUROPETNET result does not prove that the animal has no SIAC registration.
SIAC should still be checked through ChipTrace, Petmaxx or the SIAC website.
Read how ChipTrace works for more information about database checks and manual searches.
Are microchips required in Portugal?
Dogs, cats and ferrets must be microchipped and registered in SIAC.
This must normally happen within 120 days of birth.
If the exact date of birth is unknown, a veterinarian can help decide when identification is required.
An animal should already be microchipped and registered before it leaves a breeder, shelter or official collection centre.
This also applies when the animal is sold, adopted or given away before it is 120 days old.
A veterinarian must implant the microchip.
The veterinarian scans the animal first to check whether a chip is already present.
Does a dog also need a local licence?
Dogs are also covered by a local licensing system.
The keeper’s local Junta de Freguesia manages the licence.
For most dogs, the first SIAC registration acts as the licence for the first year.
After that, ask the parish council about renewal.
Different rules apply to dogs classed as dangerous or potentially dangerous.
What do Portuguese microchip numbers look like?
Modern pet microchips normally contain 15 digits.
Portugal’s ISO numeric country code is:
620
A Portuguese country-coded microchip may therefore begin with 620.
However, not every pet living in Portugal has a 620 chip.
Manufacturer-coded microchips usually begin with the number 9.
Some animals were microchipped in another country before moving to Portugal.
This is common with:
- Imported dogs and cats
- Pets adopted through foreign rescue organisations
- Animals that moved to Portugal with their families
- Animals with manufacturer-coded microchips
A readable foreign or manufacturer-coded chip can still be registered in SIAC.
The first digits are only a clue.
They do not prove where the animal lives or which database holds the registration.
What about an older microchip with letters?
Some older microchips contain letters as well as numbers.
A veterinarian may be able to register an alphanumeric chip in SIAC after scanning and confirming the number.
However, not every modern scanner can read an older chip.
A veterinarian may therefore suggest adding a second modern microchip.
If the animal has two chips, both numbers should be recorded in SIAC.
Read our guide to pet microchip numbers for more information.
What should you do if you find a microchipped pet in Portugal?
Take the animal to a veterinarian, shelter or official municipal collection centre.
Ask for the whole animal to be scanned carefully.
A microchip can move from its original position.
Write down the complete microchip number.
Then:
- Use ChipTrace to search SIAC through Petmaxx
- Open EUROPETNET to complete a separate manual search that includes Portugal
- Check the number on the SIAC website
- Ask whether SIAC contains a missing-animal report
- Check the pet passport and veterinary documents
- Contact the veterinarian, shelter, breeder or rescue connected to the animal
- Check databases in countries where the animal may have lived
ChipTrace searches SIAC through Petmaxx.
ChipTrace also provides a direct link that opens EUROPETNET.
Complete a manual EUROPETNET search.
A veterinarian, shelter or authorised service can use SIAC to contact the registered keeper.
If the keeper cannot be found immediately, a found-animal report can be opened with SIAC.
Do not publish the complete microchip number online.
Keep part of it private so that ownership claims can be checked.
Do not assume that every outdoor cat is lost.
Some owned cats roam near their home.
Read Found a Microchipped Pet? What to Do Next for practical advice.
What if a Portuguese microchip cannot be found?
Ask a veterinarian, shelter or municipal service to scan the animal again.
One incorrect digit is enough to produce no result.
The chip may also be difficult to read or may have moved under the skin.
Then:
- Use ChipTrace to search SIAC through Petmaxx
- Open EUROPETNET for a separate manual search
- Search the SIAC website directly
- Check the DIAC and pet passport
- Check veterinary, vaccination, purchase and adoption records
- Ask whether the animal was registered in an older Portuguese system
- Check whether the animal came from another country
- Contact the veterinarian or organisation that first handled the animal
- Contact the microchip manufacturer or distributor
- Use ChipTrace for country and manufacturer clues
The chip may have been implanted but never registered.
The number may have been entered incorrectly.
The registration may contain old contact details.
The animal may also remain registered in another country.
If no database result is found, the manufacturer or distributor may provide another tracing route.
The manufacturer may identify the distributor that received the chip.
The distributor may then identify the veterinarian, breeder, shelter or rescue that received it.
That organisation may know where the chip was implanted.
They will not normally give the finder the keeper’s private details.
Instead, they may contact the next organisation or the keeper directly.
Trace-back is not guaranteed.
Records may be old, incomplete or unavailable.
A negative result does not prove that the animal has no family.
Read our guide to why a microchip may not appear in any database.
Can an additional global registration be added?
Yes.
An additional global registration can provide another route back to the keeper.
Animal-ID allows owners to create an additional record using an existing microchip number.
An extra record may help when:
- The pet travels outside Portugal
- The animal was first registered in another country
- A finder uses an international search service
- The SIAC record is difficult to locate
- The animal has a foreign or manufacturer-coded chip
This is an extra safety net.
It does not replace the required SIAC registration.
Keep the same contact details in every active database.
How to register a pet microchip in Portugal
- Make an appointment with a veterinarian.
- Take the animal and its documents with you.
- The veterinarian scans the animal for an existing chip.
- If needed, the veterinarian implants a microchip.
- The veterinarian scans the chip again.
- The veterinarian registers the animal and keeper in SIAC.
- Check the microchip number and your contact details.
- Ask for the DIAC in paper or digital form.
Useful documents may include:
- A pet passport
- A vaccination record
- An adoption contract
- A purchase invoice or transfer document
- A foreign registration certificate
- Your identification
- Your Portuguese address and contact details
What is the DIAC?
DIAC stands for Documento de Identificação do Animal de Companhia.
It is the official identification document for an animal registered in SIAC.
The DIAC includes:
- Information about the animal
- The microchip number
- The registered keeper
- Other details recorded in SIAC
The DIAC may be issued on paper or sent digitally.
Both versions are valid.
Owners with access to Portugal’s digital identification system can also use SIAC Titulares.
The DIAC or pet passport should accompany the animal when it is moved within Portugal.
How to check whether the microchip is registered
Check the number through:
- ChipTrace, which searches SIAC through Petmaxx
- The public SIAC search
- SIAC Titulares
- EUROPETNET when a Portuguese or other European record may be involved
- Databases in countries where the animal previously lived
Check the number against the animal’s DIAC and pet passport.
When possible, ask a veterinarian to scan the animal.
Do not rely only on a handwritten number in a passport or vaccination booklet.
A public result may confirm that the microchip is registered.
It should not reveal the keeper’s full private details.
How to update a Portuguese microchip registration
Update the SIAC record when:
- You move home
- The animal lives at a different address
- Your telephone number changes
- Your email address changes
- The animal moves to a new keeper
- The animal goes missing
- The animal is found again
- The animal dies
A change of address or of the place where the animal normally lives must be reported within 15 days.
Telephone and email details should also be kept current.
You may be able to update the record through SIAC Titulares.
You can also use the official SIAC update process.
A veterinarian or local Junta de Freguesia may help.
Ask for an updated DIAC after an important change.
How to transfer a Portuguese microchip registration
A change of keeper must be reported to SIAC within 15 days.
This applies when an animal is sold, adopted or given away.
The person currently registered as keeper normally starts the transfer.
The transfer can normally be completed:
- Through SIAC Titulares
- Using the official SIAC transfer form
- With help from a veterinarian
- Through a local Junta de Freguesia
Online transfer
The current keeper starts the transfer online.
The new keeper then accepts it.
Both people normally need access to Portugal’s digital identification system.
Transfer using documents
The current and new keeper can complete and sign the official transfer form.
Copies of identification documents may also be required.
After the transfer, the new keeper should receive an updated DIAC.
What if the animal is still registered to someone else?
Contact the previous keeper, breeder, shelter or rescue organisation first.
Ask them to complete the transfer.
If this is not possible, contact SIAC or speak to a veterinarian.
You may be asked for:
- An adoption contract
- A purchase invoice
- A signed transfer declaration
- The DIAC
- The pet passport
- Veterinary records
- Copies of identification documents
A database record shows who is listed as keeper.
It may not settle a legal ownership dispute on its own.
Buying or adopting a pet in Portugal
Ask for the complete microchip number before taking the animal home.
Check that the number matches the DIAC, passport and veterinary record.
When possible, ask a veterinarian, shelter or rescue organisation to scan the animal.
Also check:
- That the animal is registered in SIAC
- Who is currently listed as keeper
- That you will receive the DIAC
- That you will receive an adoption contract, invoice or transfer document
- Who will complete the SIAC transfer
- Whether a foreign registration also needs to be updated
Do not rely only on the name written in the pet passport.
The SIAC registration must also be transferred.
What about a pet adopted from a foreign rescue?
Ask the rescue organisation which registrations already exist.
Also ask:
- Whether the animal has been scanned
- Who is named in the passport or health certificate
- Which foreign database holds the current record
- Who will update the foreign registration
- Who will create the SIAC registration
- Who will transfer the SIAC record to the adopter
A foreign registration does not automatically create a SIAC record.
What should you do if your pet goes missing?
Report the animal as missing in SIAC as soon as possible.
The legal deadline is 15 days.
However, it is better not to wait.
You may be able to report the loss through SIAC Titulares or an official SIAC form.
Also:
- Check that your telephone number in SIAC is correct
- Contact local veterinary clinics
- Contact shelters and animal welfare organisations
- Contact the municipal collection centre
- Contact the PSP or GNR when appropriate
- Share a clear photograph and the area where the animal disappeared
Do not publish the complete microchip number online.
Keep part of it private so that ownership claims can be checked.
When the animal returns, tell SIAC so that the missing status can be removed.
Bringing an imported pet to Portugal
A dog, cat or ferret brought into Portugal must normally be registered in SIAC when it will remain in the country for 120 days or more.
This applies to animals arriving from another EU country and from outside the EU.
A foreign database registration does not automatically create a SIAC record.
Take the animal to a Portuguese veterinarian with:
- Its EU pet passport or official health certificate
- Its rabies vaccination record
- The microchip certificate, when available
- Your identification
- Your Portuguese address
- Any foreign registration documents
- An adoption or transfer document, when relevant
The veterinarian will scan the existing chip.
A readable foreign or manufacturer-coded chip normally does not need to be replaced.
The veterinarian can register the existing number in SIAC.
Keep the foreign registration active until the Portuguese record has been confirmed.
Update or transfer the foreign record afterwards when possible.
Extra rules apply to dogs classed as dangerous or potentially dangerous.
Travelling with a pet to or from Portugal
Microchip registration and border requirements are separate.
For most journeys within the EU, dogs, cats and ferrets need:
- A readable microchip
- A valid rabies vaccination
- An EU pet passport
The microchip must be implanted before, or on the same day as, the rabies vaccination used for travel.
Pets arriving from some countries outside the EU may also need an animal health certificate.
A rabies antibody test may also be required.
The animal may need to enter through an approved travellers’ point.
The exact rules depend on the country of departure.
Check the latest rules with the Portuguese Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary Affairs before travelling.
Useful Portuguese microchip links
DGAV
Official Portuguese pet identification and registration information
DGAV pet travel information
Check official travel requirements
SIAC
Search the Portuguese national microchip database
EUROPETNET
Complete a separate manual European microchip search
Animal-ID
Create an additional global microchip registration