Pet Microchips in Romania: RECS, Registration and Tracing

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Dogs in Romania must be microchipped and registered in RECS, the national register for owned dogs.

An authorised vet implants the chip and creates the registration.

The record links the microchip number to the dog and its owner.

Owners can use RomPetID to check whether a dog appears in RECS.

Cats, ferrets and some other pets can also have records on RomPetID, although the nationwide identification rules mainly concern dogs.

Which microchip database is used in Romania?

Romania uses RECS for owned dogs.

RECS stands for Registrul de Evidență al Câinilor cu Stăpân.

In English, this means the Register of Owned Dogs.

RECS is the official national register for owned dogs.

It is managed through the RomPetID portal.

The RECS record can include:

  • The microchip number
  • Information about the dog
  • The owner’s name and contact details
  • Vaccination information
  • A change of owner
  • A missing or stolen status
  • The dog’s recovery or death

The vet normally creates and updates the official record.

What is RomPetID?

RomPetID is Romania’s pet identification portal.

It provides access to RECS and other pet-register sections.

The website includes sections for:

  • Owned dogs
  • Owned cats
  • Owned ferrets
  • Some exotic pets
  • Missing and found animals

The nationwide legal identification rules described in this guide mainly concern owned dogs.

Can owners search RECS?

Yes.

The RECS owner-access page allows a chip number to be entered.

The result can confirm whether the dog appears in the register.

It does not openly display all private information about the registered owner.

An authorised vet or service can use the full record to contact the owner.

If the information is wrong, ask an authorised vet to correct it.

Can EUROPETNET find a Romanian registration?

EUROPETNET is a European microchip search network.

Romania does not currently appear to have its own connected database in the EUROPETNET member list.

An ordinary RECS registration may therefore not appear there.

However, EUROPETNET may still find a record when the animal was registered in another European country.

ChipTrace may provide a button that opens the EUROPETNET website.

The search is completed manually on the EUROPETNET website.

A negative result does not prove that the dog is not registered in RECS.

Are microchips required in Romania?

Yes, for owned dogs.

Dogs must be identified with a microchip and entered in RECS.

Newborn puppies should normally be identified and registered within 90 days of birth.

A puppy must also be identified before it is:

  • Sold
  • Adopted
  • Given to another person
  • Taken into a public place

A dog should not be transferred without identification, RECS registration and a correctly completed health booklet.

Rabies vaccination must also be kept current.

Are cats required to be microchipped?

Romania does not apply the same nationwide microchip duty to every privately owned cat.

However, microchipping is strongly recommended.

It gives a lost cat permanent identification.

An indoor cat can also escape through a door, window or balcony.

RomPetID includes a register for owned cats.

Ask your vet whether your cat can be added.

Cats travelling internationally will normally need a readable ISO-compatible microchip.

What do Romanian microchip numbers look like?

Modern pet microchips normally contain 15 digits.

Romania’s ISO country code is:

642

A Romanian country-coded chip may therefore begin with 642.

However, not every pet living in Romania has a 642 chip.

Many chips use a manufacturer code instead.

Manufacturer-coded microchips usually begin with the number 9.

Other animals were microchipped in another country before arriving in Romania.

This is common with:

  • Imported dogs and cats
  • Pets adopted through international rescues
  • Animals that moved to Romania with their families
  • Older pets with manufacturer-coded chips

A readable foreign or manufacturer-coded chip can still be registered in Romania.

The first digits are only a clue.

They do not prove where the animal lives or where its registration is held.

Read our guide to pet microchip numbers for more information.

What should you do if you find a microchipped pet in Romania?

Take the animal to a vet, shelter or local animal service.

Ask them to scan the animal carefully.

Write down the complete microchip number.

It can be useful to scan more than once and across the shoulders and body.

A microchip may have moved from its original position.

Then:

  • Enter the number on the RomPetID RECS search page
  • Ask an authorised Romanian vet to check the complete RECS record
  • Check the health booklet and EU pet passport
  • Check RomPetID’s missing and found notices
  • Contact the clinic that implanted the chip
  • Contact the shelter, rescue or breeder connected to the animal
  • Check databases in countries where the animal may have lived
  • Open EUROPETNET when a foreign European registration may be involved
  • Use ChipTrace for database, country and manufacturer clues

The public RECS result should not reveal all of the owner’s private details.

An authorised vet, shelter or authority can use the registration to contact the owner.

Do not publish the complete microchip number online.

Keep part of the number private so that ownership claims can be checked.

Read how ChipTrace works for an explanation of database checks, manual searches and next-step advice.

What if a Romanian microchip cannot be found?

Ask a vet or shelter to scan the animal again.

One incorrect digit is enough to produce no result.

Then:

  • Check RECS through RomPetID
  • Ask an authorised vet to search the full RECS system
  • Check the health booklet
  • Check the EU pet passport
  • Check vaccination, adoption and travel records
  • Contact the clinic that implanted the chip
  • Contact the former owner, rescue, shelter or breeder
  • Check databases in countries where the animal has lived
  • Open EUROPETNET for a manual foreign-database search
  • Contact the microchip manufacturer or distributor
  • Use ChipTrace for database, country and manufacturer clues

The chip may have been implanted but never added correctly to RECS.

The registration may contain an incorrect digit.

The record may also remain active in another country.

If no database result is found, the manufacturer or distributor may provide another trace-back route.

The manufacturer may be able to identify the distributor or supplier that received the chip.

The supplier may then identify the vet, breeder, shelter or rescue that received it.

That organisation may know where the chip was implanted or registered.

They will not normally give the finder the owner’s private details.

Instead, they may contact the next organisation or the registered owner directly.

Trace-back is not guaranteed.

Records may be old, incomplete or unavailable.

A missing result does not prove that the animal has no family.

Read our guide to why a microchip may not appear in any database.

Check a Microchip

Can I add a global microchip registration?

Yes.

An additional global record can provide another route back to the owner.

Animal-ID allows owners to create an additional record using an existing microchip number.

An additional record may help when:

  • The pet travels outside Romania
  • The animal is adopted abroad
  • A finder uses an international search service
  • The RECS record cannot be checked easily from another country
  • The animal has a foreign or manufacturer-coded chip

This is an extra safety net.

It does not replace RECS for a dog living in Romania.

Keep the same contact details in every active record.

How to register a dog microchip in Romania

  1. Make an appointment with an authorised Romanian vet.
  2. Take the dog and any existing documents.
  3. Ask the vet to scan the dog for an existing chip.
  4. If needed, the vet implants a microchip.
  5. The vet adds the dog and owner to RECS.
  6. The chip details are added to the health booklet.
  7. Check the complete chip number carefully.
  8. Check your name, address and telephone number.
  9. Ask the vet to confirm that the RECS registration is active.

Useful documents may include:

  • The Romanian health booklet
  • An EU pet passport
  • A vaccination record
  • A microchip certificate
  • An adoption contract
  • A purchase agreement
  • A foreign registration certificate

Who implants and registers the microchip?

An authorised vet implants the chip and creates the RECS registration.

The vet scans the dog first.

This checks whether a chip is already present.

If a chip is needed, the vet implants it under the skin.

The chip is then scanned again.

This confirms that it works and shows the correct number.

The vet then records:

  • The complete microchip number
  • The dog’s identification details
  • The owner’s name
  • The owner’s address
  • The owner’s telephone number
  • Important health and vaccination information

The chip number should also be added correctly to the dog’s health booklet.

Does the vet register the chip automatically?

The vet who implants the chip should also register the dog in RECS.

However, it is still important to check.

Ask the vet to confirm that:

  • The RECS registration is complete
  • The complete chip number is correct
  • The dog appears under your name
  • Your address is correct
  • Your telephone number is current
  • The health booklet matches the RECS record

Do not assume that implantation alone means that registration is complete.

A chip without a correct RECS record may not lead a finder back to you.

What is the Romanian health booklet?

Dogs in Romania normally have a health booklet.

It is called a carnet de sănătate.

The booklet may include:

  • The microchip number
  • The owner’s details
  • A description of the dog
  • Vaccinations
  • Parasite treatments
  • Other veterinary information

Check that the chip number in the booklet matches the number read by the scanner.

The health booklet is not the same as RECS.

Updating the booklet does not automatically correct the electronic database.

The health booklet is also not the same as an EU pet passport.

An EU pet passport is mainly used for international travel.

How to check whether your dog’s chip is registered

Check the record by:

  • Entering the chip number on the RomPetID RECS page
  • Asking an authorised vet to check the complete record
  • Comparing the scanner result with the health booklet
  • Comparing the number with the EU pet passport, when available

The chip number must match in every record and document.

If the public search does not find the dog, contact the vet that created the registration.

Ask the vet to check for an incorrect digit or incomplete record.

How to update a Romanian microchip registration

Contact an authorised vet when:

  • You move home
  • Your telephone number changes
  • The dog moves to a new owner
  • The dog goes missing
  • The dog is stolen
  • The dog is found again
  • The dog moves abroad
  • The dog dies

Important events such as a transfer, loss, theft or death should be reported promptly.

Some changes are normally required within seven days.

Do not wait when a dog is missing or stolen.

Updating the health booklet alone is not enough.

Ask the vet to confirm that RECS has also been updated.

How to transfer a RECS registration

The RECS record must be changed when a dog is sold, adopted or given to another person.

The new owner should contact an authorised vet.

The ownership change should normally be reported within seven days.

Take:

  • The dog
  • The health booklet
  • The EU pet passport, when available
  • An adoption or purchase agreement
  • A signed transfer document
  • Your identification
  • Details of the former owner

The vet can scan the chip and update RECS.

After the transfer, check your name, address and telephone number.

What if the dog is still registered to someone else?

Contact the former owner, breeder, shelter or rescue first.

Ask them to help complete the transfer.

If that is not possible, speak to an authorised vet.

Take documents showing how the dog came into your care.

These may include:

  • An adoption contract
  • A purchase agreement
  • A signed transfer document
  • The health booklet
  • The EU pet passport
  • Veterinary records

The vet or authority may request further evidence before changing the record.

A RECS entry shows who is listed as the owner.

It may not settle a legal ownership dispute on its own.

Buying or adopting a dog in Romania

Ask whether the dog has a microchip before taking it home.

Also ask for:

  • The complete microchip number
  • The health booklet
  • The EU pet passport, when available
  • Vaccination records
  • An adoption or purchase agreement
  • Proof that the dog is registered in RECS

Ask a vet to scan the chip.

Check that the scanned number matches the booklet, passport and RECS record.

The former owner, breeder, shelter or rescue should help complete the ownership transfer.

What about a pet adopted from a Romanian rescue?

Ask the rescue which records already exist.

Also ask:

  • Whether the animal has been scanned
  • Who is named in the health booklet or passport
  • Whether the dog is registered in RECS
  • Who will complete the ownership transfer
  • Who will register the animal in its new country
  • Whether the rabies and travel documents are complete

A dog adopted abroad may need active records in both Romania and its destination country.

Keep the Romanian registration active until the new record has been confirmed.

What should you do if your dog goes missing?

Contact an authorised vet as soon as possible.

Ask for the dog to be marked as missing in RECS.

Do not wait until the normal reporting deadline.

Check that your telephone number is correct.

Also:

  • Contact local veterinary clinics
  • Contact shelters and rescue groups
  • Contact the local stray-dog service
  • Check RomPetID’s missing and found notices
  • Inform the police when theft may be involved
  • Share a clear photograph
  • Include the place and date where the dog disappeared

Do not publish the complete microchip number online.

Keep part of it private so that ownership claims can be checked.

When the dog returns, ask the vet to close or update the missing report.

Bringing an imported pet to Romania

A foreign database registration does not automatically create a Romanian RECS record.

If a dog will live in Romania, take it to an authorised Romanian vet.

Take:

  • The animal
  • Its EU pet passport or official health certificate
  • Its rabies vaccination record
  • The microchip certificate, when available
  • Your identification
  • Your Romanian address and telephone number
  • Any foreign registration documents

The vet will scan the existing chip.

A readable foreign chip does not normally need to be replaced.

The vet can add a dog and its new owner to RECS.

Check that the foreign chip number is copied correctly.

Keep the foreign database record active until the Romanian registration has been confirmed.

Travelling with a pet to or from Romania

Microchip registration and border rules 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 chip normally needs to be implanted before, or on the same day as, the rabies vaccination used for travel.

A clearly readable tattoo may still be accepted when it was applied before 3 July 2011.

Pets arriving from some countries outside the EU may also need:

  • An EU animal health certificate
  • A rabies antibody titre test
  • Entry through an approved travellers’ point
  • Customs or veterinary checks

The exact requirements depend on the country of departure and the type of journey.

Check the latest Romanian veterinary authority and EU guidance before travelling.

Useful Romanian microchip links

RomPetID
Open Romania’s pet identification portal

RECS microchip search
Check whether an owned dog appears in RECS

RECS professional portal
Open the professional RECS system

Major duties of Romanian dog owners
Read RomPetID’s identification and vaccination guidance

Romanian veterinary authority
Read official animal-health and travel information

EUROPETNET
Complete a manual search for a possible foreign registration

Animal-ID
Create an additional global microchip registration