The EU is setting up a new system to help trace dog and cat microchip registrations across borders more easily. However, it will not replace national pet databases with a single EU-wide database.
With the new rules, each country will keep its own database for registered dogs and cats. These databases will be able to work together, and the European Commission will set up a central EU index with basic information from each one.
This change should make it much easier for pet owners to use Europe’s microchip registration system.
In this guide
- What is the new EU pet database?
- Will there be one database for every pet in Europe?
- What information will the EU index contain?
- Will every dog and cat have to be registered?
- When will the new registration rules apply?
- What happens when a pet changes owner?
- What happens if a microchip stops working?
- A new system for checking pets advertised online
- What could this mean for lost pets?
- In short
What is the new EU pet database?
Europe already has many pet microchip databases.
The problem is that they don’t all work together.
For example, a dog could be registered in Spain, France, or the Netherlands. If someone finds that dog in another country, it can be hard to know which national database has its registration.
The new EU rules are designed to improve that.
Under Regulation (EU) 2026/1818, Member States must establish and maintain databases for identified dogs and cats. These databases must meet common interoperability requirements.
The European Commission will also establish and maintain an EU index connected to the national systems.
This difference matters.
Will there be one database for every pet in Europe?
Not quite.
Your pet’s full registration will still be held in a national database.
The EU index will contain a minimum set of information transmitted from Member State databases. The precise content and technical arrangements will be set through further implementing legislation.
It’s more accurate to think of the new system as a connected European network, not a single big replacement database.
National databases will hold pet registrations.
The EU index will help those systems work together.
This could help solve a major problem with tracing pets across borders: knowing where to search.
What information will the EU index contain?
We don’t have the full answer yet.
The regulation establishes the index, but the European Commission still has to define the minimum content of the national databases and which fields will be transmitted to the EU index.
These details are important, so we will not speculate.
What we do know is that the system is being designed around the identification, registration and traceability of dogs and cats.
We will update this guide once the Commission releases the detailed technical rules.
Will every dog and cat have to be registered?
Eventually, yes.
The new regulation introduces EU-wide identification and registration requirements for dogs and cats, including privately owned pets.
However, this does not mean that every pet owner must register their cat or dog in a new EU database by 2028.
There are long transition periods.
Dogs and cats legally microchipped before 31 August 2028 are considered compliant with the new identification requirements, as long as their existing microchip remains readable.
There is no need to replace a working microchip just because the EU system is changing.
When will the new registration rules apply?
The dates are important here.
For operators and people or organisations placing dogs or cats on the market, the identification and registration requirements apply from 31 August 2030.
For private pet owners who aren’t placing their animals on the market, the deadlines are much later:
- Dogs: 31 August 2036
- Cats: 31 August 2041
Article 20 of Regulation (EU) 2026/1818 sets out these deadlines.
If you see a headline claiming that every dog and cat in the EU must be registered under the new system starting in 2028, that is not correct.
The regulation starts applying much earlier, but the identification and registration requirements are being introduced in stages.
What happens when a pet changes owner?
The new rules aim to keep registrations up to date, instead of just recording a pet once and then forgetting about it.
When a dog or cat is sold or occasionally given away by a private person without an online advertisement, the person transferring ownership or responsibility must ensure that the change is recorded in the relevant database within two weeks.
The death of a registered dog or cat must also be recorded.
This matters because a microchip number is not very useful if the linked information is outdated.
What happens if a microchip stops working?
The regulation deals with this too.
If a pet’s microchip becomes unreadable, the person responsible for the dog or cat must ensure that a new microchip is implanted and that the database registration is updated with the new number.
This is not the same as replacing a chip just because it has an older number.
A readable existing microchip can remain perfectly valid.
If you’d like to understand how microchip numbers work, including country and manufacturer codes, our Pet Microchip Numbers Explained guide goes into much more detail.
A new system for checking pets advertised online
This might be one of the most helpful features of the new system.
The European Commission must provide a free, publicly accessible online system for checking dogs and cats advertised online.
Before advertising a dog or cat online for sale or transfer, the person placing the advert will use the system to generate a unique verification token. The advert must then include that token and a link to the verification system.
Potential new owners will be able to use the system to verify the authenticity of the animal’s identification, registration and ownership.
In other words, someone selling a dog or cat online cannot just type a microchip number into an advert and expect buyers to trust it.
There will be a way to confirm that the identification and registration in the advert are real.
For a system designed partly to improve traceability and tackle illegal or fraudulent pet trading, that’s an important change.
What could this mean for lost pets?
This is where the new system becomes particularly interesting.
Today, finding a microchip number doesn’t always tell you where the pet is registered.
A rescuer might scan a lost animal, have all 15 digits in front of them, and still have to figure out which database to search.
The new country-coded microchips will help. From 2028, newly issued microchips under the new rules will increasingly indicate where an animal was first identified.
But pets move.
A dog originally microchipped in Spain could later live in France. A Dutch cat could move to Germany. An animal could be adopted across a border.
That’s why connecting the databases matters.
Instead of treating every national registration system as an isolated island, the new EU system is designed to make those records interoperable.
The microchip identifies the animal.
The connected databases should make it easier to find the registration behind it.
Until the new system is fully implemented, Europe’s existing national and international databases will continue to matter. If you’re trying to trace a microchip today, you can use the free ChipTrace microchip lookup or browse our pet microchip country guides for information about individual countries.
In short
The EU isn’t creating one giant database to replace every national pet registry.
Instead, Member States will maintain their dog and cat databases, while those systems become interoperable and connect with a central EU index.
Registration requirements will gradually expand to cover dogs and cats across the EU, but the deadlines differ significantly depending on who is responsible for the animal.
For ordinary private pet owners, the key dates are 2036 for dogs and 2041 for cats.
Existing readable microchips don’t suddenly become obsolete.
And for anyone who has ever stared at a 15-digit microchip number wondering, “Now where on earth is this animal registered?”, a genuinely connected European system could be a very welcome change.
Useful links
Regulation (EU) 2026/1818 – official text on EUR-Lex
European Commission – welfare and traceability of dogs and cats