Dog owners in the UK: chip by 8 weeks, £500 fine

Owning a dog in Britain is not only about walks in the park. It comes with two duties that are enforced seriously: the microchip and control. The first is cheap; the second can cost your liberty.

Is a microchip compulsory for dogs?

Yes. Every dog in the UK must be microchipped and registered on a database by the age of eight weeks. There is no exemption by breed or lifestyle.

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The fine for having no chip when one is required is up to £500.

For cats the rules differ across the UK. In England a cat must be microchipped by twenty weeks, including cats that never go outside. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland chipping a cat is optional, though it greatly improves the odds of finding a lost animal.

The chip means nothing without the database

The chip must be fitted by a trained professional — a vet, the council or a rescue centre; they usually charge. But the injection is not the point: registration is. The chip holds only a number, and that number is useless until your address and contact details sit behind it.

More than twenty databases meet government standards, from Petlog and HomeAgain to Identi and We Trace Pets. The government maintains the list, and it changes: Track Your Paws was removed for no longer meeting the standards. If your pet is registered there, the registration needs moving.

One thing people forget when they move house: you must update your details yourself. A chip with an old address returns the dog to a flat you no longer live in.

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What counts as a dog "out of control"

The law makes it an offence to let a dog be dangerously out of control — in a public place, in a private one such as a neighbour's house, and even in the owner's own home. It applies to all dogs.

A dog is dangerously out of control if it injures someone or makes someone worried that it might injure them. That second limb matters: no bite is required, a reasonable fear is enough. A court may also find a dog out of control if it attacked someone's animal and that animal's owner believed they would be hurt intervening.

Penalties

For a dangerously out of control dog: an unlimited fine or up to 6 months in prison, or both. You may be barred from owning a dog in future, and the dog may be destroyed.

If your dog injures someone: up to 5 years. Deliberately using a dog to injure someone is charged as malicious wounding. If your dog kills someone: up to 14 years or an unlimited fine.

A separate provision protects assistance dogs: injuring a guide dog carries up to 3 years.

Banned types

Some types of dog are banned in Britain. XL Bully dogs are banned in England and Wales, and owners face a separate procedure that should be checked on GOV.UK before acquiring or moving such an animal.

If you encounter a dog that is out of control, it can be reported — the route is set out on the same pages.