My dog has a chip and I don’t know anything about it.
My dog has a chip in a stranger’s name and there’s no response with the owner.
My dog has a chip without a name at all associated with it.
If your pet already has a microchip, the first thing is to find out which registry the chip is associated with. Many chips are registered through companies such as:
If you know the microchip number, you can use the AAHA Microchip Registry Lookup Tool to determine which registry currently holds the record. (AAHA)
If the chip is not registered, or you don’t care which company originally made the chip, some registries accept most brands of microchips, including:
- PetKey (Petkey)
- Free Pet Chip Registry (free registration and updates) (Free Pet Microchip Registry)
- AKC Reunite Enrollment (one-time lifetime fee, no annual fees) (AKC Reunite)
You’ll appreciate the most important point: a microchip that isn’t registered is almost as bad as no microchip at all. The chip only contains an ID number; shelters and clinics use that number to look up your contact information in a registry database. (PetLink)
Here are more than six reputable pet microchip registries used in the United States:
| Registry | Website | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PetLink | PetLink | One of the largest registries; used by many veterinarians and shelters. |
| HomeAgain | HomeAgain | Widely recognized; offers recovery services. |
| 24PetWatch | 24PetWatch | Commonly associated with shelter-adopted pets. |
| AKC Reunite | AKC Reunite | Accepts most microchip brands. |
| PetKey | PetKey | Cross-brand registry used by many clinics. |
| Free Pet Chip Registry | Free Pet Chip Registry | Free registration and updates. |
| Found Animals Registry | Found Animals Registry | Nonprofit registry. |
| SmartTag | SmartTag | Registry linked to ID tags and microchips. |
| BuddyID | BuddyID | Supports registration and lost-pet recovery. |
| AVID | AVID Identification Systems | One of the oldest microchip companies in veterinary medicine. |
I’d suggest two practical approaches:
- Register with the chip manufacturer’s registry (HomeAgain, PetLink, 24PetWatch, AVID, etc.).
- Also register the chip in a secondary universal registry such as PetKey or Free Pet Chip Registry. That gives you redundancy if one database is unavailable.
If you’re planning to recommend a registry to your JVS clients, AKC Reunite, PetLink, PetKey, and Free Pet Chip Registry are generally the ones I hear veterinarians mention most often because they’re straightforward and widely searchable.
