Microchipping of dogs: guidance for local authorities

Dog breeders and dealers

The Microchipping of Dogs (Scotland) Regulations 2016 sets out the information regarding a keeper that must be registered on a compliant microchip database.  This includes:

• the requirement from 29 January 2016 to identify themselves as a breeder (the keeper of any bitch that whelps, whether or not they are carrying on a business), and, if applicable, to provide information regarding any breeders licence under the Breeding of Dogs Act 1973
• the requirement from 6 April 2017 to identify themselves, if applicable, as holding a dealer's licence under Licensing of Animal Dealers (Young Cats and Young Dogs) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 and to provide information regarding it

Breeders

In the short term, at the start of 2016, a proportion of dogs in Scotland needing to be microchipped and registered will be over eight weeks of age and in the care of the person who will hopefully be their lifelong keeper. 

Once mandatory microchipping is in force from 6 April 2016, and unless a veterianarian certifies otherwise, we would expect the person that bred a puppy to ensure that it is microchipped and registered on a compliant database before the pup reaches 8 weeks of age, and for their details to be the first listed on a microchip database. This includes cases where puppies of less than eight weeks old are transferred with their mother to another keeper, since under regulation 10(2) of the Microchipping of Dogs (Scotland) Regulations 2016, no dog (of any age) may be transferred to a new keeper until it has been microchipped and the details relating to it are up to date. 

A particular dog may also pass through the hands of a breeder in later life, and may be bred from at that time. It is therefore expected that a breeder will declare themselves as such when a dog comes into their possession at an older age.

Dealers

An animal dealers licence is required where dogs are less than 84 days (12 weeks) old. Puppies between 8-12 weeks old may therefore pass through a licensed dealer for onward sale. The puppy should generally already have been microchipped and registered in the breeders name (exept where subject to veterinary exemption); the dealer would be responsible for updating the database with their own details before onward transfer.

In some cases, a puppy of less than eight weeks old, accompanied by the bitch that gave birth to it, may be passed to a licenced animal dealer for onward sale at a later stage. Any dealer taking possession of a puppy less than eight weeks old and its mother will be responsible for updating the details against both the puppy and mother on the database. 

If a dealer takes possession of a pup covered by a veterinary exemption, they are responsible for ensuring that the dog is microchipped and registered immediately that exemption expires.