Microchip and register your dog, cat or ferret in the registro autonómico

What you need to have to hand

1. DNI/NIE and your full address (where the animal lives).
2. Phone and email you actually check (for notifications if it turns up).
3. Animal details: species, name, sex, breed/mix, date of birth and colour.
4. Cartilla sanitaria if it already exists (if not, the clinic will open one).
5. Vacunación antirrábica if your comunidad requires it at that age.
6. If the animal already has a chip, bring the transfer document/contract or invoice for the change of ownership.

Documentation

• Owner ID (DNI/NIE) and domicile.
• Alta form for the Registro de Identificación de Animales de Compañía of your comunidad (the vet provides this for you to sign).
• Cartilla/Pasaporte Europeo of the animal if it already exists.
• Certificado/etiqueta de la vacuna de rabia (if applicable).
• Transfer/adoption/purchase document if ownership is changing.

Step by step

1. Book at a colegiado veterinary clinic in your comunidad (they have access to the registro autonómico).
2. Implantation: they place an ISO 11784/11785 microchip subcutaneously. It’s quick; a short sting and that’s it.
3. Registration: they collect the data, you sign the registration and data-protection form, and the vet submits it online to the registro autonómico.
4. Payment: you pay the clinic for the microchip and processing. There’s no single public fee; prices vary by clinic.
5. Receipt: they give you the microchip number and a copy of the alta. Keep the chip sticker in the cartilla.
6. Check: within 24–72 h it should appear in REIAC. If not, ask the clinic/registro to check the submission.
7. If you travel: request the Pasaporte Europeo at the same clinic and make sure it’s linked to the chip.

Time-saving tips

• Do the ownership transfer on the spot if you adopt/buy an animal with an existing chip. Don’t leave without the signed paper.
• Save the microchip number in your phone and take a photo of the receipt. Those 15 digits can save you time if it’s lost.
• Keep email and phone up to date in the registro autonómico. If you change number, notify them; otherwise they’ll call an empty line.
• If you moved comunidad, ask your registro autonómico how to migrate or re-register the chip. Don’t leave it until you need it.
• Ask the vet to scan the chip after implantation and to stick all labels in the cartilla.

Common mistakes to avoid

1. Assuming “it already has a chip” and not changing the owner: if it isn’t in your name you’re stuck if something happens.
2. Not updating your contact details (phone/email): the scanner shows the chip, but if they can’t contact you you lose time and options.
3. Leaving it until the last minute: some comunidades take time to sync with REIAC. If you’re travelling, do it in advance.
4. Thinking REIAC is the registry: it’s a viewer. Official changes must be made in the registro autonómico.
5. Trying to save 10 € by skipping the clinic route: chips implanted outside the system or not declared cause problems. An authorised veterinarian must do it.
6. Forgetting rabies where it’s compulsory: you may be blocked from census or passport if the cartilla is out of date.