Tracker entry M11: EU dog and cat welfare and traceability regulation (EU) 2026/1818
Adopted
EU
Next date
General application begins (two years after entry into force)
- Region
- EU
- Sector
- Animals
- Imposed by
- European Parliament and Council
- Applies to
- Breeders, sellers, shelters, then all owners; imports for sale
- Technology
- RFID required (LF)
What the rule requires
Regulation (EU) 2026/1818 makes ISO 11784/5 low-frequency microchips and registration in linked national databases compulsory. The duty starts with breeders, sellers, shelters and anyone placing dogs or cats on the market from August 2030, then extends to all dog owners from 2036 and all cat owners from 2041. Animals imported for sale must be chipped before entry.
Status: Adopted as Regulation (EU) 2026/1818; in force since 30 Aug 2026; microchip duties phase in from Aug 2030
What it means for RFID
This is a low-frequency (LF) RFID mandate built on ISO 11784 and ISO 11785. RFID News reported in April 2026 that the transponders are passive 134.2 kHz devices using FDX-B encoding, implanted by a veterinarian, which return a unique 15-digit code when scanned. That means demand for ISO-compliant implantable transponders, compatible readers and the national databases each chip must be registered in.
The duty reaches the trade first: breeders, sellers, shelters and anyone placing dogs or cats on the market from August 2030, with animals imported for sale chipped before they enter the EU. It extends to all dog owners from August 2036 and all cat owners from August 2041, so chipping and reading volumes grow in stages.
The next date is August 2028, when general application begins. We also reported that chip numbers and database records are to sit in a single index database managed by the European Commission, which matters to suppliers of registration systems.
Timeline
- European Parliament approves the regulation
- Council adopts the regulation
- Regulation (EU) 2026/1818 signed
- Published in the Official Journal
- Enters into force
- General application begins (two years after entry into force)
- Microchip and registration duty for breeders, sellers, shelters and anyone placing dogs or cats on the market
- Microchip and registration duty for all dog owners
- Microchip and registration duty for all cat owners
Our coverage
- EU Regulations Mandating RFID Microchip Identification for Dogs and Cats Formally Approved29 Apr 2026
Sources
Official source: EUR-Lex
Last checked against the official source on 1 November 2026.
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