honeybeeMake sure your pet’s microchip would actually bring them home
A microchip only works if every link in the chain holds. Most owners have at least one weak link they’ve never checked. Here’s how to find and fix yours — it takes about ten minutes, and it’s the most important ten minutes you’ll spend for your pet.
Find your pet’s microchip number
It’s a 9–15 digit number on your adoption paperwork, your vet records, or the registration certificate you got when the chip was implanted. Don’t have it? Any vet or shelter can scan your pet in seconds and read it off the scanner — most will do it free, no appointment needed.
Find out which registry your chip is in
A microchip is just an ID number — your contact details live in a separate registry database. To find which one, run your number through the free AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup. It won’t show your personal info, but it will tell you which registry (or registries) your chip is enrolled with — and if it says “not found,” that’s your sign the chip was never registered at all.
Confirm it’s registered in YOUR name
This is the gap that catches the most people. Chips are often registered to the breeder, shelter, or rescue who implanted them — not you. If a stranger finds your pet, the registry calls whoever is listed, and that may not be you. Log into the registry from step 2 and check the owner on file. If it’s not you, ask them how to transfer it (it’s usually free or a few dollars).
Update every piece of contact info
A chip that points to a disconnected phone number is no better than no chip at all. Make sure your phone, email, and address are current — and add a second emergency contact (a partner, family member, or friend) in case you can’t be reached. Moved or changed your number in the last few years? This is almost certainly out of date.
Close the last gap: how you’d actually find out
Even a perfectly-registered chip is passive — it sits there until someone scans it and decides to make a phone call. You might not hear anything for hours, or at all. This is the gap Honeybee is built to close: a real-time alert to your phone the moment your pet’s chip is scanned, plus a registry that keeps everything above current for you, free, on any chip brand. Take the 30-second check →
Where to update your registration
Not sure who holds your chip? Start with the AAHA lookup — it points you to the right one.
Honeybee keeps all of this current for you.
One free home for your pet’s chip and records — works with any brand, keeps your registration up to date, and pings your phone the instant someone scans your pet. We’re launching soon.
Check your pet + join the waitlist →General guidance, not veterinary advice. Registry steps vary slightly by provider.