Microchipping dogs: appeal to a tribunal
How to challenge a decision to microchip your dog, or to stop you microchipping dogs.
Applies to England
What you can appeal against
Microchipping your dog
The police or council can serve you with a notice if they find out your dog hasn’t been fitted with a microchip.
This will give you 21 days to get the dog microchipped.
If you do nothing, they can take your dog, microchip it and send you the bill.
You can appeal to a tribunal if you disagree with the notice.
Fitting microchips or running a microchip database
You can appeal if the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) stops or bans you from:
- microchipping dogs
- running a database on microchipped dogs
You can also appeal if Defra sends you a notice demanding information on the database.
The tribunal
Your appeal will be dealt with by a tribunal in the General Regulatory Chamber.
The tribunal is independent of the government, and will consider both sides before it reaches a decision.
If you or your representative is outside the UK and wants to give live video or audio evidence, contact the tribunal to request it. Tell the tribunal what country you or the representative is in and what type of evidence is being given. You must do this as soon as possible.
Time limits for appealing
You have 28 days to appeal after the notice is sent to you.
If you miss the time limit, you can ask for more time to appeal. The tribunal will decide if it can still take your case.
Once you appeal, the decision will be put on hold until after the tribunal has dealt with your case.
How to appeal
Complete the relevant General Regulatory Chamber (First-tier Tribunal) form.
Clearly say why you want to appeal against the decision.
Include any supporting documents, like the notice or a copy of Defra’s letter.
Send the form to grc@justice.gov.uk or:
General Regulatory Chamber
HM Courts & Tribunals Service
PO Box 9300
Leicester
LE1 8DJ
Telephone: 0300 123 4504
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm
Find out about call charges
Tribunal staff can explain how the process works, but they cannot give you legal advice.
What happens next
The tribunal will write to you about the next steps.
Find out more about General Regulatory Chamber hearings and decisions.
Legislation and rules
You have the right to appeal to the tribunal under the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015or the Microchipping of Dogs (Wales) Regulations 2015.
You can find detailed rules on how your appeal will be handled in the General Regulatory Chamber procedure rules.
Updates to this page
Published 20 May 2015Last updated 31 January 2024 + show all updates
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Updated the how to appeal section with a link to the General Regulatory Chamber (First-tier Tribunal) forms collection.
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Changed telephone number of the GRC
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Link to Welsh legislation
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Update on appeals following new rules on microchipping dogs
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First published.