Pet Microchip Standard
Authority: ISO 11784:1996 / ISO 11785:1996
ISO 11784/11785 is the international pet microchip standard using FDX-B technology at 134.2 kHz. ISO 11784 defines a 15-digit identification code, with the first three digits as a country or manufacturer code, while ISO 11785 defines the radio-frequency protocol so any compliant scanner worldwide can read the chip.
| Parameter / Specification | Standard Value | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Frequency | 134.2 | kHz |
| Identification Code Length | 15 | digits |
| Transmission Protocol | FDX-B | - |
Why an International Standard Was Needed
Before ISO 11784/11785 became the dominant global standard, the pet microchip market was fragmented. Multiple manufacturers used their own proprietary encoding formats, and a non-ISO format known as FDX-A, commonly associated with 125 kHz readers, competed alongside ISO-compliant FDX-B chips. A scanner built to read one format could fail to detect a chip using a different one, so a microchip that worked perfectly well with its own reader might go completely undetected by an incompatible scanner.
This fragmentation created real risks for reuniting lost or stray pets with their owners, since shelters and veterinary clinics could only reliably identify an animal if they had a scanner compatible with that chip's format. ISO 11784 and ISO 11785 addressed the problem by defining a single global numbering scheme and radio-frequency protocol, so that an ISO-compliant scanner can read an ISO-compliant chip regardless of the country or manufacturer involved -- a particular benefit for pet travel across borders.
How the 15-Digit Code Is Structured
The 15-digit identification number defined by ISO 11784 is built from two parts. The first three digits identify either the manufacturer that produced the chip or, in some national implementations, the issuing country, with each code centrally assigned so that different issuers do not overlap. The remaining digits form a unique serial number assigned by that manufacturer or authority, giving each chip a number that is intended to be unique worldwide.
Because this code is set into the chip at manufacture and cannot be changed or reused, it functions as a permanent identifier for the animal carrying it. The number itself carries no owner information -- it is simply a lookup key that must be registered, along with the owner's contact details, in a separate pet recovery database for the chip to be useful in reuniting a lost pet with its owner.
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