{"id":1806,"date":"2020-02-05T13:12:50","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T13:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.petz.co.uk\/?page_id=1806"},"modified":"2026-03-04T14:30:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T14:30:57","slug":"best-dog-id-tag","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/best-dog-id-tag\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Dog ID Tags UK 2026: Engraved, QR Code & Smart Tag Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the UK, every dog must wear an ID tag in public places<\/strong> \u2014 it’s the law under the Control of Dogs Order 1992. Failure to comply can result in a fine of up to \u00a35,000<\/strong>. This is separate from the microchip requirement (compulsory since 2016). Both are legally required.<\/p>\n\n\n

What Must Be on a UK Dog ID Tag<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n
Info<\/th>\nRequired?<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Owner’s surname<\/td>\u2705 Legal requirement<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>\n
House number, street & postcode<\/td>\u2705 Legal requirement<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>\n
Mobile phone number<\/td>Highly recommended<\/td><\/tr>\n
“I am microchipped”<\/td>Recommended<\/td><\/tr>\n
Dog’s name<\/td>\u274c NOT recommended<\/strong> \u2014 assists thieves<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Engraved vs QR Code Tags<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n
Feature<\/th>\nEngraved<\/th>\nQR Code Smart Tag<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Info capacity<\/td>Limited (2-4 lines)<\/td>Unlimited (online profile)<\/td><\/tr>\n
Updatable?<\/td>\u274c Must buy new tag<\/td>\u2705 Update anytime<\/td><\/tr>\n
Lost dog alerts<\/td>\u274c<\/td>\u2705 Instant notification + GPS pin<\/td><\/tr>\n
Privacy<\/td>Address visible to all<\/td>Hidden \u2014 contact via secure form<\/td><\/tr>\n
Cost<\/td>\u00a33-10 one-off<\/td>\u00a310-20 (some need subscription)<\/td><\/tr>\n
Durability<\/td>Excellent (stainless steel)<\/td>Good (depends on material)<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n\n

Tip:<\/strong> Even with a QR smart tag, include at minimum your surname and postcode engraved on the tag to comply with UK law \u2014 not everyone knows how to scan QR codes.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the UK, every dog must wear an ID tag in public places \u2014 it’s the law under the Control […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1824,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"page_type":[5],"page_category":[7,106],"class_list":["post-1806","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","page_type-round-up","page_category-dogs","page_category-dog-accessories"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1806\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"page_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/page_type?post=1806"},{"taxonomy":"page_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petz.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/page_category?post=1806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}