Registering Your Dog in Valencia: Chip, Census, Insurance

Every dog that lives in the Valencian Community has to be identified and registered, and in València city it also goes on the municipal dog census. The rules come from two laws, the Valencian Law 2/2023 on companion animals and Spain's Law 7/2023 on animal welfare, plus the city's own procedure. This guide walks through the steps in the order you will meet them, based on the official sources we read on 11 October 2026. It is a practical summary, not legal advice: rules and fees change, and your vet and town hall have the final word. For the health side of the first months, see our guide to puppy vaccines and the first vet visit.

Step 1: the Microchip and the Regional Register

Valencian Law 2/2023 makes identification compulsory for dogs, cats and domestic ferrets. Identification has two parts: a unique code implanted by a registered vet, and the entry of that code, with the owner's details, in the regional identification register. The València city council points owners to RIVIA, the database of registered animals in the Valencian Community, which the Valencian Council of Veterinary Colleges manages. A chip that sits in no officially recognised database does not count as identification under the law.

You do not file anything yourself. After implanting the chip, the vet files the registration online, and it is validated within three working days at most. The chip number goes into the health card or the pet passport. Take an identity document to that appointment: when the dog is identified, the owner must prove who they are and, where possible, where the animal comes from. All communication with the register is electronic, which is why the vet handles it. If the dog is neutered, that status is recorded too.

The timing rule is simple: the dog must be identified before any transfer to a new owner and before its compulsory vaccinations, which in this region include rabies before four months of age.

Step 2: Buying or Adopting, and the Change of Owner

When a dog changes hands, a vet makes the change of owner after a formal request from both the old and the new owner, and the change must appear in the register within two working days. In practice, sit down with the previous owner and the paperwork, check that the chip number on the documents matches the dog, and make sure the register shows your name. A puppy should never change owner without a chip: Valencian law requires every transaction involving an animal that must be identified to happen with the animal correctly identified.

Dogs that arrive from another EU country keep their original EU pet passport, and Valencian law requires them to be entered in the regional register.

Step 3: the València City Dog Census

Town halls keep municipal censuses, and the Valencian law gives the regional register census value for them. In València city it is a separate application, the Censo Canino Municipal, and the city's electronic office sets out the procedure:

• Any adult resident of València who owns a dog can apply. If the dog belongs to a minor, it goes in the name of an adult who lives at the same address.
• The application is due within 15 days of getting the dog, or when it turns three months old.
• You need the dog's RIVIA registration and its health card or pet passport.
• You can apply online with a digital signature and pay by card or Bizum, or apply in person at a municipal office with the form and proof that you paid the health services fee.
• The city posts you an identification tag that the dog wears on its collar.

The city states that failing to register a dog in the census is a minor offence. If you live outside València city, ask your own town hall how its census works. Check the current fee and conditions on the procedure page before you apply, because the council can change them.

Step 4: Insurance and the Owner Course

Spain's Law 7/2023 (article 30) requires the owner of a dog to take out and keep third-party liability insurance for the whole life of the animal. The law leaves the minimum amount of cover to a regulation. The Ministry of Social Rights' guide to the law confirms that insurance is compulsory for dog owners and notes that some home insurance policies already include this cover. As of 11 October 2026 we could not find the regulation that sets the amount published in the BOE, so ask your insurer whether your current policy covers damage caused by your dog, and up to what amount.

The same article requires dog owners to complete a training course, free of charge and valid for life, with its content set by regulation. Before you get a dog, ask your town hall or check with the ministry whether the course is available yet.

Everyday Duties Once the Dog Is Registered

Registration does not end with the first visit. Valencian law sets clear deadlines for the changes that matter:

• Loss or theft: tell your vet within 72 hours so the loss goes into the regional register, tell the town hall within 48 hours and file a police report.
• Death, or a move to another region or country: tell your vet within three working days, and the vet updates the register.
• New address or phone number: keep your details in the register current and ask your vet how to change them, because a chip only helps if the details behind it are right.
• Walks: on public roads the dog must be on a lead shorter than two metres.
• Reproduction: Valencian law requires sterilisation of dogs whose reproduction cannot be controlled, for example when a male and a female live together; ask your vet how this applies to your home, and see our neutering guide.
• Clean-up: pick up droppings straight away and clean the spot.

A Checklist for the First Month

1. Check that the chip number on the papers matches the dog's chip, which your vet can scan.
2. Make sure the regional register shows you as the owner.
3. Apply for the municipal census within the deadline if your town requires it.
4. Keep a copy of the RIVIA registration with the dog's passport, because the census application asks for it.
5. Keep the health card or passport with the rabies vaccination recorded.
6. Ask your insurer whether third-party liability for the dog is covered.
7. Save the deadlines for loss, theft, death or a move in your phone.

With the paperwork done, the rest of the first year is about health, food and training. Our Toy Poodle puppy guide and the complete breed guide cover them.