Poland signs national pet register with fines up to 5,000 PLN

20 September 2026 Poland Radar 0 Comments

The president signed a law creating a national register for dogs and cats. pet registration Poland will begin main duties on 11 June 2028, with fines for non-compliance.

The president signed the law creating the National Register of Marked Dogs and Cats. The new state registry means mandatory pet registration Poland for owned dogs and cats, with penalties for violations.

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What the law does and when it starts

Parliament passed the law on 15 May 2026 and the president signed it on 2 June 2026. The act appeared in the Dziennik Ustaw as item 755 on 10 June 2026. The main obligations will start on 11 June 2028. The register, called KROPiK, will ultimately cover about 8 million dogs and 6 million cats.

Key requirements for owners

Owners must microchip and register dogs and cats. New puppies must be chipped by the date of their first rabies shot. Kittens must be chipped by three months of age. Animals already chipped do not need a new implant, but owners must ensure the chip reads and register its number. The Agencja Restrukturyzacji i Modernizacji Rolnictwa (ARiMR) will offer free registration for already chipped animals during the first three years.

Pet registration Poland: controls, fines and limits

Police, municipal guards and the Veterinary Inspection will gain powers to scan chips and check the register. Mayors can ask residents to declare how many pets they own. Declaring false numbers may lead to criminal liability for false statements. Failure to register or to update required data will count as an offence. The general penalty range follows the Code of Misdemeanours: from 20 to 5,000 PLN. The 5,000 PLN amount is the maximum, not an automatic flat fine.

The law also blocks selling or giving away an unregistered dog or cat. Transfers of ownership must happen only after the animal receives a chip and a KROPiK entry. Shelters and temporary foster homes must chip and register animals before they rehome them.

Costs, local help and technical points

Owners pay for microchipping and registration. The law caps each service at 0.56% of the national average wage from the previous year. The government used the 2025 average wage of 8,903.56 PLN to show how the cap works. At that figure, one capped fee would be about 49.86 PLN. That gives a combined example cost of about 99.72 PLN for chip plus registration. Municipalities may choose to subsidise some or all costs, but they do not have to.

💡 GOOD TO KNOW: If you live in Poland, keep the chip number and your vet paperwork. You usually have three years from 11 June 2028 to register older pets, unless you transfer ownership earlier. ARiMR will run the register and owners can see records via the mObywatel app. Local councils may fund chip costs differently. A fine (mandat) can reach up to 5,000 PLN, so update records promptly. Note: mObywatel is the government app used to access state services.

KROPiK will also store vaccination data, passport details, sterility records and notes on loss or death. The system can remind owners about rabies shots. Authorities may use register data to support local dog-fee collection, but the law does not create a new national dog tax. Launching KROPiK will not force immediate visits to vets on 11 June 2028. Still, owners should check chips now and keep documentation safe.

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