UK Offence Report

2 It is an offence, punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale,…

regulation 14(2) of The Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

2 It is an offence, punishable on summary conviction by

a fine not exceeding level

2 on the standard scale, to—

a fail to comply with regulation 9(1);

b implant

a microchip into

a cat or dog without complying with the requirements of regulation 10(1);

c fail to comply with

a notice served under regulation 10(2);

d fail to report an adverse reaction or the failure of

a microchip in accordance with regulation 11(1);

e fail to comply with

a notice served under regulation 13(2);

f obstruct an authorised person exercising

a power under regulation 13.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a authorised person
Conduct
obstructing an official exercising a power
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a authorised person meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision; qualified by absence of consent (an element).

What would breach regulation 14(2)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023.
  2. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  3. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£500
Standard scale
Level 2
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
25 April 2023
In force from
Not determined
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations provide for the compulsory microchipping of cats and dogs and the recording of each cat’s or dog’s identity and its keeper’s contact details on a database. The compulsory microchipping of dogs was introduced by the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/108). Regulation 18 of these Regulations revokes those Regulations. These Regulations also make equivalent provision in respect of the microchipping of cats as well as dogs, making minor and technical drafting changes to clarify the policy intention. These Regulations come into force on the twenty first day after they are made except regulations 3, 4, 9, 13, 14(2)(a), (e) and (f) and 15(2), in relation to the compulsory microchipping of cats, which come into force on 10th June 2024. Regulation 3 imposes a duty on every keeper of a cat or dog to have their cat or dog microchipped in accordance with these Regulations. Regulation 4 sets out an exception to the requirement to microchip. Regulation 5 sets out the standards applying to microchips. Regulation 6 sets out the information to be recorded on a database. Regulation 7 sets out the conditions to be met by database operators. Regulation 8 gives the Secretary of State power to require information from database operators. It also, in circumstances where database operators are failing to meet the requirements in regulation 7, gives the Secretary of State the power to serve a notice requiring database operators to cease holding themselves out as meeting the requirements of the Regulations. The notice may also require the operator to provide an electronic copy of the data recorded in accordance with these Regulations to the Secretary of State or to another database operator. Regulation 9 requires a new keeper to update the information on the database and prevents a cat or dog from being transferred to a new keeper until it has been microchipped. Regulation 10 sets training standards for people who implant microchips. Regulation 11 provides for reporting of adverse reactions to, and migration of, microchips and reporting of microchip failures. Regulation 12 provides for the appointment of authorised persons to enforce the obligation to microchip. Regulation 13 gives an authorised person powers to serve a notice on a keeper to microchip their cat or dog, and in the event of failure to do so, to take possession of the animal for the purpose of microchipping it and recover the cost of doing so from the keeper. Regulation 14 contains offences. Regulation 15 provides for appeals to the First-tier tribunal against notices served under these Regulations. Regulation 16 provides for offences committed by bodies corporate, partnerships and unincorporated associations. Regulation 17 provides for a periodic review of these Regulations, the first such review to take place within five years of their coming into force. A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

Other offences in the same instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.90.

Basis
the provision says “it is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens; the provision says the conduct is “punishable”
Confidence
0.90 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source