• Head over to the NZCAR website, sign in page at animalregister.co.nz/Security/login
• Select ‘I’ve lost my password’
• Enter your organisations email address and click ‘send reset link’
• Once this email has been received, follow the link in the email and set a new password for your organisations account. Remember to advise others in your organisation who may use these log in details.

NB: Passwords must be at least 10 characters and include at least 3 of the following:

• Uppercase characters
• Lowercase characters
• Numbers
• Punctuation

You cannot use a password that has been used previously. The NZCAR is home to a significant amount of personal data and these rules are the most recent good-practice recommendations for ensuring good security.

At the moment, you will need to contact [email protected] to ask them to set up a new user account for you.

Please include the following information in your email

• Organisation Name
• The new users first and last name, and their email address

Yes. You’re welcome to just have a single organisational login such as [email protected] 

We would highly recommend that you change your password each time a staff member leaves to ensure that there is no misuse of a shared login.

At the moment, you will need to email [email protected] to ask them to update your email address

Please include the following information in your email

• Organisation Name
• Your first and last name, and the email address.

We introduced contact for quick access to the name and contact phone numbers for a lost pet, eliminating the need to scroll through the form, and making the phone numbers clickable hyperlinks for mobile phone users

Edit allows you to access all the animal details if something needs to be updated for a guardian, or if you wish to check the notes about the animal.

This is not currently possible in our system. You can however make important notes on the animal details. There is a field titled ‘Behavioural, physical, & medical notes’.

No! In our updated system, from your dashboard, you can search the last 5 or more digits. This will bring up all animals which have the same 5 digits at the end of their microchip number. You can then narrow down based on the animals name, species etc.

Here is a quick video about using this function.

Agents: Looking up a microchip on the NZCAR

 Click the above link to view a short 'how to' video on searching microchip numbers on the NZCAR.

Paper forms have many disadvantages including data entry mistakes, delays in registration, not to mention the environmental impact of printing paper. 

We’ve endeavoured to make it as easy as possible for you to register online, and are open to feedback and suggestions to make registration even easier or faster.

We strongly encourage implanters to add registrations directly in the NZCAR. This will 

• mean the animal is registered immediately
• save your clients time
• save your staff time
• eliminate data entry errors due to illegible forms or human error
• eliminate lost forms.

We have made it easy for direct entry

• choose 'minimum detail' to create a new registration in less than 45 seconds.
• automatically generated email encourages your client to add more details online
• use a Bluetooth microchip scanner or barcode scanner to enter the microchip number in less than 1 second with 100% accuracy
• You also have the ability to print an NZCAR certificate for your client

If you still would like a form, you can download one here. Please note this should NOT be sent to the NZCAR team as they will not be entered. 

 Not at this stage

Minimum registration is a subset of details which contains just enough information to create an account for the guardian, have a contact number and identify the animal. 

When you save the minimum detail form, an email will be sent to the guardian, encouraging them to login and complete the remainder of their details. This will have the added benefit of making the guardian aware of the register and the information that is held on it from day one.

If your team are entering the minimum details only, ensure you advise clients to expect an email from us. This email will detail to them how to log in and complete the remainder of their details. 

Full registration is a complete set of details about the animal, as well as the guardians complete contact details and secondary contact details.

This option is still available for those of you who would prefer to capture everything at the time of registration or for a client who may not have an email address.

You are encouraged to complete the ‘Full Detail’ registration if no guardian email is available. Please advise your client that they will need to contact you or the NZCAR support office every time they want to update their records (as they have no ability to log into their account without an email associated).

When creating a registration or completing a transfer, tick the box which reads 'No email address available', then enter a reason such as 'none provided'.

Yes, they can set up their own NZCAR account and register an animal using a credit card. Because of our new account process they can add and manage many animals from one dashboard after they have created their account.

It is not possible for an organisation to create a new registration to another organisation. However, it is super easy with only one extra step!

1. Register the animal as normal until you get to step 4 of the registration (Guardian details)
2. Under the Secondary contact fields, tick the box that says “Check this box to register my organisation as the guardian of this animal” 
3. The screen will change to show your organisations details – click “Finish and register to organisation”. This will register the animal to YOUR organisation.
4. Once you have completed the registration, you'll automatically come to your dashboard showing the animal you have just registered. To transfer the animal to another organisation (e.g. NZ Cat Rescue), from the ‘Actions’ menu, click ‘Transfer ownership’.
   Select ‘Other organisation’ and begin typing the organisation name in the search bar (e.g. NZ Cat Rescue). Select the organisation, then press ‘Transfer guardianship’. This will transfer the animal to the rescues organisation account.

Note: If you attempt to register an animal to an email address that is associated with an organisation account, you will be met with an error that reads 'An organisation account already exists with this email address' and you will not be able to proceed. Please follow the above steps to register to another organisation.

Enquirer Plus: Registering an animal on the NZCAR

Implanter: Registering an animal on the NZCAR

Agents: How to use the 'add new litter' function

Consent is to give permission for something to happen.

When an animal is first registered onto the NZCAR, the guardian enters into an agreement with the NZ Companion Animal Register. This agreement is why it is imperative that the registered guardian (primary contact), is the only person who can give consent for changes to be made in relation to their account.

Examples of changes include:

• Updating their phone number
• Updating their residential address
• Transferring an animal to or from their account

When Approved Users (e.g. Vets) or NZCAR Support Staff make any of the above changes, they are prompted to acknowledge they have permission to do so.

Approved users must attempt to gain express consent from the registered guardian, which may be via:

• Phoning the registered guardian
• Texting the registered guardian (if SMS is available to you)
• Emailing the registered guardian
• (Excluding seized or surrendered animals, with appropriate documentation of the seizure/surrender)

Persons who claim to be the owner/legal owner/legal guardian of an animal should be advised that you will first need to speak with the registered guardian in order to make any changes to that animals registration. If they do not wish for you to do this, no changes can be made to the animals registration at that time. In these situations, encourage the person to reach out to our support team who can look into their specific situation and discuss how best to proceed.

The 'Secondary contact' cannot provide consent to the above changes. This person is an additional point of contact for lost and found pet purposes only.

If the registered guardian declines to give consent for changes, encourage the person requesting the changes to contact our support office and we can discuss if there are any other possible avenues (Ownership Issues/Disputes).

Please refer to our Terms and Conditions or contact us if you have any further questions.

Firstly, please read the above FAQ titled 'Consent and who can provide it?'.

It is VERY important that you do not use the "Update Contact Details" option to overwrite the old guardians details, as this will make changes to ALL animals registered to that guardian.
For example: Mrs Smith has 4 animals registered to her email [email protected] - Fluffy, Socks, Max and Luna. You are attempting to rehome Max from Mrs Smith to Mr Doe - if you use "Update Contact Details" and overwrite the details to Mr Doe, Fluffy, Socks, Max and Luna will ALL show with Mr Doe as their guardian.

Find the animal you are looking to change ownership for on the NZCAR, and use the "Transfer" button to transfer the animal from one guardian to another, or from a guardian to your organisation. 
Continued example: When you use the "Transfer" option to move Max from Mrs Smiths account to Mr Doe's account, Fluffy, Socks and Luna will remain correctly registered to Mrs Smiths account and Max will be transferred to Mr Doe's account.

Ensure you have consent from the registered guardian (primary contact) before making the transfer. You will need to select a declaration and comment on how you have gained consent for the transfer (see above FAQ on 'Consent').

Watch a demonstration video of the "Transfer" function. 

This situation occurs when the guardian has not kept their contact details up to date and so you are 'unable to make contact'.

What does "unable to make contact" mean? A reasonable attempt must be made to get in contact with the registered guardian using all available details on their account and include:

• Phoning the registered guardian
• Texting the registered guardian (if SMS is available to you)
• Emailing the registered guardian
• Phoning the secondary contact to request up to date contact details for the registered guardian
• Texting the secondary contact to request up to date contact details for the registered guardian (if SMS is available to you)

If you fail to reach the registered guardian after completing the above actions over a reasonable time frame (for example: NZCAR Support Staff attempt to contact over a 3 week period) and are satisfied that the registered guardian is unable to be contacted via their registered details, then you can declare you were 'unable to make contact'.
Sometimes it is quickly apparent that there is no possible way to contact the registered guardian, for example, the phone number is invalid or disconnected and there is no email or secondary contact on the account. In these situations, you can proceed with the transfer as there is no possible way to contact the registered guardian.

Transfers: When you have a request to transfer an animal to another guardian, but are unable to make contact, you can use the 4th declaration option which reads 'This animal has been brought to our organisation by a member of the public, and we have tried and been unable to make contact with the primary or secondary contact'. Once selecting this declaration option, ensure you enter a comment, detailing the attempts at contact you have made (or your have determined that all details are invalid).

Lost and found animals: It is always disheartening when you have an animal brought to you, are excited to find that it has a microchip, then find that the contact details for the animal have not been kept up to date. However, there are some additional avenues you can try, in an attempt to find an animals guardian.

Additional avenues:

LostPet: Guardians of both NZCAR registered and non-registered animals can create listings on LostPet. If you have an animal brought to you that is not microchipped/ not NZCAR registered/ registered but details are not up to date, be sure to check the Lost listings on LostPet, here. The guardian may still be actively searching for their pet! If you are not immediately able to find a listing for the animal, be sure to create a Found listing, so that the guardian may contact you directly.

Preferred Vet Clinic: If the guardian has entered their 'Preferred Vet Clinic' (on the 'animal details' screen), this clinic may have up to date details in their clinic database. They may not be able to provide you with the details, but will be able to contact their client on your behalf, and ask the client to contact you directly about their lost/found animal.

Implanter Clinic: Implanters/registering organisations occasionally enter guardian details with typo's. You may like to reach out to the 'Implanter Clinic' and query if they have guardian details for the animal.

Facebook: Community pages and Lost/Found Facebook groups can be a useful resource. However, there are many Facebook pages and groups to share to and Facebook posts are superseded by newer posts and are not easily searchable

If the animal has not previously been registered, you are able to create a registration as soon as they are microchipped. During the  registration creation form, under the 'guardian details', select the box which reads “Register to my organisation”. This will register the animal so that when the animals microchip number is searched, your organisation will show as the guardian. 

If the animal is already registered, you can use the "Transfer" function, then select 'My Organisation' to transfer the animal to your own organisation.

Watch a video demonstrating the "Transfer" function. 

If you would like to see all animals currently registered to your organisation, from your dashboard, simply tick the box which reads 'Filter by Companion Animals that are registered to my organisation'.

In most cases, this will simply be an issue of the guardian not keeping details up to date, and will have a perfectly innocent explanation. In any case we don’t expect that you should get involved in any dispute. Please see the advice we have provided in the link below.

Ensure that you gain permission, from the person presenting the animal, to share their details with us - NZCAR (if they request for the animal to be transferred to themselves).

Ownership issues and disputes

For further guidance on these types of situations, please see the advice provided by the Vet Council here.

In most cases, this will simply be an issue of guardians not keeping details up to date, and will have a perfectly innocent explanation. In any case we don’t expect that you should get involved in any dispute. Please see the advice we have provided below.

Ensure that you gain permission, from the person presenting the animal, to share their details with us (NZCAR).

Ownership issues and disputes

For further guidance on these types of situations, please see the advice provided by the Vet Council here.

All of a guardian’s companion animals should be associated to one account (email address), so changing a primary contact email address on one animal will affect all animals associated with that email address.

As a safeguard against implanters inadvertently making changes to all animals associated with an account when they mean to only make changes to one, we have locked the email so it cannot be changed by implanters. 

Guardians are able to change their own email address using their NZCAR login. They are also able to make this change by phoning or emailing our support office on 0508 LOSTPET or [email protected]. 

You will not currently be able to create lost pet listings from your Implanter, Enquirer Plus and Enquirer account. However, you can still utilise the service! Simply log in via an existing guardian account that you have OR create a new guardian account using another email address available to you.

*Creating a lost pet listing from an Implanter, Enquirer Plus or Enquirer account will be reviewed for future development. If it is a feature you would like to see or if there is another feature you believe would help YOU get lost pets home, please contact our friendly support team and let us know!

Creating a found pet listing is easy! You do not need to log in OR create an account to do this. Found listings can be made for any species.

Simply head to LostPet, then click 'Report found pet'. If you need to make any changes to your 'found pet listing' or to remove it, please contact our friendly support team.

Due to the restrictions that Facebook impose for businesses, it is not possible for those with a business Facebook account, to share listings in the same way as to a personal account. However, it is still easy to share!

Simply find the listing you wish to share, click view listing, then copy and paste the URL to your Facebook post. This will share the full listing tile (image - if there is one, and title) and you can add in wording for your post.

LostPet should be the first place for your team to look, list and share, when you find lost/found animals.