Tags & identity
NFC pet tags: the simplest dog ID technology
NFC pet tags hold no battery and need no app. A finder taps the tag with their phone and your dog's identity opens instantly. Here's how they work and why a tap beats a worn-down engraved tag.
In short
How NFC tags work
NFC (Near-Field Communication) is the same technology behind tap-to-pay. The tag is a tiny passive chip — no battery, nothing to charge or break. When a phone touches it, the phone powers the chip just long enough to read a web link, and your dog’s Pawsport opens in the browser. It works in the rain, in the cold, and years later, because there’s nothing to run down.
NFC vs engraved tags
An engraved tag fits a name and maybe one phone number — and if your number changes, the tag is wrong forever. An NFC PawTag™ points to a profile you update any time, with room for medical alerts, a vet, emergency contacts, and Lost Mode — none of which fits on metal.
NFC vs QR tags
Both open a web profile. NFC is a tap — fast and intuitive — while a QR code needs the finder to line up a camera, which can be fiddly in low light or with a wriggly dog. A PawTag™ carries both: tap for speed, scan as a universal fallback.
What a tap opens
One tap tells a finder who your dog is — your contact, medical alerts, vet, and safe-return instructions, all from a tag with no battery and no app.
The PawTag™ is an NFC tag with a brain
No battery, no app, works on iPhone and Android, with a QR code as backup. Tap it and your dog's full Pawsport — identity, medical, contacts, safe-return — opens instantly.
Membership includes your dog’s full Pawsport.
Frequently asked questions
- Do NFC pet tags require batteries?
- No. NFC tags operate without batteries and activate when scanned by a compatible smartphone.
- Does the PawTag work with iPhone and Android?
- Yes. NFC tap-to-open works on modern iPhones and Android phones, and every tag also carries a printed code as a backup, so any phone camera can open it.
- Does a finder need an app to read my dog's Pawsport?
- No. A finder taps the PawTag with any NFC-capable phone, or scans the printed code — the Pawsport opens in their browser. No app or account is required.
- What happens if someone finds my dog?
- A finder can scan the PawTag and immediately access contact information, emergency details, and return instructions.
- What makes a Pawsport different from a regular ID tag?
- A regular tag shows a name and a number. A Pawsport opens your dog's full identity — emergency contacts, medical alerts, vet details, and safe-return instructions — from a single tap, and you control exactly what a finder sees.
More on the Passport Center
How it works
The cornerstone: a dog's three states, and how a Pawsport gets them home.
Digital pet passport
The concept: one shareable home for your dog's identity, records, and emergency info.
Service dog credentials
Training, therapy, and handler credentials — carried digitally.
Emergency information
The checklist every dog should carry — and how to make it tap-to-view.
Lost dog guide
The first hour, step by step — and how Lost Mode speeds a safe return.