I want to get an RFID chip implanted in my hand for practical and entertainment purposes. I am a adult 100% aware of the risks and willing to undergo the (very minor) surgery, in which the small tag is injected beneath the skin via a syringe.

Since I want to minimize the risks, I want to ask a qualified doctor to perform the actual implantation.

I am located in Quebec, but am willing to travel out of the province if the laws are more favorable.

Is there a law that prohibits a doctor from performing such a procedure?

  • 1
    Are you really 100% aware of the risks ? Including a 1-10% chance of it causing cancer ? (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VeriChip) and that the only one certified for use in humans was pulled off the market in 2010? Why not just get a ring instead? (store.nfcring.com) – davidgo Aug 5 '16 at 6:37
  • 1-10% percent of cancer is an unsubstanciated claim (as can be read in the link you provided). I also specifically want an implant, not a ring. And anyways, the legality of such an operation is the question here, not risks. – JS Lavertu Aug 5 '16 at 13:31
  • Update: I ended up doing the procedure myself with the assistance of a friend. Three years later, the tag works fine and I've had no issues! – JS Lavertu Jan 6 at 20:40

This article from 2007 indicates

radio frequency identification microchips are not considered medical devices by Health Canada's Therapeutic Drugs Directorate, so there's no requirement to obtain licences for their sale or use. Health Canada spokesperson Carole Saindon says the devices do not have a therapeutic use, so they fall outside the ambit of the Food and Drugs Act. “Health records, or the mechanism by which they are stored or retrieved, are not considered to be medical devices,” says Saindon. Because this microchip technology is unregulated, it isn't known whether any Canadian facilities have implanted chips in humans.

If it were positively required that the device be deemed to have therapeutic device in order for it to be legal to implant, then they would have said that the chip can't be implanted in Canada. It seems that there are no direct restrictions against chipping people in Canada, therefore a doctor may legally do it.


I can't speak for Canada but the rules in Australia require any human implant to have the approval of the Therapeutic Goods Administration. Try searching for a Canadian equivalent.
