After a dog completes the required health clearances set by the parent club, it will receive a Canine Health Information Center, or CHIC number, assigned to it as well as a certificate like this one:
The CHIC program was designed to partner with canine breed parent clubs to help research and maintain health records on their specific breeds. Often times, people will misrepresent a dog that has a CHIC number as having passed all of its health clearances. However, this is not necessarily the case. The CHIC number is issued regardless of the results of the health clearance testing. In other words, a dog can fail one or more of the breed required health tests, and as long as this is reported through OFA and the dog has had all of the required tests done, it will still be assigned a CHIC number.
So when you are searching for a reputable breeder, be sure to ask to see the certificates for each health clearance required, not just the CHIC number. For more information, follow this link: