  We derive the finite one-loop counterterm required to restore the Ward
Identities broken by the regularization scheme in chiral gauge theories. Our
result is an analytic expression applicable to a wide class of regularizations
satisfying a few general properties. We adopt the background field method,
which ensures background gauge invariance in the quantized theory, and focus on
renormalizable chiral theories with arbitrary gauge group and fermions in
general representations. Our approach can be extended to theories involving
scalars, such as the Standard Model, or to non-renormalizable theories, such as
the SMEFT. As a concrete application, we work out the finite counterterm at one
loop in the Standard Model, within dimensional regularization and the
Breitenlohner-Maison-'t Hooft-Veltman prescription for $\gamma_5$.
