Charleston, SC Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Section 5-9(1) requires all dogs and cats over four months old that live within the city to carry identification: either a microchip implanted by someone authorized to perform the procedure under state law, containing the owner's most accurate and current contact information, or a durable collar or harness tag listing the owner's name, address, and phone number, worn at all times. Subsection (2) exempts owners who have lived in the city fewer than 30 days and nonresidents keeping a dog or cat in the city fewer than 60 days.

The section also regulates transfers: under § 5-9(3)(a), anyone offering a dog or cat over four months for sale, trade, or adoption must disclose the microchip identification number if one exists, and that number must appear on the transfer document. Under § 5-9(3)(b), a new owner who acquires a dog or cat from a previous owner must register their own current contact information with the microchip company within 30 days of acquiring the animal, so the chip stays traceable to the correct household. This identification requirement was enacted as part of the city's broader August 19, 2025 overhaul of chapter 5, and was itself amended again that October to add the transfer-disclosure and re-registration provisions.