Mendocino County, CA Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

110(A) of the County Code requires that any impounded dog or cat found without microchip identification be implanted with an animal services microchip by designated shelter personnel before it can be released, on top of the other release conditions such as paying impound and boarding fees. The cost of the microchip falls on the owner or keeper, not the County. 110(B) sets the microchip fee by resolution of the Board of Supervisors and allows Animal Care Services to collect it whenever a dog or cat is adopted out, transferred to a nonprofit rescue or adoption organization, or reclaimed by its owner from the shelter.

If the animal has already been implanted with a microchip by another facility, the County waives the implantation fee and only charges, if anything, for entering that existing microchip number into the Animal Care Services registry. 030(C)(1), which requires those animals to be chipped at the owner's expense regardless of whether they have ever been impounded, with the identifying information noted in the dog's licensing file. Both rules are enforced through Animal Care Services' release and licensing process rather than through a standalone citation, meaning an owner cannot get a chipless impounded animal back until the implant is done and paid for.