Fremont, CA Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)
Key Facts
- Mandatory microchip trigger
- Potentially dangerous dog designation
- Deadline
- 20 days of designation
- Cost
- Borne by owner
- Cat option
- Chip in lieu of metal tag, Sec. 6.20.070(b)
- Repeat impound rule
- Chip required before release, Sec. 6.30.050(c)
Summary
Fremont requires a microchip for any dog formally designated potentially dangerous, within 20 days of that designation, at the owner's expense, under Municipal Code Section 6.60.340. Cats and other dogs may substitute a microchip for a metal license tag under Section 6.20.070(b).
The owner or person with a right to control a dog that is subject to a potentially dangerous dog permit must, at his or her own expense, have a microchip inserted into the dog within 20 days of the designation as a potentially dangerous dog for identification purposes. The owner or person with a right to control the dog must provide the animal services manager with the identifying information listed on the microchip and the information must be noted in the city's licensing record for that dog.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 02-2026, passed May 5, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Section 6.60.340, 'Microchip implant requirement,' applies within Chapter 6.60's potentially dangerous dog permit scheme: once a dog is designated potentially dangerous, its owner or the person with a right to control it must have a microchip inserted within 20 days of the designation, at the owner's own expense, for identification purposes. The owner must then supply the animal services manager with the microchip's identifying information, which the city notes in that dog's licensing record. Outside the dangerous-dog context, Fremont layers in two more microchip touchpoints: Section 6.20.070(b) lets a cat wear a microchip in lieu of the standard metal license tag, provided the chip carries all the tag's identifying information and the owner bears the cost, and Section 6.30.050(c) requires the shelter to microchip any dog or cat impounded more than once that is not already chipped, before release, with the cost recoverable by the animal services manager under Section 6.30.040 subject to a hardship waiver.
Violations & Fines
Failing to microchip a dog within 20 days of a potentially dangerous designation violates Section 6.60.340 and can factor into permit revocation proceedings under Chapter 6.60. A repeat-impounded, unchipped dog or cat cannot be released from the shelter under Section 6.30.050(c) until it is microchipped at the owner's expense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Fremont require microchipping every pet?
Can a cat use a microchip instead of a tag in Fremont?
What if my dog or cat is impounded twice without a microchip?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fremont
California rules heatmap·Compare Fremont to another location·View the California animal ordinances overview
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Microchipping in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Alameda County handle microchipping.