Granville County, NC Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Granville County's microchip requirement is not a general pet-ownership rule; it applies only inside the retention contract an owner must sign under Section 11-81(f)(3) to keep a dog that an animal control officer has declared dangerous or a public nuisance under Section 11-81(a) through (c). That contract lets the county set conditions on continued ownership and charges a fee, set in the county fee schedule, to cover administration. Among the proof the owner must supply when entering the contract, Section 11-81(f)(5)(b) requires that the dog is microchipped with a permanent ID, and the owner must hand the microchip number to county animal control at that time; the same clause (5)(a) separately requires proof of a current rabies vaccination and that the dog is spayed or neutered.

The contract layers the microchip requirement on top of the ordinary rabies-tag rule in Section 11-42, which already requires every dog four months or older to wear an identification tag and rabies tag whenever off the owner's property. Beyond microchipping, a declared dangerous dog's retention contract requires a visible 11-by-16-inch warning sign within 14 days, a secure outdoor pen at least six feet high with 50 square feet of space if kept outside, a leash no longer than six feet plus a muzzle whenever the dog leaves the property, three identifying photographs supplied to animal control, and notice to 911 within one hour of any loss of containment.