Chatham County, GA Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Sec. 22-203(b) provides that any dog impounded for any reason shall not be returned to the owner until the dog has a microchip placed in it by Animal Services, at the owner's expense. This applies on top of the section's general impoundment authority: Sec. 22-203(a) lets an Animal Services officer or assistant enter unenclosed private property to capture a dog found in violation of the article, including muzzling it if necessary. Sec. 22-205(a) places a matching duty on finders: any non-owner who finds a dog or cat in Chatham County must actively pursue returning it to its owner by notifying Animal Services of the animal's whereabouts, and must have the animal scanned for a microchip; a lost animal report must be filed with Animal Services within 24 hours regardless of the outcome of that scan.

A related microchip trigger appears in the breeder rules at Sec. 22-202(f): any non-registered animal that a breeder places in violation of Sec. 22-202 must also be microchipped for identification within the same 5-day compliance window, with proof presented to the Director of Animal Services. Together these sections make microchipping a condition of release from impound and a mandatory step in returning a found animal, rather than a standalone registration requirement imposed on every pet owner up front.