Irving, TX Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Sec. 6-15(a) makes it an offense for any city resident who owns a dog or cat over four months old to keep the animal without an implanted microchip registered with a microchip registration company. Owners must keep their name, address, and phone number current with the registry (Sec. 6-15(a)(1)), and when a chipped pet changes hands the seller has 30 days to remove the chip from their own name while the buyer has 30 days to re-register it (Sec. 6-15(a)(2)). Sec. 6-15(b) separately criminalizes using a registered chip number for any animal other than the one it was issued to. Sec. 6-15(c) adds a second, independent duty: every dog or cat in the city must wear a collar or harness with an ID tag listing the owner's name and current phone number any time it is outdoors.

The ordinance carries built-in exceptions. Under Sec. 6-15(d), a pet is exempt from the chip mandate if a licensed veterinarian certifies in writing that microchipping is medically unsuitable, provided the owner instead has the animal tattooed and reports the tattoo number to the department within 30 days. Sec. 6-15(e) exempts non-resident owners keeping a pet in Irving fewer than 30 days, owners who have had the animal less than 30 days, and animals still covered by an unexpired Irving registration certificate issued before this chapter took effect. Animal services also microchips every impounded animal that scans as unchipped on intake, at the owner's expense, under Sec. 6-20(c).