Jacksonville Animal Care and Protective Services implants an ISO-standard microchip in every dog and cat adopted out of the shelter under Chapter 462 procedures. Owners must keep registration current. Owned pets not entering the shelter system are not legally required to be chipped but it is strongly encouraged.
JACPS scans every incoming stray for an existing chip and implants a 15-digit ISO chip in adoption animals before release, registering it to the new owner at no extra cost. Microchipping speeds reunification of strays and is required to qualify for trap-neuter-return colony permits. The First Coast No More Homeless Pets clinic runs periodic free chip clinics for owned pets. Veterinarians and JACPS officers can scan found pets and look up the chip number against universal registries to contact owners. Owners must update phone and Jacksonville address with the chip registry whenever they move or change carriers.
Refusing to microchip an adopted JACPS animal can void the adoption agreement and trigger reclaim by the shelter; releasing or transferring an unchipped animal contrary to the contract may bring fines up to $200 and ban from future adoptions.
Jacksonville, FL
Jacksonville Ordinance Code Chapter 462 requires every cat over four months old to be vaccinated against rabies and to wear a current rabies tag. Cats are no...
Jacksonville, FL
Jacksonville does not impose blanket mandatory spay-neuter on owned pets. Chapter 462 requires sterilization only for animals adopted from JACPS or impounded...
Jacksonville, FL
Jacksonville Ordinance Code Chapter 462 requires all dogs to be restrained (leash, fence, or tether) when off owner's property. Running at large prohibited c...
See how Jacksonville's microchipping rules stack up against other locations.
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