Lancaster, CA Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Lancaster generally adopts Los Angeles County's Title 10 animal control ordinance wholesale by reference under Section 6.04.010, and the county code otherwise requires most dogs to be microchipped under county Section 10.20.185. But Section 6.04.030 carves that specific requirement back out: it lists Section 10.20.185, 'Microchipping of dogs required,' together with Part 4 of county Chapter 10.20 (the county's mandatory spay and neuter program beginning at Section 10.20.350), as provisions of the county animal control ordinance that do not apply inside Lancaster. That means a Lancaster dog owner is not subject to a city or adopted-county mandate to microchip a pet, unlike an owner in the unincorporated county area next door.

Lancaster instead runs its own, narrower breed-specific mandatory spay-and-neuter program under city Chapter 6.08, which applies only to Pit Bulls and Rottweilers and carries its own unaltered-dog licensing and microchip-reporting requirements when a restricted-breed puppy changes hands (Sec. 6.08.060(D)). Section 6.04.010(B) and (C) make clear that wherever Lancaster's own chapter conflicts with the adopted county ordinance on animal control or the keeping of animals under the zoning code, the city's own rule controls, which is why the carve-out in Section 6.04.030 overrides the county's general microchip mandate for city residents.