Yuba County, CA Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Chapter 8.05 doesn't create a countywide requirement that owners implant a microchip in a dog or cat, unlike some California cities. What it does create is an obligation on the shelter side: while an animal is impounded and before it is adopted or euthanized, the Animal Care Officer must scan it for a microchip identifying the owner and make reasonable efforts to reach that owner, for dogs under § 8.05.180(1)(c) and for cats under § 8.05.180(3)(c).

That scanning duty sits inside the Chapter's holding-period structure. A stray dog is held six business days, not counting the day of impoundment, dropping to four business days if the shelter offers a weekday evening redemption window until at least 7:00 p.m. or a weekend day, or if it has fewer than three full-time employees and offers redemption by appointment (§ 8.05.180(1)(a)). Stray dogs are held for owner redemption during the first three days of that period, and made available for redemption or adoption for the remainder. Before euthanizing a stray dog, the shelter must first release it to a requesting nonprofit rescue or adoption organization recognized under Internal Revenue Code § 501(c)(3) (§ 8.05.180(1)(b)). Cats follow a parallel structure under § 8.05.180(3), with the same six-day baseline, the same four-day reduction triggers, and the same nonprofit-rescue priority before euthanasia.

If the microchip scan turns up an owner and the animal is retrieved, the owner must still have the animal vaccinated against rabies and, for a dog four months or older, licensed before release (§ 8.05.190(1)). An animal that goes unclaimed through its full holding period is disposed of under § 8.05.200, regardless of whether it carries a chip that couldn't be traced to a reachable owner.