Clay County, FL Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Section 4-22(e) of the Clay County Animal Services Ordinance requires that, before any animal impounded under section 4-22 is returned to its owner or keeper, the animal 'shall be properly inoculated for rabies and microchipped by the county,' with the owner or keeper responsible for paying the county for both the rabies inoculation and the microchip procedure. This makes microchipping mandatory at the point of impoundment rather than a general licensing requirement for every pet kept at home. Two related sections extend microchipping into the retail and breeding trade: section 4-36(7) requires that, except for dogs and cats already chipped when received, an existing commercial establishment selling dogs or cats must have each animal implanted with a permanent RFID microchip, registered to the establishment as primary owner, within five business days of receiving it.

Section 4-37(c)(3) requires that all dogs and cats kept by a licensed hobby breeder be identifiable by either a tattoo or a microchip, and that a microchip scanner be kept on the premises if an implanted microchip is used. Section 4-17's definition of 'owner or keeper' also creates a rebuttable presumption that whoever's name appears on an animal's RFID microchip registration is the animal's legal owner, which matters in disputes over custody of a seized or impounded animal.