Nash County, NC Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Nash County's animal control chapter contains no blanket microchipping requirement for dogs or cats generally; ordinary pet owners satisfy the county's identification rules with the rabies tag required under Sec. 4-29 and Sec. 4-30, which every dog and cat four months or older must wear on its collar. Microchipping becomes mandatory only once the Health Director has made a formal determination under Sec. 4-12(a) that a specific dog is 'dangerous' or 'potentially dangerous,' as those terms are defined in Sec. 4-1. Sec. 4-12(g) then requires that dog's owner to have the animal tattooed or microchipped by a licensed veterinarian and to provide Animal Control with documentation of the tattoo or microchip within 30 days of the determination becoming final.

This runs alongside the owner's other Sec. 4-12 obligations: building a secure enclosure within the same 30 days, posting a warning sign, and keeping the dog under constant restraint until any appeal to the Nash County Human Services Board, and ultimately to superior court, is resolved. The chip requirement gives Animal Control a permanent way to identify the declared dog if it escapes, is relocated, or changes owners, all of which Sec. 4-15 separately requires the owner to report within 24 hours to ten days depending on the event. The rule applies only in unincorporated Nash County under Sec. 4-50; Rocky Mount and the county's towns enforce their own dangerous-dog codes.