Newark, OH Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Section 618.27 of the Newark Code of Ordinances, passed by Newark City Council in 2007 as Ordinance 07-30, creates a city-run registry rather than a microchip mandate. Division (a) requires the City to create and maintain a database of cats and dogs identified by microchip that belong to City residents who comply with division (b). Nothing in the section orders a resident to implant a chip.

Residents of the City of Newark, Ohio who choose to microchip a cat or dog may register their name, address, telephone number and the microchip number of each animal. Registration is done by completing a form available from the Animal Control Officer or the Office of the Director of Public Safety. The code places the burden of keeping the record current on the owner: it is the sole duty of the cat or dog owner to notify both the City and the microchip manufacturer of any change in registry information. Moving or changing a phone number without telling both leaves the City database out of date.

Division (c) controls who sees the data. The database is available to the City Animal Control Officer or the City of Newark Law Enforcement at any time they are performing animal control duties, which supports returning a found pet to its owner.

The only prohibition is in division (d). No person shall knowingly remove a microchip from any domestic animal without verifying its ownership with the Animal Control Officer or with the person requesting the removal, and without obtaining the owner's consent before removing it. The code's definition of a domestic animal in Section 618.28 includes any dog or cat regardless of where it is kept, and any animal kept inside a residential dwelling, but excludes livestock and wild animals. Veterinary clinics and others who handle chips should treat the ownership check and consent as required steps.