Oklahoma City, OK Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Section 8-57(b) of the Animal chapter makes microchipping a release condition, not a general household mandate: "All dogs and cats shall be spayed or neutered and micro-chipped prior to being released," language that reaches every animal leaving the City Animal Shelter, whether newly adopted or reclaimed by its original owner after impoundment. The spay/neuter half of that requirement has exceptions the microchip half does not; the Animal Welfare Superintendent may exempt a full-breed registered animal from spaying or neutering on proof of pure-breed status verified by the American Kennel Club or a similar registry and payment of a registration fee, or on a licensed veterinarian's written certification that the animal cannot reproduce or that surgery would injure its health, with a temporary health exemption converting to a spay/neuter requirement once the animal recovers.

Because the statute's release condition applies "including those reclaimed," an owner cannot get a dog or cat back from impoundment without proof the animal has been microchipped, on top of the ownership proof and impoundment, board and registration fees required generally under § 8-56 and § 8-57(a). The Division also uses microchips as a form of proof of ownership: § 8-5(23) lists a "scannable microchip" alongside tattoos and brands as acceptable identification when an owner has no bill of sale, and the Division may charge a fee for implanting microchips under § 8-56(e)'s miscellaneous-services fee authority. A second or subsequent at-large impoundment carries its own registration paperwork requirement under § 8-57(c), separate from the microchip rule.