Martin County, FL Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Under the Martin County Code of Ordinances, microchipping is a consequence of repeat impoundment rather than a blanket mandate for every owned dog or cat. Section 9.64.B states plainly: upon the second impoundment of a dog or cat the Animal Services Unit determines to be stray or at large, the Unit implants a micro-chip at the owner's expense, with the fee collected at redemption. A third confirmed impoundment adds mandatory spay or neuter under section 9.64.C, and a fourth can trigger a County Attorney's Office petition for an injunction barring the owner from possessing the animal in Martin County under section 9.64.E.

Outside the escalating-impoundment context, the Code treats a micro-chip as an accepted alternative to the annual license/identification tag. Section 9.1 defines micro-chip as 'an electronic device used for the permanent identification of the host animal,' and section 9.62.D notes that license fees are set based partly on whether the dog or cat is micro-chipped. An animal with a current, traceable micro-chip is not considered 'at large' under the chapter's definitions the way an untagged, unchipped stray is, which matters because section 9.34.A lets the impoundment facility take ownership of any stray lacking a current license tag or micro-chip after five nights unredeemed.

Community cats enrolled in the County's trap-neuter-vaccinate-return program are handled separately: section 9.90.D.3 requires each community cat to be sterilized, vaccinated, ear-tipped, and implanted with a micro-chip before it is exempt from the ordinary licensing and stray provisions.