Port St. Lucie, FL Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Port St. Lucie's animal code doesn't impose a blanket microchip mandate on every dog or cat, but it builds microchipping into two specific programs. Section 92.01 defines a 'Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) Tag' as a device a certified, practicing veterinarian implants under an animal's skin that, once scanned, returns an individual identification code identifying the owner, and the same section notes RFID tags are also known as microchips. That definition matters for proving ownership: Section 92.01's definition of 'Owner' creates a rebuttable presumption that whoever's name appears on the animal's registration or RFID microchip is the legal owner for purposes of reclaiming an impounded animal.

Microchipping becomes mandatory in two places. First, to get a lifetime pet license instead of an annual one, Section 92.41(b) requires proof the pet is spayed or neutered, or naturally unable to reproduce, and has been implanted with an RFID tag; the animal control division then can use the RFID code itself as the pet's permanent lifetime license number, at a fee of $5.00 for a neutered, RFID-tagged pet under Section 92.44. Dogs declared 'Dangerous' under Florida law can't get a lifetime license or use this microchip option regardless. Second, Section 92.01's definition of 'Community cat,' the category that qualifies a feral or free-roaming cat for the trap-neuter-vaccinate-return program under Section 92.19, requires the cat to be distinguished from other cats by being ear-tipped and microchipped, in addition to being sterilized and rabies-vaccinated. A cat that isn't microchipped doesn't meet the definition and can't claim the TNVR exemptions from licensing and at-large rules.