Porterville, CA Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

City Code section 5-3.9.C sets a targeted microchip mandate rather than a citywide one: it applies to an owner or person in control of an animal that has been determined to be a nuisance on a second or subsequent occasion. In that specific circumstance, the owner may be required to have a microchip inserted into the animal for identification purposes, implanted by a licensed veterinarian within 20 days of the animal being classified as a nuisance for a second or subsequent offense, and the cost falls on the owner.

The owner must then provide the Police Department with a certificate of completion and the information encoded on the chip, which is added to the animal's licensing record. This provision sits inside the broader public nuisance section 5-3.9, which declares unlawful conduct including letting an animal defecate on others' property, failing to immediately clean up after it in public, creating unsanitary conditions that attract vermin or produce odors, and letting an animal wander without consent; a first nuisance finding can also lead to a mandatory spay/neuter order under subsection B.

The nuisance-inspection procedure in section 5-3.10 lets police enter yards to investigate and serve a 48-hour written abatement notice, and private citizens injured by a nuisance retain a separate civil remedy under California Civil Code section 3493.