Fresno County, CA Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Fresno County Code Section 9.04.030 imposes microchipping on top of, not instead of, the standard dog license. Subsection A gives every owner of a dog over four months old thirty calendar days from acquiring the dog to obtain a license from the license collector, the county's director of public health or designee. Subsection B then requires that the dog bear an identifiable microchip, defined in the ordinance as an identification chip injected below the skin by a veterinarian, registered veterinary technician, or other qualified staff. The license collector's office maintains a register entering the microchip number alongside the dog's license period, issuance date and the owner's address. Subsection C exempts assistance dogs and other service animals from the license fee, though falsely claiming service-animal status is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in county jail or a $1,000 fine, or both.

The microchip mandate reaches beyond licensed pets. Under Section 9.04.275, any dog three months or older that is impounded at the county animal shelter and was not already microchipped must be implanted with one on arrival, at the owner's expense, billed at the current Fresno County animal control contractor's actual cost. Owners must keep the microchip registration current at all times. Because Section 9.04.160 makes it unlawful to go without a required license past the delinquent date, and licensing now depends on microchipping, an unchipped, unlicensed dog exposes its owner to both the licensing violation and the shelter's mandatory implantation fee if the dog is ever impounded.