Salt Lake County, UT Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Chapter 8.08 governs impoundment under the county animal control title, and Section 8.08.040 is its redemption section. Subsection A lets the owner, or an authorized representative defined as a legally responsible adult of age eighteen or more, redeem an impounded animal within the holding period, provided that person pays all applicable and enforceable fees, costs for veterinary care and other services rendered, and meets all requirements of the title. Subsection B then adds the microchip duty in one sentence: all animals shall be microchipped upon redemption. The sentence names no species, no age cutoff and no exception for an animal that already carries a chip.

Section 8.01.010 defines the device. A microchip is electronic identification implanted subcutaneously in an animal and is a secondary form of identification, and each chip has a unique number that is detected using a microchip scanner. Because it is secondary, a chip does not replace a license. Section 8.04.060(C) says owners can have an identifying microchip implanted, but microchips shall not be considered legal licensure and do not take the place of an animal's license.

The holding period sets the clock. Under § 8.08.030(A), animals are impounded for a minimum of five business days before further disposition, and reasonable efforts are made to notify an identifiable owner. An animal voluntarily relinquished by its owner need not be kept for that minimum. Under § 8.08.040(A), an animal not reclaimed within the period becomes property of the appropriate animal control agency, and § 8.08.040(C) treats failure to redeem as abandonment.

The microchip stacks with other release conditions. On a second impoundment within a twenty-four-month period, § 8.08.060(B) allows release only on proof of sterilization, payment of a sterilization deposit, or sterilization of the animal, with Utah Code § 11-46-200 et seq. also applying. On a third impoundment, § 8.08.060(C) lets the director or designee require sterilization before release. Section 8.08.010(D) entitles the division to recover from the owner the cost of care and keeping, medical treatment and euthanasia, and § 8.08.030(C) puts veterinary fees on the owner when an impounded animal receives medical care.