Surry County, NC Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Surry County's microchip requirement is narrow and tied entirely to the dangerous-dog process in the Animal Control and Animal Welfare Chapter; there is no general county mandate that every dog or cat carry a microchip. Once the Surry County Public Health Director makes a final determination that a dog is a POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DOG under G.S. § 67-4.1(a)(2), § 90.067(B)(1)(b) and (B)(2)(b) make redemption expressly conditional: within 30 days of getting the dog back, the owner must have it spayed or neutered and fitted with microchip identification at the owner's own expense, and the Animal Control Department may demand veterinary receipts proving it was done.

If the owner misses that 30-day window, the Director issues a citation for civil penalties under § 90.999, and if the condition and penalty still are not satisfied within a further 30 days, the dog is destroyed by the Animal Control Department. The microchip requirement resurfaces at the end of a registered potentially-dangerous dog's life: § 90.068(B)(4) requires the owner to notify Animal Control immediately on the dog's death and, within 24 hours, present the dog's body for scanning of the required microchip identification, performed either by a licensed veterinarian or by Animal Control, to confirm the registered dog is in fact deceased.

Ordinary pet owners whose dogs have never been determined dangerous or potentially dangerous are not subject to any microchipping requirement under Surry County's code; identification for other dogs is instead governed by § 90.030, which lets an owner choose a tag, tattoo, microchip, or other marking.