Hillsborough County requires microchipping of dogs and cats reclaimed from county shelters and adopted from Animal Resources, with strong incentives toward universal microchipping for licensing and lost-pet recovery.
Any dog or cat adopted from or reclaimed at Hillsborough County Animal Resources, which serves Tampa under interlocal agreement, must be microchipped before release. The chip must be registered to the current owner and updated whenever address or phone changes. License renewal portals integrate chip data so found pets can be reunited quickly. Veterinarians, rescues, and the Humane Society of Tampa Bay routinely offer low-cost chipping clinics. Failure to update registration after a pet is found stray can complicate reclaim and may delay release while ownership is verified.
Reclaiming a stray pet without an updated chip generally requires paying for chip registration plus impound and boarding fees; refusal to chip an impounded pet may forfeit reclaim privileges entirely.
Tampa, FL
Tampa requires cats to be vaccinated against rabies, licensed through Hillsborough County, and reasonably confined to the owner's property under Chapter 5 nu...
Tampa, FL
Tampa requires all dogs to be on a leash no longer than 6 feet when off the owners property. Dogs running at large are subject to impoundment and owner fines...
See how Tampa's microchipping rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.