Tulare County, CA Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Section 4-07-3220 of the county's animal control chapter requires that all dogs be implanted with an identifying microchip, a rule that applies countywide in the unincorporated area administered by the Health and Human Services Agency's Animal Services Division. Owners must give the microchip number to Animal Services at the time of implantation or licensing and register it with the chip manufacturer or a designated national registry, so the animal can be traced back to its owner if it strays or is impounded. If ownership changes, or if the owner's address or phone number changes, the new information must reach both the registry and Animal Services within 30 days; missing that window leaves the county's chip records outdated and can slow the return of a lost dog.

For dogs that come through the county shelter without an existing chip, § 4-07-3220(B) requires the Animal Shelter to implant one before the dog is adopted out or redeemed by its owner, and the cost of that implantation is billed to the owner. The requirement sits alongside the county's separate mandatory spay-and-neuter rule for dogs and its dog-licensing program, giving Animal Services three independent ways, chip, license tag, and altered status, to identify a dog and its owner. Animal Control Officers enforce the chapter and may issue administrative citations for noncompliance under § 4-07-2200.