Wicomico County, MD Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

Wicomico County's microchip requirement is targeted, not universal. Chapter 133 defines a 'microchip' in § 133-2 as an electronic chip that lets an authorized party identify an animal's owner, expressly excluding any device carrying global positioning system coordinates. The mandatory-microchipping trigger comes from § 133-11, the chapter's dangerous- and potentially-dangerous-animal provision. If the Animal Control Authority determines an animal is potentially dangerous but not a threat to public safety, the owner can be required, among other conditions, to have the animal microchipped with the determination itself encoded on the chip, at the owner's expense.

If the Authority instead determines the animal is dangerous, the owner must have the animal implanted with a microchip carrying owner-identification information and must supply that information to the Authority within 10 days of being notified it is required. Both requirements can be appealed: § 133-12 lets an owner request a hearing before the Animal Appeal Board within seven days, and the microchipping condition for a potentially-dangerous determination is stayed while that appeal is pending. G reaches repeat offenders at the shelter: an impounded animal must be microchipped, at the owner's expense, before it can be redeemed if the owner or the animal was found guilty, placed on probation before judgment, or paid a civil citation for a violation of §§ 133-11, 133-14, 133-17 or 133-18 within the year before impoundment. Ordinary household pets with no dangerous-animal history or violation record carry no county microchip mandate.