York County, SC Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

York County Code § 55.30(C) ties its microchip mandate directly to state law: 'Pursuant to the provisions of S.C. Code § 47-3-55(C) and (E); all dogs and cats that are reclaimed from the animal shelter will have a microchip implanted with the associated cost of the microchip added to any impoundment and boarding fees. The owner redeeming his or her dog or cat must elect to have a microchip implanted.' The fee schedule in § 55.34 sets the microchip charge at a flat $9, on top of a rabies vaccination fee of $6 and an impoundment fee that starts at $75 for an unsterilized animal's first reclaim and rises to $300 by the fourth or later occurrence, plus a $15-per-day boarding fee for dogs, cats or fowl.

Reclamation itself requires the owner to be at least 18 years old and to provide documentation of a current rabies vaccination before the animal is released, per § 55.30(A). If the owner instead chooses to have the animal spayed or neutered at pickup under § 55.31, boarding fees are waived entirely and the owner pays only half the impoundment fee plus the rabies and microchip costs, though the animal must stay at the shelter until the next surgery day and be collected within 48 hours of the procedure.