Yuma, AZ Animal Ordinances: Microchipping (2026)

City Code § 130-025 requires every dog or cat over three months old that is licensed under Chapter 130 to wear a collar or harness with its license tag affixed at all times, except while inside a residential dwelling. That collar-and-tag rule applies to both species, but § 130-025 carves out one narrow exception: a cat is not required to wear the tag if it has been implanted with a microchip by a veterinarian, or by a person working under a veterinarian's supervision. Dogs have no equivalent option; a dog owner cannot substitute a microchip for the physical tag.

The city enforcement agent, who administers the citywide licensing program under §§ 130-020 through 130-029, enforces the tag requirement, and licenses must be renewed before the current license's expiration for the life of the animal under § 130-026. Because Yuma has not adopted a citywide mandatory microchipping ordinance for any species, this exemption is the only place microchips appear in Chapter 130: it is a compliance option for cat owners, not an independent chip mandate. A dog or cat picked up without its tag showing, and for a chipped cat without proof of implantation, can still be impounded under § 130-080 as an animal found without a current valid license tag.