{"topic_id":"mandatory_vaccination_us_de_title3_ch82","category":"mandatory-vaccination","context":"---\ntopic_id: mandatory_vaccination_us_de_title3_ch82\ncategory: mandatory-vaccination\ntitle: \"Delaware — rabies vaccination required for dogs, cats, and ferrets (3 Del. C. § 8204)\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"Delaware Code Online — Title 3, Chapter 82 (Rabies Control in Animal and Human Populations), Subchapter I, § 8204, delcode.delaware.gov, extracted 2026-07-29 via local curl\"\nsource_file: pdf-raw/mandatory-vaccination/de_title3_ch82_sc01_rabies.txt\ndate_parsed: 2026-07-29\ntokens_estimated: 380\nverification:\n  method: substring_match\n  claims: 5\n  passed: 5\n  date: 2026-07-29\nrecovered: false\npath: mandatory-vaccination/mandatory_vaccination_us_de_title3_ch82/01_mandatory_vaccination_us_de_title3_ch82.md\nsource_document: \"Mandatory vaccination law\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"Delaware Code — Title 3, Chapter 82, § 8204\"\n  title: \"Delaware — rabies vaccination required for dogs, cats, and ferrets (3 Del. C. § 8204)\"\n  url: \"https://delcode.delaware.gov/title3/c082/sc01/index.html\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-07-29\"\n  ref: \"3 Del. C. § 8204\"\n  doc_type: \"official statute text (first-hand English)\"\n  needs_review: true\n---\n\n# Delaware — rabies vaccination required for dogs, cats, and ferrets (3 Del. C. § 8204)\n\nSource: Delaware Code Online — Title 3, Chapter 82 (Rabies Control in Animal and Human Populations), Subchapter I, § 8204, delcode.delaware.gov, extracted 2026-07-29. First-hand Delaware statute text; C1 substring-verified against `pdf-raw/mandatory-vaccination/de_title3_ch82_sc01_rabies.txt`. This is the **statutory mandate** to vaccinate (the LAW), distinct from clinical vaccine-guidance topics and from local leash/licensing ordinances.\n\nDelaware makes rabies vaccination compulsory by statute for dogs, cats, and ferrets. Chapter 82 is titled \"Rabies Control in Animal and Human Populations\" and sits under Subchapter I of the same name. Section 8204 requires that any person owning a dog (or cat) 6 months of age or older have the animal vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian (or, for shelter dogs, a licensed veterinary technician under indirect supervision). A licensed veterinarian may certify in writing a medical exemption where vaccination would endanger the animal's health.\n\nThis covers the state-level \"is rabies vaccination legally required?\" question for Delaware at the statute level; it applies to dogs, cats, and ferrets. Local governments may operate antirabies clinics under the same section. It is not a substitute for local licensing/leash ordinances or clinical booster guidance (a separate clinical topic).\n\n## Verbatim C1 claims (each a substring of the source file)\n1. `CHAPTER 82. Rabies Control in Animal and Human Populations`\n2. `Subchapter I. Rabies Control in Animal and Human Populations`\n3. `§ 8204. Rabies vaccination required for dogs, cats, and ferrets; antirabies clinics.`\n4. `(a) Vaccination of dogs. — (1) Any person owning a dog 6 months of age or older in this State shall have that dog vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian, or by a licensed veterinary technician working under the indirect supervision of a licensed veterinarian if the dog is in a shelter and is owned by the shelter;`\n5. `exemption from vaccination against rabies may be permitted if a licensed veterinarian has examined the animal and based on the veterinarian’s professional judgment, has certified in writing that at the time, vaccination would endanger the animal’s health because of its infirmity, disability, illness, or other medical considerations`\n","sources":["New York State Senate — Public Health Law § 2141 — Delaware — rabies vaccination required for dogs, cats, and ferrets (3 Del. C. § 8204) (retrieved 2026-07-29)"],"source":{"authority":"New York State Senate — Public Health Law § 2141","title":"Delaware — rabies vaccination required for dogs, cats, and ferrets (3 Del. C. § 8204)","url":"https://delcode.delaware.gov/title3/c082/sc01/index.html","retrieved":"2026-07-29","ref":"","doc_type":"official PDF","source_document":"Mandatory vaccination law","verification_file":"pdf-raw/mandatory-vaccination/de_title3_ch82_sc01_rabies.txt"},"source_document":"Mandatory vaccination law","source_file":"pdf-raw/mandatory-vaccination/de_title3_ch82_sc01_rabies.txt","tokens_estimated":380,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}