city rules
Find dog license rules by city
See who issues the dog license where you live, and the fee only when the city, county, or state page prints it. A rabies vaccine is not the same document as a license tag.
Dog licenses in the United States are issued under state law and, in many places, a city or county ordinance. There is no federal dog-license card.
USA.govCDC says vaccinating dogs is a core part of rabies prevention. A vaccine record and a city license tag are separate documents unless the official license page says otherwise.
CDCADA.gov explains the federal rules for service animals in public places. Those rules are not the same thing as a city's pet-license ordinance.
ADA.govState guide
How dog licensing is organized
Free tool
Start here
Free checklist
New City Dog License Checklist
What to gather before you license a dog in a new city: the office, the vaccine record, and the questions to ask.
- Which office sells the license
- What age and vaccine proof the page requires
- Whether a tag from the old city transfers
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Why it matters
The tag is local even when the vaccine is not
A current rabies vaccine is widely required. The license that proves you paid the city or county is a different step, with its own office and its own renewal date.
Philadelphia and a town clerk in New England will not use the same form. The city pages and the sourced state pages are here so you can see that difference before you stand in the wrong line.
If your city is missing, the honest answer is to use the official site we linked at the state level or to send us the city page.
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Plain answers, sourced
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