Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding recently reminded Pennsylvania dog owners to purchase a 2025 license from their county treasurer by Jan. 1, 2025.
Licenses are not just a legal responsibility of owning a dog, they protect all Pennsylvania dogs and are the best way to bring a pet home quickly if it’s lost.
In October of 2023, Governor Josh Shapiro signed into law bipartisan, commonsense measures to modernize Pennsylvania’s Dog Law to make Pennsylvania a safer, healthier place for dogs in kennels and shelters and protect communities from stray and dangerous dogs.
“Pennsylvanians made it clear that they expect dog owners, kennels, breeders, and shelters to be held to high standards,” Redding said. “They want their communities to be safe from stray and dangerous dogs. They want owners to be held responsible when their dog attacks, and they want unscrupulous breeders to be shut down.
“These updates to state law have put more dog wardens in our communities, made it easier for people buying or adopting a dog to know their dog needs a license, streamlined licensing for kennel businesses, and clarified requirements for boarding kennel owners.”
Dogs must be licensed at the point of adoption or purchase, or at three months, if no transfer of ownership has taken place. The youngest age at which a dog can be purchased or adopted in Pennsylvania is eight weeks.
An annual license costs $8.70. Lifetime licenses are available for $52.70 for dogs with permanent identification like a microchip or tattoo. Senior adults and people with disabilities may be eligible for discounted fees of $6.70 for an annual license or $36.70 for a lifetime license.
The cost of a license is far less than the penalty for being caught without one. Owners who fail to license their dogs can face fines of up to $500 for each unlicensed dog.
License fees support animal welfare and public safety, help keep shelters running and support the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement’s services to protect dogs and the public.
Since modernizations took effect in January the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement has:
• Hired 10 new dog wardens and is continuing to fill long-standing vacancies.
• Enforced health and safety regulations, upholding Pennsylvania’s high standards for conditions in kennels by licensing 2,890 operations and conducting more than 5,656 inspections.
• Investigated nearly 535 dog bites and monitored 702 dogs deemed dangerous by magisterial judges, helping to ensure that dog owners keep dangerous dogs under control.
• Increased dog license sales by $626,373, from December 1, 2023 to November 29, 2024, despite most licenses being issued under the prior fee rate.
• Implemented online renewals and payment for kennel licenses, a measure which has been well received by business owners, with 491 kennel owners — 62% of renewals to date — renewing online.
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