Pennsylvania’s deadline to license your dog is fast approaching

HARRISBURG – If you love your dog, license your dog.

That’s the message from state officials prior to the Jan. 1 deadline for Pennsylvania dog owners to buy a dog license.

“Licenses are not just a legal responsibility of owning a dog, they protect all Pennsylvania dogs and are the best way to bring your pet home quickly if it’s lost,” a release from Agriculture Secretary Russell Reading said.

Efforts to modernize the state’s dog law ramped up in 2023. That fall, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed legislation that increased things such as kennel fees, which had been frozen nearly 60 years, along with the cost of an annual dog license.

The majority of the changes went into effect in early 2024, with a reminder that starting on Jan. 1, dogs must be licensed at the point of adoption or purchase, or at three months if no transfer of ownership has occurred.

“Pennsylvanians made it clear that they expect dog owners, kennels, breeders and shelters to be held to high standards,” Redding said in the release.

“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.”

How to buy licenses, and what it costs

An annual license costs $8.70, while lifetime licenses are $52.70 for dogs with permanent identification such as a microchip.

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.

Licenses for Lehigh County can be purchased online at https://www.doglicenses.us/PA/Lehigh/.

Licensees for Northampton County can be purchased at https://www.padoglicense.com/.

Online purchases may include a $2 per license convenience and processing fee.

State officials say 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 plus court costs for each unlicensed dog, the release said.

Where the money goes

Fees from dog licenses are used to keep shelters running and support the state Agriculture Department’s Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement.

According to the release, over the past year the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement has:

• Hired 10 new dog wardens and is continuing to fill longstanding vacancies, with the increased funding made available to protect public safety
• 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 Dec. 1, 2023, to Nov. 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.

To learn more, visit https://www.pa.gov.