Dog Licensing Requirements

Dark Colored Curly Haired Dog
Little Terrier Dog
Light Colored Chihuahua Pomeranian

"A license is your pet’s ticket home"

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California Health and Safety Code Section 121690 and Contra Costa County Animal Control Ordinance 80-97, Section 416-6.002, require that all dogs over the age of 12 weeks old be vaccinated against rabies with an approved vaccine and be licensed by the age of 5 months. Dogs over the age of 5 months must be licensed within 30 days of acquisition, or within 30 days after entering Contra Costa County.

The above regulations apply to anyone owning, harboring, or possessing any dog over the age of 4 months old in Contra Costa County.

California Health and Safety Code regulations prohibit Contra Costa County from issuing a pet license extending beyond the rabies vaccination expiration date. Please be aware that there are no refunds once a pet license has been issued, and there are no pro-rated license fees.

Puppy leans its head on its paw making a sweet puppy face


Service Dog Designation

The Service Animal designation in Contra Costa is in compliance with the US Department of Justice’s definition of Service Animals. The County defines a Service Animals as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Service Animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability.  

Please note that dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as Service Animals under the American Disability Act (ADA), and Contra Costa therefore does not designate or recognize these animals as such. 

The Service Dog Identification Tag Application should be completed and submitted to: Contra Costa Animal Services, 4800 Imhoff Place, Martinez, CA 94553.

Additional resources to help answer questions regarding Service Animals: