Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control
In short
Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control issues 3 permits we publish for Los Angeles County, last verified 2026-09-27. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resident/Shelter Dog and Cat Licenseonly if it applies to you | Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control | Effective July 1, 2026, unincorporated-area rates: unaltered dog $60; altered dog $20; senior-owned altered dog $7.50; military-veteran-owned altered dog $7.50; unaltered cat $10; altered cat $5. A 3-year license costs the annual fee multiplied by three. | annual, or 3-year license available at 3x the annual fee | 2026-09-27 |
| Animal Facility License — Veterinary Medical Practice Outside DACC Categories (LA County)only if it applies to you | Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-27 |
| Animal Facility License (kennel / pet shop / grooming parlor)only if it applies to you | Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control | Pet Shop $250 initial / $175 renewal; Grooming Parlor $250 / $175; Animal Facility (kennel), tiered by dog/cat count, $300-$525 initial / $225-$450 renewal; Animal Menagerie, Hobby Breeder, Wholesale Wild Animal Dealer and Training Facility each $250 / $175; Guard Dog $50; a multi-business discount applies when one location holds more than one category. | annual, initial and renewal fees differ | 2026-09-27 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Resident/Shelter Dog and Cat License
A veterinary clinic that itself owns or houses resident or shelter dogs and cats — as opposed to patients it treats and returns to their owners — must license those animals individually, the same as any pet owner in DACC's service area. Effective July 1, 2026, the fee is $60 a year for an unaltered dog, $20 for an altered dog, $7.50 for a senior-owned or military-veteran-owned altered dog, $10 for an unaltered cat and $5 for an altered cat, with a 3-year license available at three times the annual rate. This is a per-animal owner obligation, not an operating permit for the veterinary business itself.
Animal Facility License — Veterinary Medical Practice Outside DACC Categories (LA County)
No fee applies to a veterinary clinic's medical practice itself. DACC's own facility-license fee schedule enumerates a fixed, closed list of categories — Animal Facility (kennel), Animal Menagerie, Grooming Parlor, Hobby Breeder, Humane Organization, Mobile Grooming Parlor, Pet Shop, Rooster Facility, Wholesale Wild Animal Dealer, Training Facility, Guard Dog, Pygmy Pigs, Wild Animal, Rodeo and Animal Exhibition — and a veterinary hospital or clinic performing medical treatment appears on none of them. A veterinary business that also boards or grooms animals commercially still needs the animal facility license for that portion of its operation (see the separate record); the medical-care side of the practice needs no DACC license. The clinic's own state veterinary premises licensing is a California Veterinary Medical Board function rather than a county requirement.
Animal Facility License (kennel / pet shop / grooming parlor)
A veterinary clinic that also boards or grooms animals commercially, or a retail store operating as a pet shop, needs a DACC animal facility license in the unincorporated area or one of DACC's roughly 34 contract cities. A pet shop or grooming parlor pays $250 to apply and $175 to renew; a boarding kennel (called 'Animal Facility' on DACC's own schedule) pays $300 to $525 to apply and $225 to $450 to renew depending on how many dogs or cats it holds. New or converted animal facilities also need sign-off from the Department of Regional Planning and Building and Safety before DACC will issue the license. This fee schedule is the current one DACC publishes, though DACC's companion pet-license fee schedule has since been updated to a July 2026 edition and no equally recent facility-license edition is published — confirm the current amount with DACC before applying. Not applicable in the City of Los Angeles, which runs its own animal-control department.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Los Angeles County
- Phone
- Not verified — use the website
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Dog and Cat License Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2026LA County Dept. of Animal Care and Control · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
- Facility Licensing (kennel, pet shop, grooming parlor and other animal-facility license categories and fees)LA County Dept. of Animal Care and Control · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
Other offices serving Los Angeles County
- Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division
- Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning
- Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, Building and Safety Division
- Los Angeles County Fire Department / Consolidated Fire Protection District, acting as the county's Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA)
- Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector, Business License Section
- Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
California jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.