Pet Licensing in Vancouver (Dogs and Cats)

No. This is the part that catches people coming from Alberta. Calgary and Edmonton both license cats, but Vancouver does not. The City's Animal Control By-law (No. 9150) creates a licensing requirement for dogs only, and Vancouver Animal Services lists licence fees for dogs only. There is no cat licence, no cat tag, and no cat licensing fee in Vancouver.

That does not mean cats are unregulated. The same bylaw still applies to cat owners in other ways, including the expectation that you keep your cat off other people's property. But there is nothing to buy and nothing to renew for a cat. If you have adopted a Vancouver cat, you are already done on the licensing front; the rest of this guide is about dogs.

Every dog over three months old must have a City of Vancouver licence, under Section 3.1 of the Animal Control By-law. There is no exception, and service dogs must be licensed too (though for free, covered below).

If you have just adopted an adult dog, the licence is due now, not eventually. A puppy gets licensed once it reaches three months. The licence renews every year, and the only timing rule that bites is renewal: renew before your licence expires or the City adds a $10 late penalty.

Online (fastest): apply or renew through the City portal at app.vancouver.ca, linked from the dog licence page. Pay by Visa, Mastercard, or Amex.

By phone: call 311 and pay by credit card.

In person: the Vancouver Animal Shelter at 1280 Raymur Avenue (open 7 days, 10am to 6pm), or Revenue Services on the ground floor of City Hall, 453 West 12th Avenue (Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm). The shelter takes credit, debit, cheque, money order, or cash.

To license you provide your contact details, your dog's name, breed, age, and colour, and proof of BC certification if it is a service dog. You receive a numbered tag for the dog's collar.

It is easy to read “mandatory dog licence” as a cash grab. The benefit attached to it is the reason to do it gladly.

Vancouver Animal Services runs a Ride Home Free benefit: if they pick up your lost dog and it has a current licence, they may be able to bring it straight home to you rather than taking it to the shelter. Three conditions apply: your dog's licence must carry up-to-date contact details, you must be home and able to receive the dog right away, and you must be able to provide identification. The licence is what makes it possible, because the tag is how an officer finds your number in the first place.

The City puts it plainly: a valid dog licence “allows Animal Services to contact you right away, and is a legal form of ownership.” If your dog is ever lost or disputed, the licence is the record that says the dog is yours. For an adoption-minded city, the licence fee also helps fund the animal services system that takes in and rehomes the next stray, the same pipeline that put your adopted dog on this site.