How to License Your Dog in Fredericton

The short answer

Fredericton licenses dogs only, not cats. Register with the City and pay the fee on or before December 31 each year: $10 for a fixed dog, $25 intact. Bring proof of rabies vaccination; the City requires it before selling the tag. The dog wears the numbered tag on its collar, a replacement costs $2, and an unlicensed impounded dog is not released until the licence is bought on top of the $60 impound fee.

Licensing is the least glamorous part of Fredericton dog ownership and also one of the cheapest. Ten dollars a year for a fixed dog is less than a bag of treats, and it buys the one thing a microchip alone cannot: a visible tag that gets a loose dog walked home by a neighbour instead of driven to the pound. The rules live in By-law No. S-11, A By-Law Respecting Animal Control, and the fee schedule is short enough to memorise.

If you are mid-adoption, note the timing quirk: the Fredericton SPCA sends dogs home spayed or neutered and microchipped, but not rabies-vaccinated as a rule. The City will not sell you a tag without rabies proof. So the practical sequence is adoption day, then a vet visit for the rabies shot, then City Hall for the licence. Our adoption costs guide budgets all three.

Licensing, Step by Step

Get the rabies vaccine done

Any Fredericton vet clinic can administer the rabies vaccine and issue the certificate. If you adopted from the SPCA, book this into the first-week vet visit you were planning anyway. Keep the certificate; it is your entry document at City Hall.

Register with the City

Bring proof of rabies vaccination to City Hall and purchase the dog tag. You provide your contact details and the dog's information and pay the fee: $10 for a spayed or neutered dog, $25 intact. Questions about the process go to the City at 506-460-2020.

Put the tag on the collar

The bylaw requires registered dogs to wear their tags. The tag number ties the dog to your file, so a found dog with a tag comes home fast. Lost tags are replaced for $2.

Renew by December 31, every year

All Fredericton dog licences run on the calendar year and expire December 31. Put an annual reminder in your phone for early December; the City does not chase you, but the fine schedule does.

Fredericton Licence Fees

Licence Type	Posted Annual Fee
Spayed or neutered dog	$10
Intact dog	$25
Dangerous dog (declared under the bylaw)	$200
Kennel licence (3+ dogs, per year)	$100
Replacement tag	$2

Fees as posted in the City of Fredericton's responsible pet ownership material. Confirm current amounts with the City before paying; municipal fees change over time.

What the Licence Actually Buys You

The lost-dog fast lane. A tagged dog found loose in a Fredericton neighbourhood usually gets walked home or held for a quick Animal Control lookup. An untagged dog goes to the pound at the SPCA, where getting it back means proof of ownership, the $60 impound fee, any fines, and, if unlicensed, buying the licence before release.

Off-leash access. The Killarney Lake Park off-leash trails require dogs to be registered with the City and wearing tags. No licence, no legal off-leash season on the city's best trail network.

Public rabies signal. Because the City requires rabies proof before issuing the tag, the tag doubles as visible evidence your dog is protected. That matters in a province where the wild-animal rabies conversation resurfaces every few years.

Staying off the fine schedule. Bylaw fines start at $50 per offence. Fifteen years of licence fees for a fixed dog cost less than three fines.

Browse adoptable Fredericton dogs

Every rescue dog arrives already spayed or neutered, which lands you on the $10 licence rate from year one.

See Available Fredericton Dogs →

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a dog licence in Fredericton?▾

The posted annual fee is $10 for a spayed or neutered dog and $25 for an intact dog. A dangerous-dog licence, for dogs formally declared dangerous under the bylaw, is $200, and a kennel licence for households keeping more than two dogs is $100 per year. Replacement tags cost $2. Fees change over time, so confirm the current amount with the City before paying.

Do cats need a licence in Fredericton?▾

No. Fredericton's posted fee schedule licenses dogs only, which keeps things simpler than cities that license both species. Cats are still covered by By-law S-11 in other ways: the running-at-large rules and the cleanup rules apply to cats too, and a roaming cat picked up by Animal Control lands at the SPCA on Hilton Road the same as a dog would.

When does a Fredericton dog licence expire?▾

December 31, every year. Owners must register their dogs with the City and pay the licence fee on or before December 31, so the licence runs on the calendar year rather than the anniversary of your purchase date. A licence bought in October and a licence bought in February both expire the same December 31. Renewal is on you; the tag does not renew itself.

What do I need to get a dog licence in Fredericton?▾

Proof of up-to-date rabies vaccination is the requirement that catches people. At City Hall you present the rabies certificate before purchasing the dog tag. This matters for adopters specifically: the Fredericton SPCA does not routinely vaccinate against rabies, so plan one vet visit between adoption day and licence day. Bring your contact details and the dog's information, pay the fee, and you leave with a numbered tag for the collar.

Does my dog have to wear the licence tag?▾

Yes. The bylaw requires owners to make sure registered dogs have their tags on their collars. The tag is also the practical payoff of the whole system: it tells anyone who finds your dog that it is owned, licensed, and vaccinated against rabies, and it gets the dog returned to you instead of sitting at the pound. A replacement tag is $2 if one goes missing, which is the cheapest line on the whole fee schedule.

What happens if my dog is unlicensed in Fredericton?▾

Two costs stack up. Bylaw fines run $50 and up per offence. And if your unlicensed dog is impounded, it is housed at the Fredericton SPCA at 165 Hilton Road and will not be released until you show proof of ownership, pay the $60 impound fee plus any fines, and buy the licence. The $10 licence is dramatically cheaper than any version of that afternoon.

Where do impounded dogs go in Fredericton?▾

The Fredericton SPCA at 165 Hilton Road, which houses animals impounded by the City's Animal Control. If your dog goes missing, call the SPCA at 506-459-1555 first, then Animal Control at 506-363-3320. Getting the dog back requires proof of ownership and payment of the applicable fees. A worn licence tag usually short-circuits the whole process, because the finder can identify the dog before it ever reaches the shelter.

Does the Killarney Lake off-leash trail require a licence?▾

Yes. The posted rules for the Killarney Lake Park off-leash trails, which run May 1 to November 30, require all dogs to wear a collar with valid identification and dog tags and to be registered with the City. So the licence is not just a leash-walk formality; it is the entry ticket to the city's best off-leash season. Our Fredericton bylaws guide covers the full trail rules.

Why is the intact-dog licence more expensive?▾

The $10-versus-$25 spread is the City's standing nudge toward spaying and neutering. It stacks every year for the life of the dog, so an intact dog costs an extra $15 annually for the same tag. Every rescue dog adopted through the Fredericton SPCA arrives already fixed, which lands adopters on the cheaper rate automatically. If your dog is still intact, our spay and neuter guide covers the options, including the NBSPCA's $200 Happy Tails subsidy.

Can I license more than two dogs in Fredericton?▾

Only through the kennel provisions. By-law S-11 caps households at two dogs unless the household complies with Section 6, which involves a $100-per-year kennel licence. If a third dog is in your plans, whether by adoption or fostering, call the City's bylaw enforcement line at 506-460-2020 and sort out the kennel question first. Each dog still needs its own individual licence regardless.