How to License Your Dog in Moncton

The short answer

Moncton requires an annual licence for every dog unless the dog is microchipped. If you need one, it costs $10 for a spayed or neutered dog, $20 for a fertile dog, and $10 for a replacement tag, with a current rabies vaccination required to buy it. The tag goes on the collar. Cats are not part of the City's licence program. A P.A.W. rescue dog arrives microchipped, fixed, and rabies-vaccinated, which means most Moncton adopters never buy a licence at all.

Who Needs a Licence in Moncton

The City of Moncton's dog licence page puts the rule in one sentence: all dogs in the City of Moncton must have a dog licence unless they are microchipped. Two groups, two outcomes. Unchipped dogs need the annual licence and must wear the numbered tag on their collar. Chipped dogs are exempt, full stop, though every other rule in By-Law H-1322 still applies to them.

Cats are not licensed in Moncton. The City's licensing pages cover dogs only, which puts Moncton with the Canadian majority (prairie cities like Saskatoon that license cats are the outliers). Cat owners still deal with nuisance and stray rules, but there is no tag to buy.

Note the geography: this is City of Moncton licensing. Dieppe and Riverview write their own rules and run their own systems, even though the same P.A.W. animal control team patrols all three. Dieppe in particular has built its approach around microchipping. If your address is across the Petitcodiac in Riverview or east into Dieppe, check your own municipality's pages.

Moncton Dog Licence Fees

Licence	Annual Fee
Spayed female or neutered male	$10
Fertile dog	$20
Replacement tag	$10
Microchipped dog	No licence required

The licence stays valid for one year from issuance and renews annually. For context, these are some of the lowest dog-licence fees in Canada. Saskatoon charges $38 for a fixed dog; Moncton charges $10. The two-to-one gap between the fixed and fertile rates is the same sterilisation nudge nearly every Canadian city builds into its fee schedule, and our Moncton spay and neuter guide covers how to land on the cheaper side of it.

The Rabies Requirement

You cannot buy a Moncton dog licence without proof of a current rabies vaccination. This is the quiet second requirement most people find out about at the counter. Keep the certificate your vet gives you, and mind the expiry date, because a lapsed rabies shot means a lapsed ability to renew.

For adopters this is handled: a P.A.W. dog adoption includes the rabies vaccine, and clinics across Moncton (Mountain Road, Macaleese Lane, and elsewhere) fold the booster into annual wellness visits. If you have lost track of your dog's vaccine status, your vet can pull the record or re-vaccinate.

How to Get the Licence

Apply through the City of Moncton. The dog licence page carries the current application route, and the City's general line at 506-853-3333 can point you to licensing if the online path is unclear. You provide your contact details, your dog's information, and proof of rabies vaccination, and you receive a numbered tag for the collar.

Compliance is checked in the field: P.A.W. animal control officers monitor annual dog tag sales and respond to complaints across Moncton, Dieppe, and Riverview. The tag is also your dog's ticket home: a licensed dog picked up at large gets a phone call, not a kennel stay.

The Microchip Exemption (Read This Before Paying)

Here is the part of Moncton's system that surprises people from other cities: a microchipped dog does not need a licence at all. Not a discounted licence. No licence. In most Canadian cities a chip only excuses the physical tag while you still pay the annual fee; Moncton treats the chip as the whole answer.

The logic holds up. The licence exists so a loose dog can be traced to an owner, and a registered microchip does that job permanently, without an annual renewal, and without a tag that can fall off in a snowbank on Mountain Road in February.

The catch is the word registered. A chip pointing at a disconnected phone number is a serial number, not a way home. After adopting, confirm the registration transferred to your name and current contact details. P.A.W. adoptions include the microchip and a month of 24-hour PetWatch coverage; keeping that registration live is the one piece of follow-through the exemption asks of you.

Practical advice we give every Moncton adopter anyway: put a simple tag with your phone number on the collar even though the law does not require it. A neighbour who finds your dog on the Riverfront Trail can call you in two minutes; a chip requires a scanner at a vet clinic or the shelter.

Lost Dogs: Why Any of This Matters

Licensing feels like paperwork until the gate gets left open. A dog picked up at large in Greater Moncton ends up with P.A.W. animal control and lands at the shelter at 116 Greenock Street. From there, identification is everything. Tag or registered chip: staff call you, often the same day. Neither: your dog sits through a holding period while you hopefully think to phone 506-857-8698 and visit in person.

Moncton's weather raises the stakes. A dog loose overnight in a January storm or during a slushy nor'easter is in real danger, and every hour saved by a working ID matters. Ten dollars a year, or a two-minute chip registration update, is cheap insurance against the worst week of your life.

Browse adoptable Moncton dogs

Every P.A.W. dog arrives microchipped, fixed, and rabies-vaccinated: exempt from Moncton licensing before it even gets home.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to license my dog in Moncton?

Yes, unless your dog is microchipped. The City of Moncton requires an annual licence for all dogs, with the tag worn on the collar, but a microchipped dog is exempt from the requirement. That exemption is unusual in Canada; most cities require the licence chip or no chip. If your dog is not chipped, the licence costs $10 a year for a spayed or neutered dog or $20 for a fertile one.

How much is a dog licence in Moncton?

Ten dollars a year for a spayed or neutered dog, twenty dollars for a fertile dog, and ten dollars to replace a lost tag. The licence stays valid for one year and renews annually. There is no cat licence program listed by the City; Moncton licensing covers dogs. By Canadian standards these are low fees: Saskatoon charges $38 for a fixed dog, nearly four times Moncton's rate.

Does a microchip replace a dog licence in Moncton?

Yes, in Moncton it genuinely does. The City states that all dogs must have a licence unless they are microchipped. This is the opposite of cities like Saskatoon, where a chip only exempts the physical tag and you still buy the licence. If your dog is chipped, keep the registration current with your phone number and address, because the chip is now doing the licence's job of getting your dog home.

What do I need to get a Moncton dog licence?

A current rabies vaccination. The City requires rabies vaccinations to be up to date in order to obtain a dog licence, so bring or upload proof from your vet. Apply through the City of Moncton, whose dog licence page carries the current application route; if in doubt, phone the City at 506-853-3333 and ask for licensing. Your dog then wears the numbered tag on its collar.

Does my Moncton dog need to wear a tag?

If it is licensed rather than chipped, yes. All dogs living within Moncton city limits must wear a City of Moncton dog tag on their collar, and P.A.W. animal control officers monitor tag compliance. A microchipped dog is exempt from the licence and tag requirement, though a tag with your phone number on the collar is still the fastest way for a neighbour to reach you before animal control gets involved.

Why does spaying or neutering halve the licence fee?

Same logic as most Canadian cities: the fee gap is a standing financial nudge toward sterilisation, because fixed dogs mean fewer accidental litters arriving at the shelter on Greenock Street. Moncton prices the nudge at $10 versus $20. Every rescue dog from P.A.W. is fixed before adoption, so adopters land on the cheaper rate automatically on the rare occasion they need a licence at all.

Do Dieppe and Riverview use Moncton dog licences?

No. Each municipality runs its own licensing even though P.A.W.'s animal control officers enforce across Moncton, Dieppe, Riverview, Tantramar, and Dorchester. Dieppe has its own approach built around microchipping. If you live outside Moncton city limits, check your own town's pages for the fee and process; do not assume Moncton's $10 rate or its exemption rules apply.

What happens if my dog is picked up without a licence or chip?

It goes to the P.A.W. shelter at 116 Greenock Street, and the clock starts. An identified dog (tag or registered chip) gets a phone call home, often the same day. An unidentified dog waits through a holding period while staff try to find its family, and may eventually be placed for adoption. Call P.A.W. at 506-857-8698 immediately if your dog goes missing, and go in person to check.

Is there a fine for not licensing my dog in Moncton?

By-Law H-1322 contains offence and penalty provisions, but the City does not publish a simple fine table on its licensing pages, so we will not quote a number we cannot source. The practical risk is real either way: animal control monitors tag compliance, and an unlicensed, unchipped dog that gets loose is much harder to return home. At $10 a year, the licence is cheaper than any plausible enforcement outcome.

My rescue dog came microchipped. Am I done?

Almost. The chip exempts your dog from Moncton licensing, but only a chip that traces to you is useful. After adopting, confirm the chip registration has been transferred to your name with a current phone number; P.A.W. adoptions include a month of 24-hour PetWatch, and keeping that registration live is what turns the chip into a working licence. Keep the rabies certificate too, since you will need it current for vet care and any future licensing.