Animal Licensing and Fees

Step 1.Contact

Fort Worth Animal Care & Control
4900 Martin St.
Fort Worth, TX 76119 

Step 2.How to get a pet license

Licenses are available at the Animal Care & Control Center.

To obtain a license by mail, send a copy of your pet’s current rabies vaccination certificate and a check for the license fee to:

Fort Worth Animal Care & Control
4900 Martin St.
Fort Worth, TX 76119

If your pet has lost its license, you can purchase a replacement tag for $5 with a copy of your original license receipt. Renewals are counted from your old license’s expiration date. 

Step 3.Pet microchips

As of June 26, 2018, registered microchips are required in Fort Worth for all dogs and cats. Microchipping your pet is the best way to make sure he or she gets home when lost.

Identification microchips are about the size of a grain of rice and are implanted under your pet’s skin at the shoulder, and it can’t be easily lost or removed like a collar tag. All microchips are listed in a database, making it easy for animal control to reunite pets and owners.

Microchips are available through TCAP, from Fort Worth Animal Care & Control and veterinary clinics. Owners who have their pets microchipped do not need a pet license for their dog or cat.

Step 4.Pet licenses

A license is your pet’s “ticket home” should he or she become lost.

Fewer than 3 percent of animals brought in to Animal Care and Control have identification. When a lost animal is found with current identification, Animal Control officers can quickly notify its owners that it is safely at the shelter.

License fees also pay for many vital services performed at the Animal Care & Control Center.

All dogs and cats in the city that are not microchipped must have a current license, renewed every three or five years. A lifetime-of-pet license is also available. If you live outside the city limits of Fort Worth, contact your city or local animal control office to learn more about licensing fees and procedures for your pet.

Step 1.Licensing

• Three-year license (un-microchipped pet with current rabies vaccination): $100.
• Five-year license (un-microchipped pet with current rabies vaccination): $150.
• Lifetime of pet license (un-microchipped pet with current rabies vaccination): $200.
• Declared dangerous dogs license: $500.
• Intact pet permit (dogs, cats): $50 per pet.
• Intact pet permit with reclaim impoundment: $500.
• Multiple pet permit: $50.
• Replacement tag: $5.

The City of Fort Worth requires that all animals be microchipped with current contact information on file with a national chip registration company. A license is not required for microchipped animals. Licenses are required only for non-microchipped animals. We strongly recommend a microchip since this is a permanent form of identification.

Step 2.Impoundment

• Level one (one officer, animal restrained or confined): $65
• Level two (one officer, animal unrestrained): $105
• Level three (two officers, animal unrestrained): $160
• Level four (three or more officers, animal unrestrained): $215
• Rabbits, fowl, reptiles: $15
• Miscellaneous livestock: $100
• Prohibited animals: $200

Step 3.Repeat Impoundment

• Second offense: $20.
• Third offense: $40.
• Fourth offense: $85.

Step 4.Boarding after Impoundment

• Fort Worth resident daily fee: $8
• Contract Tarrant County resident daily fee: $30
• Contract municipality resident: $30
• Aggressive dog daily boarding fee: $16
• Quarantine-transfer fee: $50

Step 5.Adoption

• Dogs: $49.
• Cats: $25.

Adoptions are half off for animals age 5 and older. Senior citizens (age 65 and older) can adopt any animal for half off. Adoptions are free for residents with military identification.

Step 6.Other Fees

• Microchips: $12
• Responsible Pet Ownership Class for citation dismissal: $35