Common Questions

Please choose the option that best describes the notice you received:

There may be several reasons why you received a bill when you have a current license. We're happy to help with your account information - please fill out this form to begin the process.

We will mail your tag and license receipt within 10 business days from the day we receive your completed license application and payment. Please allow an additional 3-5 business days to receive your tag and receipt in the mail. If we have not received correct payment or proper documentation you will be notified via mail and the processing of your license will be delayed.

You may obtain a replacement tag by sending a check or money order payable to "BARCS Animal Licensing" in the amount of $1.00 to the mailing address below. Please do not send cash. Please include a copy of your license receipt or a note to designate the pet for which you are purchasing a replacement tag. If you need assistance, you may call customer service at 1-855-328-1399.

Baltimore Animal Licensing
c/o PetData
PO Box 141929
Irving, TX 75014-1929

Only one license tag can be active at one time. Requests for multiple tags for the same animal cannot be fulfilled.

Licenses may not be transferred from one owner to another owner or from one pet to another pet. Please purchase a new license.

If a duplicate payment was made for the same pet and the same license term, a refund may be available. Be sure to include the pet's current license tag number if it is available, and as much information as possible regarding your payments.

Refunds are not available for unused time or if the animal is altered during the licensing period and you paid at the higher rate.

To request a refund, please send your request in writing to the address below or via email to Customer Service.

Baltimore Animal Licensing
c/o PetData
PO Box 141929
Irving, TX 75014-1929

Licenses may be purchased for one year, as long as the rabies vaccination is valid at the time of licensing. Annual licenses expire one year from date of purchase. The lifetime license is good for as long as you own the pet, but cannot be refunded or transferred to another owner or pet.

BARCS (Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter)
2490 Giles Rd.
Baltimore, MD 21225

To report stray animals or for questions unrelated to licensing, please call City of Baltimore Animal Control at 311 if dialing within the City of Baltimore, or 410-396-4688 if calling from outside Baltimore.

If the pet that you have found is wearing a City of Baltimore license tag, please enter the tag number in the tag search box to the left or call our office at 1-855-328-1399 for assistance.

Sheltering of strays for the City of Baltimore is provided by BARCS, which is located at 2490 Giles Road in Baltimore.

If an Animal Control Officer finds your pet, and your pet is wearing a current license tag on its collar, Animal Services will contact you. If another citizen finds your pet with its license tag, they may use the tag number to contact you through our online tag search or by calling the phone number on the license tag.

If your pet has been lost, Animal Services recommends that you visit the shelter to look for your pet at least every other day. Sheltering of strays for the City of Baltimore is provided by BARCS, which is located at 2490 Giles Road in Baltimore. Strays are held for 72 hours before being released to the adoption program, transferred to another shelter, or humanely euthanized.

Licensing helps Animal Services identify family pets, should an animal become lost. The fees from licensing are used to care for animals at the shelter. Other goals of animal licensing are to promote responsible pet ownership and to reduce the tragedies associated with lost pets and pet overpopulation.  

Licensing Ordinance

All dogs and cats 4 months of age and older must be vaccinated against rabies and licensed with the City of Baltimore within 10 days of obtaining the pet, or within 10 days of the pet being in the city.

View the complete City of Baltimore ordinance:

City of Baltimore Ordinance
(Animal ordinances are found under Health Code, Title 10.)

Due Date

Payment for your license is due upon expiration of your current license. If you are licensing for the first time, you must purchase a license within 10 days of obtaining a pet over the age of 4 months or within 10 days of moving into the City of Baltimore.

License Term

Licenses may be purchased for one year, as long as the rabies vaccination is valid at the time of licensing. Annual licenses expire one year from date of purchase. The lifetime license is good for as long as you own the pet, but cannot be refunded or transferred to another owner or pet.

BARCS and the City of Baltimore chose to privatize animal licensing beginning in 2013 to promote animal licensing, to increase the cost-effectiveness of the program, and to provide additional services to its citizens.

PetData, Inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, provides animal licensing services for municipalities and animal welfare agencies throughout the United States. The company, a member of the National Animal Control Association, has been in business since 1994. PetData’s goals are to increase animal licensing, to reduce animal euthanasia, to educate the community, and to help solve animal control problems.

We at PetData consider the privacy of our clients to be of paramount importance. PetData has never sold information or data to any third-party. PetData does not use any personally identifiable data collected for any purpose other than for those purposes as required by client contracts.

We do not respond to requests for information from non-client individuals or corporations, nor do we release information without the express written consent of our clients. PetData does not and will not share or sell client data with any other parties or make client data publicly available unless authorized by the client or required under a legal subpoena. All data belongs to our clients, and PetData serves only as a custodian for client-owned data.

Groups or individuals requesting data should contact their City or County directly as PetData will only release data to our contracted clients.