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 or receipt in the mail. If we have not received correct payment or required 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 "Santa Barbara Dog Licensing" in the amount of $18.50 (or $11.50 for seniors) 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.

Santa Barbara 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.

City of Santa Barbara licenses or tags may not be transferred to a new owner or a different pet. A new license must be purchased.

A refund may be available for the following reasons:

1. A duplicate payment was made for the same pet and the same license term. Be sure to include the pet's current license tag number if it is available, and as much information as possible regarding your payments.
2. The license term purchased was incorrect due to the rabies expiration date.

To request a refund, please send your request in writing or via email to Customer Service. Please include information about where and when your payments were made.

Initial licenses are valid for six months, one year, two years or three years (depending on the term purchased) from the date of purchase or the expiration of the rabies vaccination, whichever comes first. Renewals are valid from the prior license's expiration. A license cannot be valid for a longer period than the current rabies vaccination.

Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter
5473 Overpass Road
Goleta, CA

To report stray animals or for questions unrelated to licensing, please call City of Santa Barbara Animal Control at 805-963-1513.

If the pet that you have found is wearing a City of Santa Barbara license tag, please enter the tag number in the tag search box above. If you need assistance, you may call our office toll-free at 1-877-816-6809.

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 call daily to leave a lost or found report at both the City Animal Control dispatch office and the Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter.

The primary reason is to prevent the spreading of rabies. Rabies is a constant health threat, and rabies vaccinations are good for your pet’s health. Did you know that rabies is 100% fatal for humans if not treated properly? Animal licensing helps Animal Services monitor compliance with local and state rabies vaccination laws.

Licensing also helps Animal Services identify family pets, should an animal become lost. The fees from licensing are used to care for animals and investigate complaints about stray animals, among other services. 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 all unaltered cats over four months of age must be licensed with the City of Santa Barbara. New residents or owners of new pets have a grace period of 30 days to license their pets.

View the complete City of Santa Barbara ordinance

Due Date

Payment for your license is due within 30 days of the date that your current license expires. If you are licensing for the first time, you must purchase a license within 30 days of obtaining a dog or unaltered cat over the age of 4 months or within 30 days of establishing residence in the City of Santa Barbara.

A late fee of $28.00 is added if your license has not been renewed within 30 days of the expiration of your prior license.

License Term

Initial licenses are valid for six months, one year, two years or three years (depending on the term purchased) from the date of purchase or the expiration of the rabies vaccination, whichever comes first. Renewals are valid from the prior license's expiration. A license cannot be valid for a longer period than the current rabies vaccination.

The City of Santa Barbara chose to privatize animal licensing in 2010 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 North America. 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.