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 “Charlotte County BOCC" in the amount of $8.00 for an altered pet or $17.00 for an unaltered pet to the mailing address below. Please do not send cash. You may include either a copy of your prior 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 toll-free at 1-833-991-0936.

Charlotte County, FL 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. A new license must be purchased. Click here to view your licensing options.

A refund may be available for the following reasons:

1. If 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. If a previously spayed or neutered pet was licensed at the unaltered rate. Be sure to include proof of alteration dated prior to the licensing date.

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 or via email to Customer Service.

Licenses are valid for 1 year from the date of rabies vaccination or the anniversary of the rabies vaccination. Licenses will not be valid beyond the expiration of the rabies vaccination.

The animal shelters for Charlotte County are located at the following addresses:

Animal Welfare League of Charlotte County
3519 Drance St
Port Charlotte, FL 33980

Suncoast Humane Society
6781 San Casa Dr
Englewood, FL 34224

To report stray animals or for questions unrelated to licensing, please call Animal Control at 941-833-5690, option 1.

If the pet that you have found is wearing a Charlotte County license tag, please enter the tag number in the tag search box on the left side of the page. If you need assistance, you may call our office at 1-833-991-0936.

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

If your pet has been lost, Animal Control recommends that you visit Animal Welfare League of Charlotte County and Suncoast Humane Society to look for your pet at least every other day. You may also contact Animal Control at 941-833-5690, option 1 regarding your pet.

Licensing helps Animal Control 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 cats 4 months of age and older must be licensed with Charlotte County. Any person who lives in the county for more than twenty-eight (28) consecutive days shall be deemed to be a resident of the county. Residents are required to purchase a license for their pets.

View the complete Charlotte County ordinance

Due Date

Payment for your license is due within 30 days of the expiration of your current license. If you are licensing a pet for the first time, you must purchase a license within 30 days of obtaining your pet’s rabies vaccination.

License Term

Licenses are valid for 1 year from the date of rabies vaccination or the anniversary of the rabies vaccination. Licenses will not be valid beyond the expiration of the rabies vaccination.

The County of Charlotte chose to privatize animal licensing beginning in 2020 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.