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 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 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 “City of Richmond, Virginia" in the amount of $1.00 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 1-877-202-3558.

City of Richmond 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 the pet owner lived outside the Richmond city limits at the time of licensing.

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 one year from the date of purchase. The rabies vaccination must be current as of the date of purchase.

The animal shelter for the City of Richmond is located at the following address:

Richmond Animal Care & Control
1600 Chamberlayne Ave
Richmond, VA 23222

To report stray animals or for questions unrelated to licensing, please call Richmond Animal Care at 804-646-5573.

If the pet that you have found is wearing a City of Richmond 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 1-877-202-3558.

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 the shelter to look for your pet at least every other day. Sheltering of strays for the city of Richmond is provided by Richmond Animal Care & Control. You may also contact Richmond Animal Care & Control at 804-646-5573 regarding your pet.

Donations can be made to the Richmond Animal Care and Control Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to supporting the City’s animal shelter. Richmond Animal Care and Control services over 3,000 pets a year, and the Foundation works closely with the RACC to support the needs of these animals. Please visit the Foundation website to make a donation.

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 Richmond. New residents must license their dogs and cats within 30 days of being in the city.

View the complete Richmond ordinance

Due Date

Payment for your license is due within 30 days of the expiration of your current license. If you are licensing for the first time, you must purchase a license within 30 days of obtaining a pet over the age of 4 months or within 30 days of moving into Richmond.

License Term

Licenses are valid for one year from the date of purchase. The rabies vaccination must be current as of the date of purchase.

The City of Richmond chose to privatize animal licensing beginning in 2023 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.