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2006 SESSION
069022448Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 3.1-796.86 through 3.1-796.90, and 3.1-796.97 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding sections numbered 3.1-796.87:1 and 3.1-796.92:1 as follows:
§ 3.1-796.86. How to obtain license.
Any person may obtain a dog license or cat license if required
by an ordinance adopted pursuant to subsection B of § 3.1-796.85, by making
oral or written application to the treasurer of the county or city in which
such person resides, accompanied by the amount of license tax and current
certificate of vaccination as required by this article. The treasurer or other
officer charged with the duty of issuing dog and cat licenses shall only have
authority to license dogs and cats of resident owners or custodians who reside
within the boundary limits of his county or city and may require information to
this effect from any applicant. Upon receipt of proper application and current
certificate of vaccination as required by this article, the treasurer or other
officer charged with the duty of issuing dog and cat licenses shall issue a
license receipt for the amount on which he shall record the name and address of
the owner or custodian, the date of payment, the year for which issued, the
serial number of the tag, whether dog or cat, whether male or female, whether
spayed or neutered, unsexed female, female or whether a
kennel, and deliver the metal license tags or plates provided for herein. The
information thus received shall be retained by the treasurer, open to public
inspection, during the period for which such license is valid. The treasurer
may establish substations in convenient locations in the county or city and
appoint agents for the collection of the license tax and issuance of such
licenses.
§ 3.1-796.87. Amount of license tax.
The governing body of each county or city shall impose by ordinance a license tax on the ownership of dogs within its jurisdiction. The governing body of any county, city or town which has adopted an ordinance pursuant to subsection B of § 3.1-796.85 shall impose by ordinance a license tax on the ownership of cats within its jurisdiction. The governing body may establish different rates of taxation for ownership of female dogs, male dogs, spayed or neutered dogs, female cats, male cats, and spayed or neutered cats. The tax for each dog or cat shall not be less than one dollar and not more than ten dollars for each year. If the dog or cat has been spayed, the tax shall not exceed the tax provided for a male dog or cat. Any ordinance may provide for a license tax for kennels of ten, twenty, thirty, forty or fifty dogs or cats not to exceed fifty dollars for any one such block of kennels.
No license tax shall be levied on any dog that is trained and serves as a guide dog for a blind person, that is trained and serves as a hearing dog for a deaf or hearing impaired person or that is trained and serves as a service dog for a mobility-impaired person.
As used in this section, "hearing dog" means a dog trained to alert its owner by touch to sounds of danger and sounds to which the owner should respond and "service dog" means a dog trained to accompany its owner for the purpose of carrying items, retrieving objects, pulling a wheelchair or other such activities of service or support.
§ 3.1-796.87:1.Veterinarians to provide treasurer with rabies certificate information; civil penalty.
Each veterinarian who vaccinates a dog [ or cat
] against rabies, or each veterinarian who directs a veterinary technician
in his employ to vaccinate a dog [ or cat ]
against rabies, shall provide the owner a copy of the rabies vaccination
certificate. The veterinarian shall forward within 45 days a copy of the rabies
vaccination certificate in a format mutually agreeable to the Office of the
Treasurer for the locality in which the vaccination occurred.
The rabies vaccination certificate shall include at a minimum the signature of the veterinarian, the animal owner’s name and address, the species of the animal, the sex, the age, the color, the primary breed, the secondary breed, whether or not the animal is spayed or neutered, the vaccination number, and expiration date. The rabies vaccination certificate shall indicate the locality in which the animal resides.
Upon receipt of the rabies vaccination certificate in the
agreed-upon format from the veterinarian, the treasurer shall remit to the
animal's owner an application and bill for a dog [ or cat ] license.
Upon receipt of the completed application and payment of the license fee, the
treasurer or other agent charged with the duty of issuing the dog and cat
licenses shall issue a license receipt and a metal tag.
Any rabies vaccination certificate received by the treasurer for an animal owned by an individual residing in another locality shall remit the rabies vaccination certificate to the local treasurer for the appropriate locality.
Any veterinarian that willfully fails to provide the treasurer of any locality with a copy of the rabies vaccination certificate may be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $10 per certificate.
This section shall become effective January 1, 2007.
§ 3.1-796.88. When license tax payable.
A. On January 1 and not later than January 31 of each year,
the owner of any dog or cat four months old or older shall pay a license tax as
prescribed in § 3.1-796.87 The license tax as prescribed in § 3.1-796.87
is due not later than 30 days after a dog or cat has reached the age of four
months, or not later than 30 days after an owner acquires a dog or cat four
months of age or older.
B. If a dog or cat becomes four months of age or comes into
the possession of any person between January 1 and November 1 of any year, the
license tax for the current calendar year shall be paid by the owner
Licensing periods for individual dogs and cats may be equal to and may run
concurrently with the rabies vaccination effective period. Any kennel
license tax prescribed pursuant to § 3.1-796.87 shall be due on January 1 and
not later than January 31 of each year.
C. If a dog or cat becomes four months of age or comes into
the possession of any person between October 31 and December 31 of any year,
the license tax for the succeeding calendar year shall be paid by the owner and
this license shall be valid from the date the license is purchased.
D. Notwithstanding subsections A, B and C above, the
governing body of each county or city which requires dogs or cats to have a
rabies inoculation prior to the issuance of a license may designate when the
tax is payable and allow the tax to be payable for up to a three-year period
thereafter, as long as this period does not exceed the period that the rabies
inoculation is effective as certified by a veterinarian.
§ 3.1-796.89. Effect of dog or cat not wearing collar as evidence.
Any dog or cat not wearing a collar bearing a valid license
tag of the proper calendar year shall prima facie be deemed to be
unlicensed, and in any proceedings under this chapter the burden of proof of
the fact that such dog or cat has been licensed, or is otherwise not required
to bear a tag at the time, shall be on the owner of the dog or cat.
§ 3.1-796.90. What dog or cat license shall consist of.
A dog or cat license shall consist of a license receipt and a
metal tag. The tag shall be stamped or otherwise permanently marked to show the
jurisdiction issuing the license and the calendar year for which issued
and bear a serial number. The tag may be stamped or otherwise marked to show
the sex of the dog or cat.
§ 3.1-796.92:1. Impounding of unlicensed dogs [ and cats
] .
The owner of any dog [ or cat ] confined
in a pound pursuant to § 3.1-796.96 who can not provide evidence of a current
license may be subject to an increase in the impound fee of $5 per day, or if
the owner does not pay the fee then the owner may be required to spay or neuter
the dog [ or cat ] .
Any revenue from such additional fee shall be used by the locality to subsidize the spaying and neutering of dogs and cats.
§ 3.1-796.97. Evidence showing inoculation for rabies prerequisite to obtaining dog or cat license; rabies clinics.
No license tag shall be issued for any dog or cat unless there is presented, to the treasurer or other officer of the county or city, or other agent charged by law with the duty of issuing license tags for dogs and cats at the time application for license is made, evidence satisfactory to him showing that such dog or cat has been inoculated or vaccinated against rabies by a currently licensed veterinarian or currently licensed veterinary technician who was under the immediate and direct supervision of a licensed veterinarian on the premises.
Rabies clinics, approved by the appropriate health department and governing body, shall be held at least once per year in each county in which the governing body finds that the number of resident veterinarians is otherwise inadequate to meet the need.