Show Your Best Friend Some Love, License Your Dog! 

A dog license is a legal responsibility of owning a dog in Pennsylvania and the best way to ensure that your pet is back in your arms if it gets lost. 

Dogs must now be licensed at the point of adoption or purchase, or at three months if no transfer of ownership has taken place. The earliest that dogs can be purchased or adopted in Pennsylvania is eight weeks old.

An annual license costs $10.80. Lifetime licenses are available for $52.80 for dogs with permanent identification like a microchip or tattoo. 

Senior adults and people with disabilities may be eligible for discounted fees of $8.80 for an annual license or $36.80 for a lifetime license.

Licenses can be purchased online from your county treasurer at licenseyourdogpa.pa.gov, by clicking your county on the map. The map includes county treasurer and dog warden contacts, as well as how to buy a lifetime license in those counties that don’t sell lifetime licenses online.

The cost of a license is far less than the penalty for being caught without one. Owners who fail to license their dogs can face fines of up to $500, plus court costs for each unlicensed dog.

Unlike a microchip, a license on a dog’s collar is clearly visible and increases their chance of being returned home, rather than ending up in a shelter.