Register your pet

What you need to do

1. Register with NSW pet registry

   If you’re an owner or breeder

   • Pet owners and breeders can create an online profile with the NSW pet registry. You can update your details, notify if your dog or cat is missing, register ownership changes and pay registration fees online.
   • Breeders are issued with a breeder identification number to record owner and animal information to help track litters over time.

   If you’re a vet

   Vets are required to update the register when they desex cats and dogs. Vets are also able to update the register if they believe a pet should not be desexed for medical reasons.

   If you’re a pensioner

   You need to register with us in person and bring the relevant documents.

2. Register with us

   1. Check that you live within the City of Sydney's boundaries. If not, you must contact your local council.
   2. If you don't have a certificate of identification, you must complete a permanent identification form, found below.
   3. Complete the lifetime registration form, found below.
   4. If you already have a certificate of identification, you must include a photocopy of the identification certificate with the lifetime registration form. We need you to do this so we can contact you to complete your registration.
   5. Lodge both forms with us. See details on each form as well as the payment and submitting your documents section below.

   Your completed registration

   Depending on whether you have certificate of identification or not, your registration takes one of two forms:

   1. lifetime registration form and permanent identification form
   2. lifetime registration form and certificate of identification.

Before you start

1. Check if you qualify for a discount

   If applicable, there are other forms you can also submit to gain discounts:

   • a desexing certificate (if your pet has been desexed) will make your registration cheaper

     From 1 July 2020 owners of cats not desexed by 4 months of age will be required to pay an annual permit of $80 in addition to their one-off lifetime pet registration fee. If you need to do this, the annual permit form can be found below.

   • pensioner concession card
   • a receipt showing that your desexed animal was adopted from an eligible pound/shelter after the 29 October 2015 – the receipt must show the adopted animal's microchip number

     Adoptions from a pound/shelter in NSW are eligible for discounted registration if the animal was adopted after 29 October 2015 from:

     • RSPCA
     • Animal Welfare League NSW
     • Cat Protection Society
     • Council pound
   • proof of assistance animal status
   • proof of breeder status.
   
   Adoptions from a rehoming organisation in NSW are eligible for a discounted registration if the animal was adopted after 1 September 2018. Please see list of approved rehoming organisations.The following documents must be supplied:
   • Either a receipt of sale or a letter on the organisations letterhead, and must include the microchip number, and rehoming organisation number.

   For documentation requirements, see proof of eligibility below.

2. Make sure your pet is already microchipped and that you have received your certificate of identification

   Get your pet microchipped at your local vet or animal welfare organisation - they are accredited to do this procedure.

3. Check your pet isn’t a restricted breed

   Some breeds are restricted under NSW law and these breeds can no longer be sold or given away in NSW. It is illegal to accept ownership of such a dog. If you own a restricted breed you must register the dog with the City.

   From 1 July 2020 owners of dogs of a restricted breed or formally declared to be dangerous will be required to pay a $195 annual permit in addition to their one-off lifetime pet registration fee.

   If you need to do this, the annual permit form can be found below. Owners of cats not desexed by 4 months of age are also required to do this.

After you finish

You will receive your certificate of registration once your cat or dog is registered, and where applicable the identification certificate.

The registration fee is a once-only payment and covers lifetime registration in NSW, even if pet ownership changes.

Your registration details will be recorded on the NSW Companion Animals Register.

Other information

Proof of eligibility

To qualify for a discount as a pensioner concession card holder, recognised breeder or if the animal you're registering has assistance animal status, you must provide the following documentation:

Fees and documentation requirements

Please note that cats and dogs must be registered before they are 6 months old.

In addition to the below, a late fee of $17 is also payable with the registration fee if you don't register your animal within 28 days after this due date.

Fines for unregistered pets

If you do not register a dog or cat by 6 months of age or older you can be fined $330 on-the-spot. If you own a dangerous, menacing or restricted breed of dog and don't register it before it is 6 months old you face a $1,760 fine. The maximum penalty for not registering animals is $6,600 (for subsequent offences). For not registering dangerous, restricted and menacing dogs, it is $7,700 (for subsequent offences).

Pocket pets

Pets come in all shapes and sizes and many of our residents keep rats, ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs and other pocket-sized pets. 

See the NSW RSPCA website for information on caring for pocket pets.

Wildlife

We do not endorse keeping snakes or other native Australian wildlife as pets.

The RSPCA notes that these animals rarely enjoy human company and require specialised housing and feeding.

In NSW, you must have a licence to keep a reptile.

Other requirements

• You must be over 18 years old to register a pet. A parent or guardian cannot register cats and dogs on behalf of children and teenagers under 18.
• If your address or ownership changes, you need to change your pet registration.
• If you are moving to NSW with your pet, you need to change your pet registration.
• When dogs or cats are in a public place they must wear an identification disc on their collar that is engraved with their name and their owner's contact number.
• We recommend all cats that are allowed to roam should wear a collar and tag. All cats must, by law, be microchipped.