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 or receipt 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 in the amount of $5.00 made payable to "Lake County Animal Licensing" to the mailing address below. Please do not send cash. Please include a copy of your license receipt or a note to designate the pet for which you are purchasing a replacement tag.

Lake County 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.

A transfer license may be purchased for $5.00. The transferred license will be valid for the remainder of the existing license period.

Licenses may be transferred:

1. From one owner to another for the same pet. Please submit proof of current license, old owner information and signature and new owner information and signature, along with a check or money order for $5.00.
2. From another city or county. Please submit proof of current license along with new Lake County address, along with a check or money order for $5.00.

Please make check or money order payable to "Lake County Animal Licensing" and mail to:

Lake County Animal Licensing
c/o PetData
PO Box 141929
Irving, TX 75014-1929

A refund may be available for the following reasons:

1. 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. The pet owner lived outside the county limits or within the incorporated city limits of Clearlake or Lakeport at the time of licensing.

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 or the expiration of the rabies vaccination, whichever comes first. A license cannot be valid for a longer period than the current rabies vaccination.

Lake County Animal Shelter
4949 Helbush Dr.
Lakeport, CA

To report stray animals or for questions unrelated to licensing, please call 707-263-0278.

If the pet that you have found is wearing a Lake County license tag, please enter the tag number in the tag search box above. If you need assistance, you may call our office toll-free at 1-866-923-1797.

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

If your pet has been lost, Animal Services recommends that you visit the shelter to look for your pet. The shelter is located at 4949 Helbush Dr, Lakeport.

The primary reason is to prevent the spreading of rabies. Rabies is a constant health threat, and rabies vaccinations are good for your pet's health. Did you know that rabies is 100% fatal for humans if not treated properly? Animal licensing helps Animal Services monitor compliance with local and state rabies vaccination laws.

Licensing also helps Animal Services 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 over four months of age must be licensed with Lake County, excluding the incorporated cities of Lakeport and Clearlake. New residents or owners of new pets have a grace period of 30 days to license their pets. The grace period for new pets is extended to 60 days if the pet has a current or prior-year license from another municipality in California.

View the complete Lake County ordinance

Due Date

Payment for your license is due within 30 days of the date that your current license expires. If you are licensing for the first time, you must purchase a license within 30 days of obtaining a dog over the age of 4 months or within 30 days of establishing residence in Lake County. The grace period for new pets is extended to 60 days if the pet has a current or prior-year license from another municipality in California.

A late fee of $20 is charged if your license has not been purchased by the end of the grace period.

License Term

Licenses are valid for one year from the date of purchase or the expiration of the rabies vaccination, whichever comes first. A license cannot be valid for a longer period than the current rabies vaccination.

Lake County chose to privatize animal licensing in 2010 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.