Nassau County, FL Animal Ordinances: Breed Restrictions (2026)

Sec. 16, Florida's dangerous-dog statutes, by reference rather than creating a county breed list, so no breed is singled out for restriction. Sec. 6-47(b) builds the county's own hearing and appeal machinery on top of that state law. 12 and this section, and the owner then has seven calendar days to file a written hearing request or waive the right to a hearing entirely. If a hearing is requested, it must be held between five and twenty-one calendar days after the request, and the director of animal care and control and code enforcement issues the final classification decision.

Once a dog is finally classified as dangerous, the owner has ten business days to appeal to the county court, must confine the dog in a securely fenced area while the appeal is pending, and the county court then holds a trial de novo on the classification question. A dog that has bitten or attacked a person or another domestic animal, been used for or trained in dog fighting, or menacingly chased someone in a public place can be found dangerous under the adopted state criteria, and none of this hinges on the dog's breed.