Salt Lake City, UT Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- License required
- Cats 4+ months, annually
- Feral colony cats
- Exempt from licensing
- License deadline
- 30 days of acquisition
- TNR release
- Sterilized, ear-tipped, vaccinated
- Enforcing agency
- SLC Office of Animal Services
Summary
Salt Lake City requires every cat four months or older to carry an annual Animal Services license, but exempts cats living in a registered feral colony under the city's trap-neuter-release program.
All dogs and cats shall be licensed each year, except as otherwise provided herein, to a person of the age of eighteen (18) years or older. However, no license shall be required for cats maintained within a feral cat colony.
B. Deadline: Any person owning, possessing or harboring any dog or cat shall obtain a license for such animal within thirty (30) days after the animal reaches the age of four (4) months, or, in the case of a dog or cat over four
(4) months of age, or in the case of a new city resident, within thirty (30) days of the acquisition of the animal or the commencement of residency. However, if an animal is fostered pursuant to a pet rescue permit and is held pending adoption, then the time period in which the pet rescue permit holder must obtain a license for such animal will be expanded from thirty (30) days to ninety (90) days. The animal services director may waive late fees or extend licensing deadlines in individual cases, as appropriate.
C. Application: License applications shall be submitted to the office of animal services, by utilizing a standard form which requests name, address and telephone number of the applicant; breed, sex, color and age of the animal; previous license information; rabies and sterilization information; and the number, location or other identification applicable to a tattoo or implanted microchip of the animal. The application shall be accompanied by the prescribed
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-21: Code current through: Ord. 40-26, passed June 16, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Under City Code, all dogs and cats must be licensed annually starting at four months old, with applications, fees, rabies proof and tags handled through the office of animal services. Cats maintained within a feral cat colony are exempt from that licensing requirement. Separately, feral cats trapped and impounded are held for the mandatory holding period, then sterilized, ear-tipped, vaccinated, and released near where they were trapped: a release the code expressly says is not "abandonment." The director retains discretion to refuse release of any individual cat.
Violations & Fines
Failing to license a cat is a civil violation penalized under § 8.15.027's fee schedule; letting a cat (or any animal) run at large is a strict-liability civil violation under § 8.04.390, also fined per § 8.15.027.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to license my cat in Salt Lake City?
What happens to trapped feral cats in Salt Lake City?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Salt Lake City
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Cat Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Salt Lake County handle cat rules.