Raleigh, NC Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Section 12-3011 sits in Article B, Division 1 of Chapter 12's animal code and covers both roaming and waste. Subsection (a) bars an owner from letting a dog be at large in the city or on city property; subsections (b) and (c) require anyone owning, harboring, keeping, or in charge of a dog to remove its feces from any street, sidewalk, park, or other publicly owned area, and from private property unless the property owner has consented to the use. A companion citywide rule, § 12-3007, extends the at-large ban to any domesticated animal, not just dogs, so cats and other pets are covered too.

Owners who tether a dog outdoors face a separate limit under § 12-3013: no more than three hours total of tethering in any 24-hour period, using a line at least ten feet long that cannot strangle the dog or weigh more than ten percent of its body weight, attached to a buckle collar or body harness, with food, water, and shelter access maintained throughout. Enforcement runs through the Police Department's animal control division. Violations of Chapter 12's animal provisions are both a civil offense and a criminal misdemeanor under § 12-3069, with fines up to $500 for a criminal violation and escalating civil penalties running from $100 for a first offense up to $500 for a fourth or later violation within twelve months.