San Jose, CA Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Under San Jose Municipal Code § 7.40.040(B), a dog's owner/guardian or handler must keep it under direct physical restraint on a leash not exceeding six feet in length whenever the dog is on a public street, sidewalk, other public place, an event on public property, or on private common areas of a planned development, cluster, townhouse, or condominium project without the property owner's consent. A longer leash up to twenty feet is allowed only in a public park or public open space, and only if the handler can still keep the dog from making unwanted contact with people or other animals: that exception never applies on a public trail, where the six-foot cap and a keep-right-of-centerline rule both apply. Section 7.40.040(C) exempts working service dogs, herding or hunting dogs, police dogs, dogs in supervised training, and dogs in a posted off-leash area or approved trial/exhibition.