Wake County, NC Animal Ordinances: Dog Leash Laws (2026)

Wake County's leash framework is built on three sections of County Code Chapter 91. The core prohibition lives in § 91.07(A)(1): "It shall be unlawful for any owner to permit an animal to be at large." "At large" means off the owner's premises and not under the immediate physical control of the owner or some competent person. There are narrow statutory exceptions in § 91.07: an animal that has not been declared dangerous or potentially dangerous may be off-leash at a sanctioned dog show, obedience class, tracking test, field-training event, or other recognized organization's event; hunting dogs may be at large in the course of lawful hunting if under the owner's control. Outside those exceptions, every dog (and every other animal subject to control) must be confined to the owner's property or under physical restraint.

Section 91.07(C) imposes a stricter leash mandate specifically in public parks: "It shall be unlawful for any person owning or having possession, charge, custody or control of any dog to take the dog into or allow the dog to enter any public park without being at all times under the restraint of a leash unless the park is designated as a dog park." That language applies to county-managed parks and greenways and is the legal basis for the leash-required signs throughout the Wake County park system. Wake County operates several designated off-leash dog parks (e.g., Carolina Pines, Millbrook Exchange, Oak View, Lake Crabtree) where dogs may legally be off-leash inside the fenced enclosure only.

Violations of § 91.07 are civil citations under § 91.99(B). Penalties currently start at $100 for the first violation, with escalating amounts for repeat at-large violations within a 12-month period. Each day a violation continues is a separate offense. Wake County Animal Services may also confiscate the animal and impound it at the county shelter under §§ 91.50–91.58 of the Code, and the owner must pay impound and boarding fees before reclaiming the animal.

State law adds a second layer. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 67-12 makes it independently unlawful "for any person to allow his dog over six months old to run at large in the nighttime unaccompanied by the owner or by some member of the owner's family, or some other person by the owner's permission." A nighttime at-large dog can therefore be charged under both the county ordinance and state law. Continuous barking, howling, or other disruptive animal noise that materially interferes with the comfort of neighbors is a separate Chapter 91 nuisance violation under § 91.08 — but, per the Wake County Animal Services FAQ, Animal Control itself does not have primary jurisdiction over noise violations; magistrates and local police handle those complaints. Under § 91.07(D)-equivalent provisions, the County Code applies only in the unincorporated portion of the county; the 17 incorporated municipalities (Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Wake Forest, Garner, Knightdale, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, Morrisville, Rolesville, Zebulon, and others) maintain their own leash and at-large ordinances, which are typically as strict or stricter than § 91.07.