San Mateo County, CA Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)

Section 6.08.030 requires anyone who wants to own or keep an exotic animal in the unincorporated county to first apply for and receive a use permit from the Planning and Building Department, citing former Zoning Annex Section 6315(u). The application must state the applicant's name and address, where the animal will actually be kept if different, and a description of the plan for keeping it, including species, the number of each species, the housing facilities, and the reason for keeping the animal. Section 6.08.020 defines "exotic animal" to include birds of prey and ratites (hawks, eagles, vultures, ostriches, emus); nearly the entire order Carnivora apart from domestic dogs and cats, including cats such as ocelots and cougars, canids such as wolves and coyotes, and bears; primates, elephants, sloths, kangaroos, bats, and hoofed animals such as antelope, deer, bison, and camels; any animal kept in numbers or a manner likely to endanger people, other animals, or property; and any species venomous to humans, apart from honeybees.

The Director of the Health System investigates each application and, per Section 6.08.050, may approve it only after finding the keeping won't violate any law, won't endanger neighborhood or countywide health and safety, that the premises are clean and sanitary, that the applicant hasn't had a permit revoked in the prior year, and that keeping the animal won't itself constitute a public nuisance. Permits run one year and must be renewed annually; a renewal that goes unpaid becomes delinquent after 90 days and draws an added delinquency fee. Diagnostic/research animals under a state or federal permit, animals at licensed veterinary hospitals, and animals at licensed resale establishments are exempt under Section 6.08.100.