Westminster, CA Animal Ordinances: Pet Groomer Rules (2026)

Section 6.12.040 sits in the same permitting chapter that covers pet shops, wild-animal keeping, and other regulated animal activities. It requires an animal grooming business to apply to Animal Control for a permit in addition to the business license every operator in the city must carry, and bars operation until the permit is actually issued. As with pet shops, the code frames the permit as a health-and-welfare tool: because animals at a grooming business can be exposed to unhealthy conditions or practices, Animal Control keeps standing authority to inspect the premises at reasonable times as a condition of holding the permit, not merely when the application is first filed.

The application, fee, and appeal procedure follow the rest of Chapter 6.12. Under § 6.12.060 the operator applies directly to Animal Control, which must notify the applicant in writing of approval or denial, with a stated right to appeal. Section 6.12.070 sets the filing fee amount by council resolution. A denied or revoked applicant has ten days under § 6.12.090 to request review by a hearing officer, who issues written findings within fifteen working days, and may reapply for a permit after one year once the disqualifying conditions are corrected. The chapter does not distinguish mobile groomers from fixed-location shops, so both fall under the same § 6.12.040 permit duty if they operate an animal grooming business within city limits.