Aliso Viejo, CA Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

The limit sits in Aliso Viejo Municipal Code § 6.04.170. Every person owning or having custody of four or more licensed dogs or four or more licensed cats, over the age of four months, for any purpose other than a commercial purpose must procure an additional animal license under Article X of Chapter 6.04. The text counts licensed dogs and licensed cats in separate clauses, so the trigger is the fourth licensed dog or the fourth licensed cat. Article X exists for two situations: dogs or cats beyond the number AVMC 6.04.170 permits, and wild or exotic animals kept as pets.

Underneath that sits the ordinary license rule. Under AVMC 6.04.100, every dog four months of age or older needs a city dog license within 15 days after the dog turns four months or after a prior license expires, and no dog is licensed without proof of an approved rabies vaccine. A cat license under AVMC 6.04.160 is optional. The code sets fees by reference to the city of Mission Viejo, and it defines the director as the manager of the animal services department for the city of Mission Viejo, or a designee, acting pursuant to contract.

The application goes to the director with the fee. Under AVMC 6.04.600, no application is filed or accepted if the director or the city council took final action on the same or substantially the same request within one year. To grant the license under AVMC 6.04.610, the director must find that the animals will not jeopardize, endanger or menace public health, safety or general welfare, that the site is adequate in size and shape without material detriment to nearby property, and that the owner has complied with other applicable laws, including zoning. The license names the number and types of animals allowed on the parcel, carries any conditions the director adds, cannot be transferred and must be renewed annually. A household keeping five or more dogs or cats over four months old, outside a parcel licensed under Article X, falls inside the kennel definition in AVMC 6.02.010, which brings a separate commercial animal establishment license under AVMC 6.04.460.