Carrollton, TX Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Section 91.007(A) of the Code of Ordinances sets Carrollton's residential pet caps in tiers tied to fencing and lot size. Without enclosed backyard fencing, a property may keep no more than two cats and two dogs; with enclosed backyard fencing, the cap rises to three dogs and three cats. On at least one acre of land, an owner may keep up to five dogs and five cats, but only if the animals are restrained by fencing set back 200 feet from any dwelling or business owned or occupied by someone other than the pet owner. Beyond dogs and cats, § 91.007(A)(3) caps any other type of animal over four months old, excluding fowl and livestock, at five per residentially zoned lot; the section exempts aquarium fish kept for non-commercial, residential use.

The same section layers on separate permitted allowances. Up to six chickens may be kept city-wide with an annual DCO permit, so long as no roosters are present, the birds stay inside an 80-square-foot-or-smaller coop no taller than eight feet, the coop sits at least 25 feet from a neighbor's dwelling or business and five feet from any property line, and waste is collected at least every 48 hours. Honeybees are separately capped at three hives per lot under an annual permit, with hives kept at least ten feet from any property line and surrounded by an eight-foot flight-path barrier. Both the chicken and beekeeping permits can be denied or revoked by the DCO for a Municipal Court conviction, with a 15-day window to appeal to the Animal Shelter Advisory Committee, whose decision is final. None of the numeric caps apply to governmental or educational facilities, commercial kennels, or veterinary hospitals located on property zoned for that purpose.