Charles County, MD Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Charles County's animal ordinance, Chapter 230 of the County Code, does not cap the number of dogs or cats a household may own outright. Instead, § 230-2 defines an "animal fancier" as any person, partnership, corporation or other legal entity that harbors or keeps more than 10 adult animals in any combination, so long as the person is not breeding and selling offspring or using males for stud. Crossing that 10-animal line without a commercial purpose requires an animal fancier's license under § 230-10(B), issued by the Charles County Division of Animal Control.

The applicant submits a photograph, a current rabies vaccination certificate and a description of every animal to be covered, and the County will not issue the license until it completes a premises inspection, scheduled within 30 days of the application. The license runs for one year and must be renewed 30 days before expiration; if every animal on the license is sterilized, the annual fee drops by 75%. Anyone previously found guilty of cruelty to animals is permanently ineligible for a fancier's license under § 230-10(B)(7).

A related but separate threshold applies to for-profit breeding: § 230-2 defines a "commercial breeding facility" as anyone who owns four or more unneutered male or unspayed female animals kept for stud fees or the sale of offspring, which instead falls under commercial animal establishment licensing in § 230-10(C). Livestock, poultry and other farm animals kept under customary agricultural husbandry practices are excluded from the fancier definition entirely.