Commerce City, CO Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- Base household limit
- 4 dogs/cats combined, over 6 months
- Hobby breeder license limit
- 6 dogs/cats at licensed address
- Limit counted by
- Property or residential unit
- Puppies/kittens under 6 months
- Do not count toward limit
- Above 6 animals
- Requires commercial kennel license
Summary
Commerce City caps most households at four dogs, cats or a combination of the two over six months old, per Sec. 4-2003 of the Revised Municipal Code. A resident who wants more must get a hobby breeder license under Sec. 4-3003, which raises the cap to six animals at the licensed address, still short of a commercial kennel.
Unless a hobby breeder license has been obtained , no person shall own, keep, possess, harbor or maintain within the city on a single residential property or within a single residential unit more than four (4) dogs or cats or combination thereof over the age of six (6) months. ... (b)Such license shall allow a hobby breeder to harbor, at the address identified on the license, not more than six (6) dogs or cats or combination thereof over the age of six (6) months.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 4-2003, titled "Maximum number of household pets," provides that unless a hobby breeder license has been obtained, no person shall own, keep, possess, harbor or maintain within the city on a single residential property or within a single residential unit more than four dogs or cats, or a combination of the two, over the age of six months. The cap counts by property or unit, not by individual owner, so a multi-adult household sharing one address is still limited to four qualifying animals; puppies and kittens under six months do not count toward the limit.
A resident who wants to keep more must obtain an annual hobby breeder license under Sec. 4-3003, paying a fee set by city council resolution; that license raises the household cap to six dogs or cats over six months at the licensed address. Sec. 4-3003(c) also creates an evidentiary shortcut for prosecutors: in a case for failing to get a hobby breeder license, it is prima facie evidence of the violation that the owner, on the date of the citation, harbored more than four dogs or cats at a single address.
Anyone who wants to keep more than six animals, or to breed, board, train, groom or sell animals for a fee as a business, needs a commercial kennel license under Sec. 4-3004 instead, which also requires proof the address is zoned for that use.
Violations & Fines
Exceeding four dogs or cats without a hobby breeder license, or exceeding six with one, is a civil infraction under the strict-liability standard of Sec. 4-1002 unless charged as an "unlawful" act, and each day the excess continues is a separate offense. Under Sec. 4-3003(c), simply having more than four qualifying animals at one address on the citation date is enough evidence to prove the licensing violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many dogs and cats can I legally keep at my house in Commerce City?
Can I get permission to keep more than four pets?
Do puppies and kittens count toward the four-pet limit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Commerce City
Compare Commerce City to another location·View the Colorado animal ordinances overview
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Pet Limits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Adams County handle pet limits.