Iron County, UT Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Iron County Code Section 17.36.240, in Title 17's zoning chapter, defines household pets as animals ordinarily permitted within a home and kept for company or pleasure, such as dogs, cats and birds. The section caps the by-right allowance at not more than two dogs and two cats over four months of age, and no more than four animals total in the household, regardless of species mix. A household with two dogs and two birds, for example, is already at the four-animal ceiling and could not add a cat without exceeding the limit.

The definition matters because it draws the line between an ordinary household pet, allowed without a permit, and the broader category of domestic animals covered separately under Section 17.36.250 (horses, chickens, goats and similar livestock) or animals excluded from household-pet status altogether under the same Section 17.36.240, such as reptiles, fowl, and inherently or potentially dangerous animals. Keeping more than the permitted four animals, or keeping an excluded species as a household pet, is a zoning violation under Chapter 17.72 rather than an animal-control citation, because the limit sits in the zoning code, not the animal-control title.

The Iron County Building and Zoning Department, through its zoning administrator and enforcement officers, investigates complaints and issues notices of violation; the Sheriff's Office handles animal-control response for at-large or dangerous animals. Property owners exceeding the cap can bring their household into compliance by rehoming or removing excess animals before the completion date set in any notice, avoiding the fines that begin accruing once a correction period lapses.