Riverside County, CA Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Unincorporated Riverside County does not impose a strict "X dogs per house" limit for ordinary pet owners, but Ordinance No. 630 sets thresholds at which animal-keeping becomes a licensed kennel or cattery. Under Section 5, any person maintaining five or more dogs four months of age or older must obtain the appropriate Kennel License, and any person maintaining ten or more cats four months or older must obtain a Cattery License. The kennel classes (Section 1) are: Class I Kennel for 5 to 10 dogs; Class II for 11 to 25 dogs; Class III for 26 to 40 dogs; and Class IV for 41 or more dogs. A Cattery is any premises with ten or more cats four months or older. Before a kennel or cattery license is issued, the operator must obtain verification from the Riverside County Planning Department that the operation complies with Land Use Ordinance No. 348, and the premises are subject to inspection by Animal Services. The Director or Planning Director may further limit the number of dogs or cats kept in any licensed kennel or cattery. Animal rescuers operate under a separate rescue permit (Section 6), with limits such as two dogs for non-nonprofit rescuers and up to ten dogs for qualifying nonprofits without a Class I kennel permit. All individually owned dogs four months or older must still be licensed and microchipped.