Las Cruces, NM Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)
Key Facts
- No-permit limit
- Up to 3 companion animals per residence
- Permit range
- 4 to 7 companion animals, permit required
- Permit reviewers
- Zoning administrator and animal control officer
- Renewal
- Annual, fee set by city council
- Exempt sites
- Animal shelters, foster sites, cat colonies
Summary
Las Cruces lets any residence keep up to three companion animals four months or older with no permit. Keeping between four and seven triggers the multi-animal site permit under Sec. 7-30, reviewed by animal control and the zoning administrator; the permit does not apply to a licensed shelter, foster care site or community cat colony.
Multi-animal site, residential. Any residence in which more than three companion animals but not more than seven in number, four months of age or older, are kept and on which premises the business of buying, selling, breeding training or boarding for compensation is not conducted... Requirements for a multi-animal site, residential, limiting the number of permitted animals shall not apply to an animal shelter, foster care site or community cat colony. / No person shall keep or operate a residential or nonresidential multi-animal site without a permit issued by the city by and through animal control or having been approved as a foster care site by the animal control unit, ASCMV, or a non-profit animal adoption agency.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 33 | Land Development Code: Supplement 28).
Full Breakdown
City code defines a 'multi-animal site, residential' as any home housing more than three but not more than seven companion animals four months of age or older where no buying, selling, breeding, training or boarding for compensation takes place; going commercial at that scale is treated as a business activity barred from residential zones unless zoning separately allows it. Sec. 7-30 requires anyone operating such a site, or a nonresidential multi-animal site, to hold a permit issued through the animal control unit, unless the property has instead been approved as a foster care site by animal control, the ASCMV or a nonprofit adoption agency.
The applicant must file for the permit with the property address, describe the purpose of the site, pay all fees at the time of application, secure sign-off from both the zoning administrator and an animal control officer, and renew the permit every year at a council-set fee. Nonresidential sites must also carry the city's separate business registration under ch. 16, art. IV, div. 2. Sec. 7-30(c)(6) makes any conflicting zoning regulation control over the animal-site permit terms, so a district's own animal limits can cut the number allowed below seven.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 7-30(d) lets the zoning administrator or an animal control officer revoke the permit if the enclosures turn unsanitary or unsafe, the animal count exceeds what the permit allows, or the holder has already been convicted of a chapter 7 violation. The animal control unit can also deny a new application outright if the applicant has a conviction for noncompliance with the animal control chapter within the past year, and operating an unpermitted multi-animal site is itself a chargeable offense under the chapter's general penalty provisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many dogs or cats can I keep in Las Cruces without a permit?
What happens if I want to keep more than seven pets?
Do foster homes or shelters need this permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Las Cruces
Compare Las Cruces to another location·View the New Mexico animal ordinances overview
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