Mission Viejo, CA Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Orange County Codified Ordinance 4-1-76 sets the threshold for needing an Animal Permit: every person owning or having custody of four or more dogs, or four or more cats, over the age of four months, for any purpose, must procure an animal permit from OC Animal Care. In practice this means a household may keep up to three dogs and three cats without the permit, and crossing into four of either triggers the requirement. The permit must be renewed annually, and OC Animal Care administers the application through its Business Licensing Desk. Note that this is a county-level rule for the unincorporated areas and contract cities; some Orange County cities do not allow animal permits at all (for example Cypress, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Orange, and Tustin) or set their own caps, so the rule is not uniform across every city. Separately, OCCO 4-1-70 requires that every dog four months of age or older be licensed with an Orange County dog license within fifteen days, and OCCO 4-1-71 requires the dog to wear its current license tag at all times. Cat licensing, by contrast, is optional under OCCO 4-1-85. Owners approaching the permit threshold should contact OC Animal Care to apply before adding a fourth animal.