Palm Coast, FL Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Palm Coast's animal control ordinance does not state a specific maximum number of pets a resident may keep. Instead, Sec. 8-28 defines 'kennel' as a shelter for housing four or more animals, or an establishment for breeding or boarding animals, and separately defines 'noncommercial kennel' as the keeping of dogs six months of age or older, on premises used for residential purposes, in excess of four animals, meaning five or more adult dogs on a residential lot crosses into kennel territory. A 'commercial kennel,' by contrast, is any facility or business operation where dogs or cats are kept, maintained, cared for or boarded overnight for remuneration.

Sec. 8-54 exempts noncommercial kennels from the City's business tax receipt requirement, but it remains prohibited and unlawful for the owner or operator of a noncommercial kennel to let it become a public nuisance, which under Sec. 8-28's nuisance definition includes excessive barking, offensive odors, unsanitary enclosures, or repeatedly running at large. ' In practice, a Palm Coast household can keep up to four adult dogs without any special classification, and once it exceeds that threshold the property is treated as a kennel subject to nuisance enforcement, even though no business tax receipt is required.