Perth Amboy, NJ Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Perth Amboy caps animals per property, not per person. Section 199-30 limits a property within the City of Perth Amboy to four dogs, and § 178-11, added by Ord. No. 1334-2006 on 2-22-2006, limits it to five cats. Both caps carry the same two exceptions: a valid commercial kennel license, and apartment complexes, which are exempted subject to the requirements of the complex.

An owner who wants more can apply to the City of Perth Amboy Council for a waiver. For dogs, § 199-31 requires the application to be submitted not less than ten days before a regularly scheduled Council meeting, with notice published in the official newspaper ten days before that meeting and written notice to all property owners within 200 feet. The applicant gets a certified list of those owners from the Tax Assessor's office, mails notice by regular and certified mail, return receipt requested, and files an affidavit of mailing at the hearing. The notice gives the applicant's name and address, the lot and block of the household, the number of extra dogs requested, and the date, time and place of the hearing. The cat chapter, § 178-12, uses the same ten-day and 200-foot notice framework.

The Council decides by majority vote of a quorum, on a preponderance of evidence that the applicant showed good cause. Its listed factors include property size, distance to the neighbor's dwelling, whether the home is an apartment, condominium, townhouse or single-family house, fencing, whether the dogs live indoors or mostly outside, the breed and size of the dog, prior complaints, the zoning district and whether the dogs serve a purpose such as security. If it grants the waiver, the Council sets the number. A waiver can be revoked on an application by a city official, police officer or individual, filed at least ten days before a Council meeting, and heard on the same criteria.

Kennels are licensed separately under § 199-10: $25 a year for ten or fewer dogs and $40 for more than ten.