Clifton, NJ Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Enacted
- Ord. No. 7773-22, effective 10-18-2022
- Rule
- No pet shop may sell a dog or cat
- Adoption exception
- Shelter, pound, or rescue animals only
- Penalty
- Up to $500 per sale, each one separate
- Related license
- Annual pet shop license $10 (§203-24B)
Summary
Clifton pet shops may not sell or offer for sale a dog or cat under a puppy-mill ordinance the City Council adopted in October 2022. Shops may still offer dogs and cats for adoption if the animal came from a shelter, pound, or licensed animal-rescue organization, keeping puppy and kitten sales out of storefronts entirely.
§ 203-26.1. Restriction on the sale of animals. [Added 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 7773-22] A. Not pet shop in the City of Clifton shall sell or offer for sale a dog or cat. B. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a pet shop from offering for adoption a dog or cat that has been obtained from a shelter, pound, animal rescue organization or animal rescue organization facility. C. Any person who violations the provisions of § 203-27A shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding $500. Each sale or offer for sale shall constitute a separate violation.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4963532; v64 updated 2026-07-21; through 07-21-2026).
Full Breakdown
1, added October 18, 2022 by Ord. No. 7773-22, flatly bars any pet shop in Clifton from selling or offering to sell a dog or cat, joining the wave of New Jersey towns that closed off retail sales tied to commercial breeding operations. The ban has one carve-out: a pet shop can still offer a dog or cat for adoption, but only if the animal was obtained from a shelter, pound, animal rescue organization, or animal rescue organization facility, not from a breeder or broker.
This sits inside Clifton's older kennel and pet-shop licensing scheme under Chapter 203, Article II, which still requires any pet shop, kennel, shelter or pound to hold an annual City license (a pet shop's fee is $10 under Section 203-24B) that expires every January 31 and can be revoked by the City Council for health-code failures. The City Clerk processes license applications with sign-off from the Police, Fire Public Safety, Building and Health Departments, and forwards the licensee list to the State Department of Health each year under Section 203-26.
The 2022 sale ban layers on top of that licensing structure rather than replacing it: a shop must still be licensed to operate at all, and now that license cannot be used to move dogs or cats for sale.
Violations & Fines
A pet shop that sells or offers to sell a dog or cat faces a fine of up to $500 under Section 203-26.1C, and each individual sale or offer for sale counts as its own separate violation, so a shop moving several animals in one day can rack up multiple $500 penalties. The Municipal Council can also revoke the shop's underlying Chapter 203 pet-shop license for the violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Clifton pet store still sell dogs or cats?
Can a Clifton pet store offer adoptions instead of sales?
Who enforces Clifton's pet-shop sale ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Clifton
Compare Clifton to another location·View the New Jersey animal ordinances overview
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