Hackensack, NJ Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)

Article III of Chapter 52, last amended in 2016, licenses pet shops, kennels, and pounds through the Health Department. Section 52-21A restricts what a licensed pet shop may offer for sale: only dogs and cats obtained from, or displayed in cooperation with, an animal care facility or an animal rescue organization. Section 52-17A defines an animal care facility as a shelter or control center run by or under contract with a state, county, or municipality whose mission is substantially the rescue and placement of animals, and an animal rescue organization as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the same substantial mission; a pet shop, kennel, or pound is any business harboring five or more dogs, cats, psittacine birds, or similar pets, or offering any of them for sale to the public.

Section 52-21B bars a pet shop from selling any dog or cat younger than eight weeks old, and Section 52-21C requires any kennel dog taken off the premises to be leashed, crated, or otherwise under safe control. Section 52-18 requires an applicant's license application to include written approval from the New Jersey State Department of Health confirming compliance with local ordinances and state sanitation rules, and Section 52-19 sets the license to expire January 31 each year, with the fee set in Chapter 107. The article exempts establishments run by a licensed veterinarian under Section 52-22, and licensed kennels, pet shops, and pounds must be reported to the State Department of Health within 30 days of licensing under Section 52-20.