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

Hoboken's pet-store rule sits in Chapter 93, Dogs and Other Animals. Before a store can even operate, § 93-7 requires anyone who keeps or proposes to establish a kennel, pet shop, shelter or pound to hold a Board of Health license; a pet shop license runs $25 a year, expires every January 31 and can be revoked for violating state or Board of Health rules. Layered on top of that licensing scheme, § 93-15, added in 2013 by Ord. No. Z-238, flatly prohibits any pet shop or pet shop operator from selling, offering for sale, bartering, auctioning or breeding cats or dogs, or both, within the City of Hoboken.

The ban carries only two carve-outs: legally existing nonconforming uses, and adoption. A shelter, pound or similar establishment may still keep, display, sell or transfer a cat or dog that has been seized, rescued or donated, so rescue-partnered adoption events inside a retail storefront remain lawful. Enforcement runs through the Board of Health and Health Officer, with police, sanitation and parks staff also authorized to enforce Chapter 93 under § 93-18. Because § 93-15 is treated as a distinct, high-priority provision, § 93-17F gives the City a separate remedy beyond fines: a court may issue a restraining order or injunction to summarily abate any violation of § 93-15, letting the City shut down an illegal retail sale operation without waiting on a criminal conviction.