Indianapolis, IN Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)

Section 836-6(a) makes it unlawful for a pet shop to sell or offer for sale a dog, cat, or rabbit unless the animal came from either an animal care services shelter under Section 288-103 or an animal rescue organization as defined in Section 836-1. That rescue definition excludes any group that breeds animals for profit, shares premises or staff with a for-profit breeder, or pays a for-profit breeder for the animals it places. All fees charged for a shelter or rescue animal are capped at $500 total, and the shop must post, in a conspicuous spot on each animal's enclosure, the name and city/state of the shelter or rescue it came from.

Shops also have to keep records tying each dog, cat, or rabbit to its source shelter or rescue organization for at least one year after taking possession, and hand those records over to the animal care services agency on request. Every kennel, pet shop, and stable must separately register with the license administrator under Section 836-2 (a $200 annual fee under the Section 131-501 schedule) and display that registration certificate, and Section 836-5 bars unweaned or unhealthy animals from being sold at all. The sourcing rule phased in on a delay: it took effect May 1, 2025, for any pet shop that was already registered with the license administrator before April 1, 2023.