Mission Viejo, CA Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)

Mission Viejo Municipal Code § 10.01.110 sets the citywide baseline: no one may sell, exchange, or give away a living animal as part of a commercial transaction except through a pet shop or kennel licensed under Chapter 10.01, or at the seller's own residence. That licensing requirement, not an outright retail ban, is how the city treats pet shops: a business defined at § 10.01.101 as "any place of business where dogs under four months of age, or any other animals to be used as pets, are kept for sale" can operate legally once it holds a facility license from the Animal Services Department, listed among the licensed "animal facilities" at § 10.01.480 alongside kennels, grooming parlors, and animal exhibitions.

That license carries conditions. Section 10.01.100(w) bars any dog or cat under eight weeks old from being brought into the city for adoption or offered for adoption. Section 10.01.100(x) requires every dog or cat offered for adoption to be examined by a licensed veterinarian and certified free of congenital defects, distemper, worms, and skin disease or mites. Section 10.01.100(y) requires proof of distemper and parvo vaccination handed to the adopter, and § 10.01.505 separately requires pet shops to obtain a rabies vaccination for every dog in their custody and give the buyer a vaccination certificate at sale.

Violating any of these conditions is grounds for the Animal Services director to deny or revoke the facility's license under § 10.01.480, and separately exposes the operator to an administrative citation under Division 4 of Chapter 10.01, which the city attorney or city prosecutor may instead pursue criminally at their discretion.