Olympia, WA Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Core rule
- No pet store can sell or transfer dogs or cats
- Pet store defined
- Retail establishment open to the public selling animals, including dogs and cats
- Adoption events
- Allowed, but the store takes no compensation
- Records
- Source shelter or rescue records kept at least three years
- Fines
- Class 3 ($50), Class 2 ($125), Class 1 ($250)
- Court remedy
- Injunctive relief and warrant of abatement in superior court
Summary
In the City of Olympia, Washington, no pet store can display, sell, deliver, offer for sale, barter, auction, give away or otherwise transfer dogs or cats. OMC 6.01.020 makes retail dog and cat sales unlawful, while stores can host animals from shelters and rescues for adoption as long as the store takes no compensation.
Notwithstanding any provision in the Olympia Municipal Code to the contrary, no pet store shall display, sell, deliver, offer for sale, barter, auction, give away, or otherwise transfer or dispose of dogs or cats in the City of Olympia on or after the effective date of this Chapter. ... This Chapter does not apply to: A ... person or establishment that sells, delivers, offers for sale, barters, auctions, gives away, or otherwise transfers or disposes of animals that were bred and reared on the premises of the person or the retail establishment; ... Nothing in this Chapter shall prevent a pet store or its owner or legal entity or employees from providing space and appropriate care for animals owned by a publicly operated animal control agency, nonprofit humane society, or nonprofit animal rescue organization and maintained at the pet store for the purpose of adopting those animals to the public. No pet store, or its owner or legal entity operating a retail pet store, shall receive any compensation from pet adoptions or for the use of the store and its resources in connection with adoption events.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 6.01 of the Olympia Municipal Code bans retail sales of dogs and cats in the City of Olympia, Thurston County, Washington, as adopted by the Olympia City Council in Ordinance 7231 of 2020. Section 6.01.020 applies notwithstanding any provision of the Olympia Municipal Code to the contrary: no pet store shall display, sell, deliver, offer for sale, barter, auction, give away, or otherwise transfer or dispose of dogs or cats in the City. A pet store is a retail establishment open to the public and engaging in the business of offering for sale or selling animals, including dogs and cats, at retail. Existing pet stores were allowed to continue until September 15, 2020 under 6.01.030.
Section 6.01.040 exempts a person or establishment selling animals bred and reared on its own premises, a publicly operated animal control facility or shelter, a charitable nonprofit humane society or rescue organization that does not acquire or sell dogs and cats for profit, and a public animal control agency or nonprofit rescue that operates out of or in connection with a pet store.
Adoption is the permitted route. Section 6.01.050 lets a pet store provide space and appropriate care for animals owned by a publicly operated animal control agency, nonprofit humane society or nonprofit animal rescue organization, kept at the store for adoption to the public. The store, its owner and the entity operating it cannot receive any compensation from adoptions or for use of the store and its resources in connection with adoption events.
Records are required by 6.01.060. A pet store keeps, for at least three years after acquisition, records stating the name and address of the shelter, humane society or rescue that each dog and cat came from, and makes them available on request to a City code enforcement officer or animal control authority. Each cage or pen holding a dog or cat carries a label stating the certificate of source with that organization's name and address. Under 6.01.070 the City retains all rights of entry into any pet store for inspection and enforcement.
Violations & Fines
Under OMC 6.01.080, any violation is a civil infraction and each day is a separate infraction: Class 3 ($50) for a first offense, Class 2 ($125) for a second offense arising out of the same facts, and Class 1 ($250) for a third and every further offense arising out of the same facts, not including statutory assessments. Section 6.01.090 also lets the City enforce the chapter in superior court by any legal means, including abatement of a nuisance through injunctive relief and a warrant of abatement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a pet store in the City of Olympia sell puppies or kittens?
Can an Olympia pet store host adoption events?
Who is exempt from the Olympia pet store ban?
What records must an Olympia pet store keep?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Olympia
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