Westminster, CA Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)

Chapter 6.12 of the Westminster Municipal Code folds pet shops into the city's general animal-permitting scheme. Section 6.12.030 requires a pet shop owner to apply to Animal Control for a pet shop permit in addition to the business license every retailer needs, and it is unlawful to operate before that permit issues. The city council sets the permit fee by resolution rather than fixing a dollar figure in the code itself. Because the ordinance is written to protect the animals held for sale from unhealthy conditions and practices, Animal Control keeps the right to inspect a pet shop at reasonable times as a standing condition of the permit, not just at initial licensing.

The permit follows the same application, fee, and appeal path set out for other regulated-animal permits in this chapter. Under § 6.12.060, an applicant applies directly to Animal Control, and a denial is served in writing, by personal service or registered mail, with notice of the right to appeal. Section 6.12.070 sets the filing fee for that application, again by council resolution. If Animal Control denies or revokes a permit, § 6.12.090 gives the operator ten days to request review by a hearing officer, who can sustain, overrule, or modify the decision within fifteen working days of the hearing; a denied applicant may reapply after one year once the underlying conditions are corrected.

Nothing in Chapter 6.12 forbids a Westminster pet shop from selling dogs or cats, and the code does not restrict sales to shelter or rescue animals only. The regulatory lever here is the permit and inspection requirement itself, plus the general animal-keeping limits found elsewhere in this chapter.