Sep 4, 2026
Bernalillo County Dog License: The Requirement Albuquerque Dropped
Live inside Albuquerque and you need no dog license at all. Live in Bernalillo County outside it and you do, with fees as low as $2 a year for a senior owner's altered pet.
Albuquerque, New Mexico8 min readPet Care & Services
If you live inside Albuquerque's city limits, you do not need a dog license at all. If you live in Bernalillo County outside the city, you do. This guide covers the county's requirement in full, and what actually replaces it inside the city.
The county requirement
Verbatim, from Bernalillo County Animal Care Services: "All Bernalillo County pet(s) must be licensed with Bernalillo County Animal Care Services. Please provide a copy of your pet's current rabies certificate, microchip number and proof of sterilization." The county's own ordinance states the underlying obligation directly, verbatim: "It is unlawful for any person to own or harbor a dog, cat, or ferret over the age of three months without obtaining a license for such animal."
Visitors get a real exemption. Verbatim: "Persons who are not county residents and who keep such an animal in the county for less than 30 consecutive days shall be exempt from this license requirement."
The fee table
Exactly as published by the county:
| Category | 1 Year | 3 Year |
|---|---|---|
| Unaltered dog/cat/ferret, owner age 18-61 | $20.00 | $50.00 |
| Unaltered dog/cat/ferret, owner age 62+ | $4.00 | $10.00 |
| Altered dog/cat/ferret, owner age 18-61 | $10.00 | $22.00 |
| Altered dog/cat/ferret, owner age 62+ | $2.00 | $5.00 |
A three-year license requires a matching three-year rabies certificate. Verbatim, from the ordinance: "Licenses shall be purchased for one year. A three-year license may be purchased for a dog, cat, or ferret if the animal has a current three-year rabies certificate ... Failure to renew the license within 30 days of the expiration date shall result in the assessment of a penalty fee in addition to the cost of the license."
Service animals are exempt from the fee, not from the licensing requirement itself. Verbatim: "The license fee shall not apply to qualified service animals. All other licensing requirements shall apply."
Where to actually go
Verbatim: "Location: 3001 2nd St SW Albuquerque, NM 87105 Phone: (505) 314-0281 or (505) 468-PETS (468-7387) ... Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 6 p.m." Bring the rabies certificate, microchip number, and sterilization proof the county asks for on the first visit, since the fee itself depends on both altered status and your age.
What replaces the license inside Albuquerque's city limits
Albuquerque abolished its universal dog license. Verbatim, from the city's own HEART Ordinance FAQ: "City of Albuquerque residents are no longer required to obtain a City Pet license, but are still required to have their dogs or cats vaccinated, microchipped, and spayed/neutered." In its place, the city runs a permit keyed specifically to unaltered animals, verbatim: "If you do not want to spay or neuter your companion animal, you must purchase an intact animal permit for $150." Our Albuquerque dog rules guide covers the full jurisdictional split and why it matters which side of the city line you live on.
The city's mandatory microchip rule has been in effect for nearly two decades. Verbatim: "By law, all dogs and cats must be microchipped by April 10, 2007."
How many pets the license limit allows
Bernalillo County's own pet-count ordinance ties into the licensing framework. Verbatim: "No person or household shall own, harbor or keep more than a combined total of four dogs, cats or any combination thereof over the age of three months without, multiple animal site permit, or shelter permit," rising to six "provided that all of the animals shall be sterilized." This county limit is different from the city's own cap of six pets and four dogs, so do not assume the two numbers are interchangeable if you are considering a move across the city line.
The two-bite rule your license does not protect you from
Licensing your dog is a paperwork requirement, not a behavioral guarantee, and Bernalillo County's own ordinance makes that distinction sharply. Verbatim, the county's bright-line rule: "It is unlawful for a person to keep an animal reported to have bitten any person on two unprovoked separate incidents. The owner has a duty to destroy said animal humanely or surrender such an animal to the animal care services department for proper humane euthanization." A current license does nothing to soften this rule, since it applies based on the dog's own bite history, not its paperwork status. Our dangerous dogs in Albuquerque guide covers this alongside the city's own separate Angel's Law process.
Why the county's system looks different from the city's dangerous-dog process
Bernalillo County requires a judicial determination before a vicious-animal destruction order takes effect, verbatim: "When an animal care services officer has probable cause to believe that an animal is vicious, the officer may take up and impound the animal into protective custody awaiting appropriate court proceedings. Following judicial determination that an animal is vicious, the court having jurisdiction over the enforcement of this chapter, shall, in addition to any fine or imprisonment imposed for violation of this section, order the owner or keeper of such vicious animal to destroy it humanely." This is a genuinely different mechanism from the city's own administrative hearing-officer process, which requires no criminal conviction at all. If you are licensing a dog in the county, understand that the county's dangerous-animal system runs through a court, not through Animal Care Services acting alone.
Emergency care is a separate question from licensing entirely
A current license helps identify your dog and satisfies the law, but it has nothing to do with where you would take your dog for urgent veterinary care. Our emergency vets in Albuquerque guide covers which of the city's own officially listed after-hours hospitals actually match their published address and hours today, a genuinely important check regardless of which side of the city line your license was issued on.
What a licensed dog still needs from you day to day
Licensing your dog once a year does not replace the daily responsibilities that come with owning one in Bernalillo County. Verbatim, the county's own leash requirement: "A dog is permitted on the street and in other public places only if on a secure leash not exceeding six feet in length." And on tethering, verbatim: "It shall be unlawful to tether a companion animal as a form of confinement," with only narrow exceptions for a supervised gathering or an emergency. Our where dogs are not allowed in Albuquerque guide covers the full leash and tethering rules for both the county and the city, since the two genuinely differ.
If your licensed dog ever goes missing
A current county license tag is the single fastest way for anyone who finds your dog, or Bernalillo County Animal Care Services itself, to identify it and contact you. Our lost dog in Albuquerque guide covers the city's own hold-period schedule for a stray with identification versus one without, a genuinely useful comparison even though it describes the city's shelter system rather than the county's own separate one.
Angel's Law does not require this county license, but it does not exempt you either
If your dog is ever designated dangerous under the city's own Angel's Law, readable in full on codelibrary.amlegal.com, the county's separate licensing obligation, if you live outside city limits, remains completely unaffected. Angel's Law governs the city's own dangerous-dog process; it says nothing about county licensing at all, and the two run entirely independently of each other. A dog can be perfectly licensed in Bernalillo County and still face a fully separate, unrelated process if it is ever accused of dangerous behavior inside Albuquerque's own city limits, and vice versa. Treat licensing and dangerous-dog compliance as two entirely separate obligations, since paying for one does nothing to satisfy the other, and confusing them is a genuinely easy mistake for anyone new to how this particular metro area splits its animal-control authority between Bernalillo County and the City of Albuquerque sitting inside it. Keep both obligations straight in your own head from the very first day you move in, and neither one will ever catch you by surprise later on down the road.
Where the rest of this series covers what your license does not
A current license satisfies exactly one requirement among many. Our dangerous dogs in Albuquerque guide covers the county's own separate, stricter dangerous-animal track, worth genuinely knowing about before you ever simply assume your license alone covers every single legal obligation your own dog actually carries along with it. A licensed dog can still be reported, investigated, and restricted; the license itself is only ever one small piece of a genuinely much larger overall picture that is genuinely, truly worth understanding fully and completely from every single possible angle genuinely available to you.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a dog license if I live inside Albuquerque? No. The city abolished its universal pet license. You still need vaccination, microchipping, and sterilization (or an Intact Companion Animal Permit if your dog is unaltered).
Do I need a dog license if I live in Bernalillo County outside the city? Yes, for every dog, cat, or ferret over three months old, unless you are a non-resident keeping the animal in the county for less than 30 days.
How much does a Bernalillo County dog license cost? $10 for one year or $22 for three years if your dog is altered and you are between 18 and 61. Rates are lower for owners 62 and older, and higher for unaltered animals.
Is a service animal exempt from the county license fee? The fee is waived, but the animal must still meet every other licensing requirement.
Where do I license my dog in Bernalillo County? Bernalillo County Animal Care Services, 3001 2nd St SW, Albuquerque, open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
What replaced the dog license inside Albuquerque? An Intact Companion Animal Permit, $150 a year, required only for unaltered dogs and cats. Altered animals need no permit or license inside city limits.
