Dog Control Act 1996

Registration and registration fees

42: Offence of failing to register dog

You could also call this:

"You can be fined for not registering your dog if it's over 3 months old."

If you own a dog that is older than 3 months, you must register it. If you do not, you can be fined up to $3,000. You are breaking the law if your dog is not registered for the current year.

If someone thinks you have not registered your dog, a dog control officer can take your dog away. They can also enter your land or premises, but not your house, to get your dog.

There are some exceptions to this rule. If you are running a pound or a facility to hold dogs, or if you are taking care of a dog for an animal welfare group, this rule does not apply to you. You can also keep a dog if it is being held in a special facility approved under section 39 of the Biosecurity Act 1993.

If you are taking care of a dog and this rule does not apply to you, there are still some things you must do. If you are running a pound, you must get rid of the dog according to the rules in section 69A. If you are taking care of a dog for an animal welfare group or in a special facility, you must register the dog before you can get rid of it, unless you are putting the dog down.

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This page was last updated on 19 May 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM375173.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Police and safetyHousing and property > Land use

41A: Dead dogs, or

"Telling lies about a dog being dead can get you in trouble and cost you up to $3,000."

43: Registration of impounded dog, dog in quarantine, or dog in custody of society established to prevent cruelty to animals, or

"Registering dogs that are locked up, in quarantine, or with animal helpers"

42Offence of failing to register dog

Every person commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $3,000 who is the owner of a dog of a greater age than 3 months unless the dog is registered under this Act for the current registration year.
If a territorial authority has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has failed to comply with subsection (1), a dog control officer or dog ranger may—
seize and impound the dog; and
for the purposes of paragraph (a), enter, at any reasonable time, any land or premises (except a dwellinghouse) occupied by the owner of the dog.

This section does not apply to any person operating a pound or facility, or having custody of an unregistered dog for the purposes of—
impounding the dog under this Act; or
confining the dog in a transitional facility or containment facility approved under section 39 of the Biosecurity Act 1993; or
keeping the dog in the custody of a society established to prevent cruelty to animals pending the dog's—
1. recovery by its owner; or
2. disposal to a new owner.

However,—
a person to whom subsection (3)(a) applies must not dispose of a dog other than in accordance with section 69A; and
a person to whom subsection (3)(b) or subsection (3)(c) applies must not dispose of a dog (other than by destroying it), unless the dog is first registered under this Act.

Compare

1982 No 42 s 39

Notes

Section 42: substituted, on 1 December 2003, by section 26 of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 119).
Section 42(1): amended, on 1 July 2013, by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).
Section 42(1): amended, on 28 June 2006, by section 21 of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 23).
Section 42(3): substituted, on 7 July 2004, by section 18 of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 61).
Section 42(4): added, on 7 July 2004, by section 18 of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 61).