Dog Control Act 1996

Registration and registration fees

48: Change of ownership of dog

You could also call this:

"What to do when you sell or give away your dog"

If you own a dog and you sell it or give it to someone else, the dog's registration stays the same. You and the new owner must tell the territorial authority about the change of ownership within 14 days. You must also tell them the new owner's address and where the dog will usually be kept.

The territorial authority will update their records for free and give the new owner a new label or disc for the dog if it is registered. The territorial authority that does this is the one where the dog will usually be kept.

If you do not tell the territorial authority about the change of ownership, you can get a fine of up to $500. However, if you can prove that either you or the new owner did tell them, you might not get a fine.

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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=DLM375185.

Topics:

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

47: Registration to extend over New Zealand, or

"Dog registration is valid all over New Zealand, no matter where you live."

49: Transfer of dog from one address or district to another, or

"Telling the council when you move your dog to a new home"

48Change of ownership of dog

Where the ownership of any dog is changed, any registration of the dog shall continue in force, but the previous owner and the new owner shall each within 14 days give written notice to the territorial authority or territorial authorities concerned of the change of ownership and of the residential address of the new owner and the address at which the dog will ordinarily be kept.
Where the dog is registered, the territorial authority or territorial authorities concerned shall, without fee, record the changes in their registers and the territorial authority in whose district the dog is ordinarily to be kept shall, without fee, issue a new label or disc for the dog.
Every person commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $500 who fails to comply with the requirements of subsection (1).
It shall be a defence to a charge of failing to comply with the requirements of subsection (1) if the defendant satisfies the court that the previous owner or the new owner, as the case may be, complied with the requirements of that subsection.

Compare

1982 No 42 s 45

Notes

Section 48 heading: amended, on 28 June 2006, by section 22 of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 23).
Section 48(3): amended, on 1 July 2013, by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).
Section 48(3): amended, on 1 December 2003, by section 28 of the Dog Control Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 119).