Dog and cat licenses in King County

Regional Animal Services: who needs one

King County requires a license for every dog and cat eight weeks or older living in the Regional Animal Services area. Cats are not required in Mercer Island. (King County)

The area is unincorporated King County plus Beaux Arts, Bellevue, Black Diamond, Carnation, Clyde Hill, Covington, Duvall, Enumclaw, Issaquah, Kenmore, Kent, Lake Forest Park, Maple Valley, Medina, Mercer Island, Newcastle, North Bend, Redmond, Sammamish, SeaTac, Shoreline, Snoqualmie, Tukwila, Woodinville and Yarrow Point. You can buy online or at a listed licensing location. (King County)

Regional Animal Services fees

• Altered dog or cat: $30 a year. (King County, read Oct 19, 2026)
• Unaltered: $60. (King County, read Oct 19, 2026)
• Juvenile (unaltered, under six months, renew in six months): $15. (King County, read Oct 19, 2026)
• Senior discount (altered pet, owner 65 or older) and disabled person (altered pet, by phone): $15. (King County, read Oct 19, 2026)
• Service animal: no fee. Replacement tag: $5. (King County, read Oct 19, 2026)

Late fees grow with time past expiration: $15 at 45 to 90 days, $20 at 91 to 135 days, $30 at 136 to 364 days, and $30 plus the prior year's license fee at 365 days or more. (King County, read Oct 19, 2026)

The fine for an unlicensed pet is $125 for an altered cat or dog and $250 for an unaltered one. (King County, read Oct 19, 2026)

Bellevue sells the same Regional Animal Services license at its own counters: City Hall, Mini City Hall, Petco Factoria and QFC stores. Its table matches: $30 altered, $60 unaltered, $15 juvenile. (City of Bellevue, read Oct 19, 2026)

Seattle runs its own license

Seattle is not on the Regional Animal Services list. The Seattle Animal Shelter licenses cats, dogs, miniature goats and potbellied pigs, and every license is now one year. (Seattle Animal Shelter)

• Cat: $30 altered, $80 unaltered. (Seattle Animal Shelter, read Oct 19, 2026)
• Dog: $45 altered, $105 unaltered. (Seattle Animal Shelter, read Oct 19, 2026)
• Replacement tag: $7. Late penalty: $30. (Seattle Animal Shelter, read Oct 19, 2026)

Seniors over 60 and people with a Gold or FLASH card get 50 percent off altered licenses. There is no discount on an unaltered license. (Seattle Animal Shelter)

Not having a license is a $125 citation, and not displaying it is $54. (Seattle Animal Shelter, read Oct 19, 2026)

Suburbs with their own tables

• Auburn: $30 altered, $60 unaltered, $15 juvenile, $15 for an altered pet of an owner 62 or older or disabled, $5 replacement. Buy at the City Customer Service Center or Auburn Valley Humane Society. (City of Auburn, read Oct 19, 2026)
• Federal Way: residents 65 or older, and residents with a permanent disability who retired from work because of it, can get a free special permanent license for the pet's lifetime. The pet must be spayed or neutered, and a household gets at most three. Annual fees are set by council resolution. (Federal Way Revised Code 9.09)
• Federal Way, free license holders: register with the city once, and the license never needs renewing. The city page is for residents inside city limits. (City of Federal Way)
• Kirkland: dogs and cats 12 weeks and older, with rabies vaccination. $30 spayed or neutered, $60 unaltered, $15 juvenile, $15 for an owner 65 or older with an altered pet. Online through DocuPet, by mail, or at City Hall. (City of Kirkland, read Oct 19, 2026)
• Renton: dogs and cats four months and older, renewed each year. $30 altered, $50 unaltered. (City of Renton, read Oct 19, 2026)

What I check before I renew

1. Is my address inside Seattle, a city with its own table, or the Regional Animal Services area?
2. Is the pet altered, and does a senior or disability rate apply?
3. How many days past expiration am I, and what late fee applies?
4. Does my sitter or boarding place ask to see the tag?

Next

For permits on the business side, read which pet businesses need a permit. Seattle park rules for dogs are on Seattle off-leash rules.