Animal Safety Unit
The Oxnard Police Department’s Oxnard Animal Safety Unit provides State-mandated and City services relating to animal safety and animal protection. We promote and protect public safety through education and animal law enforcement.
Our officers patrol the streets for animals allowed to roam at large, whether they are lost, injured or abandoned, and may create a public nuisance by destroying property and causing injuries to themselves and others.
We are also here to protect your health. Rabies is a disease that can be transmitted by an animal’s saliva or skunk spray and can be carried by any warm-blooded animals, including humans. Rabies is fatal once the symptoms appear. Ventura County is a rabies-endemic area. There are half a dozen cases in wildlife every year. The danger is amplified, but not limited to, the County’s rural areas. Vaccinating and licensing your animals will ensure the control of rabies.
Oxnard Animal Safety Officers provide service 24 hours a day/5 days a week and are available on-call for emergencies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Animal Licensing is available through Ventura County Animal Services.
There are three ways to license your pet:
- License Online: Purchase or renew your pets’ license by visiting vcas.docupet.com. This easy-to-use online licensing service provides a quick and seamless way to license your pet from the comfort of your own home.
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License Over The Phone: To license over the phone, please call 1-877-239-6072.
- License U.S. Mail: To license by mail, simply mail a copy of your pet’s current rabies certificate and any other applicable documentation, along with your check payable to: DocuPet, 15 Technology Place, Suite 1, East Syracuse, NY 13057
All dogs and cats over four months of age residing in the city limits of Oxnard need an animal license. Even dogs/cats that are indoor-only or confined to fenced yards are required to have a current animal license.
Licensing your pet is one of the few means available to enforce responsible pet ownership. If your pet is found, a license tag on your animal’s collar is the fastest way to reunite you and your pet. The license tag will tell us where you live because they can’t.
It is the law to license your pet! Also, since Ventura County is rabies declared area, the license enforcement program helps to ensure public safety through rabies control by requiring proof of valid rabies vaccination before a license is issued.
Dogs and cats shall be licensed at the age of 4 months or within 30 days of acquiring your pet. Do not wait until your animal is spayed or neutered to obtain a license.
A citation could be issued for failure to license pet or failure to vaccinate pet – or both (current rates are $100 for each).
A penalty of 100% will be assessed if not licensed at the age of four (4) months or within 30 days of acquiring your pet.
Submit a valid rabies certificate issued by a veterinarian or authorized rabies clinic, and pay the appropriate fee(s) to license your pet. If the pet has been altered, you would need to submit proof of sterilization.
VCAS is able to offer senior discounts, multiple year licenses, and online services, not previously offered.
Initial rabies vaccination is good for one (1) year. The next series of rabies vaccinations thereafter should be good for three (3) years. Please contact your veterinarian for further information.
If you don’t have a rabies certificate yet, you can purchase an interim. (An interim is a receipt of payment only and good for 30 days. It is not a license! This will give you plenty of time to get a rabies vaccination for your pet and submit the certificate to Animal Licensing before the due date. Once you submit the current rabies vaccination, you will be issued a license for your pet. If you do not submit the rabies certificate by the due date the license fee paid to the city will be forfeited and you will be required to pay for the license fee again and penalty (100% of the license fee) and would be in violation of Oxnard City Ordinance Code 5-55 (A) for failure to license pet and/or violation 5-80 (A) for failure to vaccinate pet, which could result in the issuance of a citation.
VCAS has the resources to offer our citizens many options not previously available through the City which are:
- 12 months
- 24 months
- 36 months
Your animal license is good as long as the rabies certificate is valid for the duration of that license.
You will be in violation of the Oxnard City Code and guilty of a infraction, which could result in the issuance of a citation. Any dog or cat found without a current license tag or for which there is no current license may be taken up and impounded by the poundmaster or any peace officer.
Oxnard City Code
Web Link
The penalty for an animal license is 100% of the license fee as adopted by city council resolution.
A citation could be issued for failure to license pet or failure to vaccinate pet – or both (violation of Oxnard City Code 5-55 (A) for failure to license pet and/or violation 5-80 (A) for failure to vaccinate pet; current fine is $100 each).
The Oxnard City Code states that a penalty is due if the license is not acquired within 30 days after the pet turns four months old or within 30 days after acquiring the pet. The fine can be reduced by getting both license and vaccination in place within 30 days of receiving the citation or dismissed (only if in error).
No. You do not need to bring in your pet to get a license, only present an acceptable rabies vaccination certificate, and furnish the information required when you apply for a license.
A license tag will be issued after providing a valid rabies certificate and paying the fee.
Yes. The license tag is your pet’s identification. This will ensure you can be reunited with them if found. Any dog or cat found without a current license tag may be taken and impounded by the poundmaster or any peace officer.
SEC. 5-51. DOG EXEMPTION FROM WEARING LICENSE TAG.
The license tag need not be worn when the dog is:
(A) Securely confined in a cage or vehicle;
(B) Confined in a veterinary facility, licensed kennel, grooming facility, or State chartered benevolent organization for the care of animals; or
(C) Participating in or training for sporting events, field trials, obedience classes, dog shows or herding livestock.
SEC. 5-52. CAT EXEMPTION FROM WEARING LICENSE TAG.
The license tag need not be worn when the cat is:
(A) Identified by a microchip implanted under the skin which is acceptable to and readable by the poundmaster;
(B) Securely confined in a cage or vehicle;
(C) Confined in a veterinary facility, licensed kennel, cattery, grooming facility or State chartered benevolent organization for the care of animals; or
(D) Being shown or exhibited in any cat or pet show.
Yes. A renewal notice will be mailed to you the month before the expiration date. However, it is only a courtesy notice and it is your responsibility to renew the license whether you receive a notice or not. You have 30 days after the due date to renew the license without penalties.
The new owner may have the current license transferred to his/her name. Please contact VCAS at (805) 388-4341 for further information.
Yes. A license tag shall be issued free of charge to a dog used as a guide dog for a blind person when an affidavit attesting to the dog’s use as a guide dog has been submitted when applying for an animal license. If you have a disability and use a service dog to assist you, you will need to apply for an animal license and pay the fee.
The Oxnard City Code allows a person in a residential zone to maintain no more than four (4) dogs and four (4) cats over the age of four (4) months.
Your license fee goes to the animal licensing program to be used for animal safety services and public safety.
Contact the City of Oxnard at (805) 385-7410
Contact Oxnard Animal Safety Services at (805) 385-7640 or use the City of Oxnard’s 311 app.