Dog registration and microchipping

What you need to complete the application form:

• Dog details
• Previous registration details
• Microchip number
• Desexing certificate.

Dog registration tag or disc option:

Approved owner

Selected owner

Farm owner

Please note: Cheques are no longer accepted. All major banks are currently phasing out the use of cheques. Waikato District Council is not able to accept payment by cheque.

We will send you a renewal form in the mail in early June each year. To pay online have your renewal notice ready and refer to your animal reference number (not your animal tag number). If you have lost your bill or have not received it please phone 0800 492 452, email info@waidc.govt.nz or message us on Facebook.

Renew or pay your dog's registration online

Get a year's free registration when you desex your dog

Attach written proof or a copy of your dog’s de-sexing certificate when you register your dog and you will get a year’s free dog registration.

This is subject to the following condition:

The dog is not classified as a dangerous dog that has been required to be neutered or spayed under provisions set out in the Dog Control Amendment Act 2003.

Written proof is provided by a certified veterinary surgeon who has adequately described the dog involved.

To be eligible for this, please sign your registration renewal notice and return to us with your desexing certificate.

Become an approved, selected or farm owner and receive a discounted fee

If you are a “good dog owner” and your dog has not been reported to Council or impounded for the past two years then you should already be classed as an approved dog owner and receive a discounted dog registration fee.

If you meet the approved dog owner criteria then you can also apply to become a selected owner or farm owner. If you meet our criteria for either of these then your dog registration fee will be further discounted.

To learn more or to apply visit our Dog owner classifications details below.

Our general approach when setting the fees is to presume that all owners are classified as ‘approved’ unless breaches to the classification are made within a 12-month period. If you are unsure what owner classification you have please phone 0800 492 452.

The Waikato District Council classifies dog owners according to the following criteria:

Approved owner

Approved dog owners receive a discount of your registration fee.

The approved owner classification applies to all new dog owners who have not previously owned a dog, or current owners who have not been subject to any of the following offences:

• impounded dog
• registered complaint
• prosecution
• infringement fine
• non-notification of changes to ownership details
• repeated non-payment of registration fee.

A dog owner moving to the district will be given consideration for the approved owner classification if proven evidence of previous history relating to the above criteria is presented.

Any owner who breaches two or more of the above criteria within a 12-month period will lead to immediate cancellation of the approved owner classification and will be reverted to the general owner classification for a period of two years.

To requalify for the approved owner classification the owner must remain offence-free for two consecutive years.

Selected owner

Selected dog owners receive a discount of your registration fee.

The selected owner classification applies to a dog owner who lives on a property that is less than 20 hectares and complies with the following conditions:

• currently meets the approved owner classification
• meets the minimum standards for accommodation of dogs (as set out in the Code of Animal Welfare) provides a fully fenced dog-proof section or area of the premises, appropriate for the size of the dog/s kept. A property inspection is required to meet this criteria.

Any breach of these conditions will lead to the immediate cancellation of the selected owner classification.

Note: Property inspections, which are required to meet these conditions, cost $20.

Farm owner

Farm owners receive a discount on their registration fee.

The farm owner classification applies to a rural dog owner who lives on and farms a property of  20 hectares or more, and who:

• meets the approved owner classification for a minimum of two years
• meets the minimum standards for accommodation of dogs (as set out in the Code of Animal Welfare). A property inspection is required to meet this criteria
• ensures that all home killing and the disposal and or treatment of offal and trimmings, including the heads of sheep and goats, are carried out in an approved dog-proof enclosure or killing facility
• does not fed or allow the dog/s access to any raw offal or untreated sheep or goat meat
• will undertake voluntarily treatment for hydatids and sheep measles as part the regular dog worming programme with the local veterinarian.

Any breach of these conditions will lead to the immediate cancellation of the farm owner classification.

Note: Property inspections, which are required to meet these conditions, cost $65.

General owner

A general owner has generally breached one or more of the offences listed under the approved owner classification and is recognised as follows:

• cannot supply evidence of a dog previously registered or has kept unregistered dog under another local authority
• has had a dog impounded
• has been the subject of a registered complaint
• has been prosecuted for a dog offence
• has received an infringement fine.
• To qualify for approved owner classification the owner must remain offence-free for two consecutive years.

Apply for responsible dog owner status by 30 April to lower your annual fees for the dog registration year commencing 1 July.

Apply for responsible dog owner license

Notify Council if the details of an existing registered dog have changed, for example if it is neutered or microchipped, or if your details have changed.

Notify a change in a registered dog here

If your dog has died or been put down, you must let us know as soon as you can. You may be eligible to have part of your registration fee refunded.

Has your dog passed away? (Online form)

Notify Council if ownership of a dog already registered in the district is transferred to a different owner.

Notify a transfer of dog ownership

Your dog must be wearing a registration tag or disc when it public. If your dog registration tag or disc goes missing, you can apply for a new one.

Each replacement tag or disc costs $6 and will be sent to you within two weeks of the payment being received

Pop into one of our council offices or phone our contact centre to organise a new tag.

The fine for not registering your dog is $300.

Microchipping and registration make it easier to identify and return lost and/or impounded dogs.

Microchipping is compulsory for all dogs which are being registered for the first time from 1 July 2006; and for any dog which has been classified as dangerous or menacing on or after 1 December 2003.

Microchipping is not compulsory for farm dogs and working dogs; however it becomes compulsory if they end up in one of our pounds and are either unregistered, or registered but it's the second time they've been impounded.

Your dog must be microchipped before it can be registered. Ask your local vet about microchipping or our Animal Control staff offer microchipping at either our Ngaruawahia or Pukekohe pounds, just pop into one of our council offices to pay a small fee before heading over to the pound with your dog to be microchipped.

Update your dogs microchip details online

In the Waikato district, no more than two dogs over the age of three months may be housed on individual premises in urban areas; and in country/lifestyle areas which are not zoned ‘rural’. Multi-unit housing and Papakaainga housing areas are restricted to one dog per household.

If you wish to keep more than the maximum number of dogs in either of the above situations, you will need a special permit to do so. Applications will be considered on a case by case basis and will require permission from your neighbours.

Apply online for a permit to keep more than two dogs

Permit conditions

All requirements of the Dog Control Act 1996  and Waikato District Council Dog Control Bylaw 2015 MUST be met at all times:

Dog owner complaint history shall be reviewed and considered on an individual basis.

The owner must meet the 'approved owner' and 'selected owner' policy criteria (see dog registrations for more information).

You must have written consent from neighbours who live on adjoining properties. If you are renting you must have written consent from the landlord or property owner.

Your property's fences must be able to contain and retain all dogs on the property.

You must provide adequate kennelling or other housing that is sited as to ensure adequate shade, warmth and dry conditions.

Permits declines and revocations

Any application to keep a dog which has been classified as menacing or dangerous under the Dog Control Act will be declined.

If you are granted a permit but breach its standards conditions - or (if applicable) its special terms or special conditions as set by the Council, your permit will be cancelled. You will have to re-apply for a permit and redress any situation which contributed to the breach.

Your permit is also specific to the number of dogs applied for at that time, so if you obtain any additional dogs without advising us, your permit will be cancelled and you will have to re-apply for one under the new situation.

If you believe you are unfairly being charged a fine, you may request that Council waive the fine.

Request waiver