All pet cats and dogs in NSW must be registered on the NSW Pet Registry either by 12 weeks of age or immediately upon transfer (whichever happens first). Pets must be microchipped before they can be registered. The person selling or giving away the pet is responsible for getting the pet microchipped.
Until payment is made, your pet is not registered and you may be liable for fines, including a fixed penalty notice of $330. A late payment fee will also be applied if you do not pay registration within 28 days of when it was due.
How to register your pet
You become the official owner of a pet once its profile is transferred to you on the NSW Pet Registry. Sign up to the NSW Pet Registry to pay your pet’s once-only registration fee online and complete the registration process.
This fee covers the cat or dog for its lifetime in NSW, even if ownership changes. It helps fund public pet services across NSW like dog parks, ranger services and responsible pet ownership education and safety programs.
If puppies or kittens are still in a breeder’s care after 12 weeks, the breeder must register them as their own pet and pay the registration fee.
Learn about the registration process for adopting rescue animals.
Using the digital NSW Pet Registry
In NSW, you can register your cat or dog online in a few simple steps.
1. Create a NSW Pet Registry profile
Your Service NSW log in credentials grant you access to the NSW Pet Registry. If you don't have a MyServiceNSW Account, you will need to create one before you can access the NSW Pet Registry.
2. Do your research
Support pet welfare by doing your research and purchasing your pet from a responsible breeder, pet shop or approved rehoming organisations.
3. Transfer ownership
Using the details on your NSW Pet Registry profile, the breeder or seller will instantly transfer you official ownership once you’ve confirmed your pet purchase. You’ll receive a confirmation notification from the NSW Pet Registry.
4. Pay your once-only registration fee online
Always confirm pet details are accurate on the NSW Pet Registry, and update pet photos and other information when necessary. Up-to-date details on the NSW Pet Registry can help reunite you with lost pets.
Registering your pet using forms
If a breeder or previous owner does not transfer ownership to you online or via forms submitted to council, you can give council the completed Change of owner (C3A) (PDF, 150 KB) form. You'll need to complete a Pet registration (R2) (PDF, 147 KB) form and give it to council when you pay the registration fee.
You must also give council a statutory declaration to claim official ownership of your pet and then register them. This document must include:
- your name and address
- the pet's microchip number
- the details of how you came to own the pet, which you are declaring to be true
- your signature and the signature of an authorised witness (this can be a Justice of the Peace (JP), a legal practitioner or a notary public)
- the date and location where the declaration was made.
Pets exempt from registration and microchipping
- Working dogs usually kept in a part of the Western Division of NSW that is not within a local government area or on land categorised as farmland for the purposes of Part 3 of Chapter 15 of the Local Government Act 1993.
- Greyhounds currently registered under the Greyhound Racing Act 2017.
- An animal in the custody of an accredited research establishment within the meaning of the Animal Research Act 1985.
- An animal kept at a licensed animal display establishment within the meaning of the Exhibited Animals Protection Act 1986.
- An animal that is ordinarily kept outside NSW and that has not been continuously in NSW for a period of at least three months.
- An animal where a veterinary practitioner has certified in writing, before the animal was 12 weeks of age, that identification of the animal would constitute a serious health risk to the animal.
- Assistance animals, police dogs, corrective services dogs, and commonwealth officers’ dogs are exempt from paying registration fees but must be microchipped and registered on the NSW Pet Registry.