                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

AMOUNT OF LICENSE TAX (§ 3.2-6528)

A. The governing body of each county or city shall impose by ordinance a license
tax on the ownership of dogs within its jurisdiction. The governing body of any
locality that has adopted an ordinance pursuant to subsection B of &#xA7;
3.2-6524 shall impose by ordinance a license tax on the ownership of cats within
its jurisdiction. The governing body may establish different rates of taxation
for ownership of female dogs, male dogs, spayed or neutered dogs, female cats,
male cats, and spayed or neutered cats. The tax for each dog or cat shall not be
more than $10 for each year or $50 for a lifetime license issued pursuant to
subsection B of &#xA7; 3.2-6530. If the dog or cat has been spayed, the tax
shall not exceed the tax provided for a male dog or cat. Any ordinance may
provide for an annual license tax for kennels of 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 dogs or
cats not to exceed $50 for any one such block of kennels.
			No license tax shall be levied on any dog that is trained and serves as (i) a
guide dog for a blind person, (ii) a hearing dog for a person who is deaf or
hard of hearing, or (iii) a service dog for a mobility-impaired or otherwise
disabled person.
			As used in this subsection, &#8220;hearing dog,&#8221;
&#8220;mobility-impaired person,&#8221; &#8220;otherwise disabled person,&#8221;
and &#8220;service dog&#8221; have the same meanings as assigned in &#xA7;
51.5-40.1.

B. A locality may by ordinance exempt any dog that served as a police or
law-enforcement dog or military working dog from the license tax provided in
subsection A. Such ordinance shall include a verification process for
vaccination records of such dog.

HISTORY: 1984, cc. 248, 492, § 29-213.57; 1986, c. 169; 1987, c. 488, §
3.1-796.87; 1993, c. 817; 1994, c. 108; 2006, c. 836; 2008, c. 860; 2014, c.
616; 2017, cc. 559, 567; 2019, c. 288; 2024, c. 187.