The pet license renewal checklist

Renewing a pet licence takes a few minutes — if you have the right details in front of you and you know when your municipality expects payment. This checklist covers what to gather, how renewal dates actually work, what a late renewal costs, and the situations that change the answer.

What should you check before renewing?

Five things, in order:

• Your licence or tag number, or the renewal notice your municipality sent
• Your current address, phone number and email — the phone number matters more than anything else on this list
• Proof of rabies vaccination, where your by-law requires it or discounts for it
• Sterilization confirmation, where it lowers the fee
• The microchip number, if the animal has one

When do pet licences expire?

There is no single answer, because the licence year is set locally. Three patterns are common, and published municipal examples show all three:

• A fixed municipal year. Pointe-Claire runs its dog licence from 1 May to 30 April, with payment due before 30 April. La Pêche uses the calendar year, 1 January to 31 December.
• A fixed renewal date regardless of purchase. Brossard ends every licence on 30 June and renews on 1 July, whatever date it was bought.
• A rolling year from purchase. Westmount runs a dog licence one year from the date it was issued.

Some municipalities also set a payment window rather than a single date: La Sarre asks for renewal between 1 and 31 March, and the City of Amos sets a 1 March deadline for a licence year that runs January to December.

So the useful habit is not memorizing a date — it is knowing which pattern your municipality uses.

Will you get a reminder?

Often, but never assume it. Dollard-des-Ormeaux emails a reminder a month before the licence expires, and Senneterre sends one a month ahead. Reminders only reach you at the address and email on file, which is the practical reason to keep those current.

What happens if you renew late?

It depends on the by-law, and it is not always trivial. La Sarre states that a late renewal costs more, and publishes a minimum fine of $250 for failing to license at all.

There is a second cost that does not appear on any invoice: a lapsed licence means the animal is no longer current in the municipal register. That matters at exactly the wrong moment — when a found animal is scanned and the record comes back expired.

How do replacement tags work?

Every municipality that issues a tag also replaces it, for a fee that is usually small: $5 in Pointe-Claire, $10 in Brossard and Senneterre, $15 in Westmount, $20 in La Pêche.

Whether you need a new tag at renewal varies too. Senneterre issues one tag for the animal's lifetime and renews the licence behind it; other municipalities mail a new tag each year. Under Quebec's provincial framework a registered dog must wear the tag issued at registration at all times, so a lost tag is worth replacing promptly rather than at the next renewal.

What if your pet's status has changed?

Tell the municipality at renewal — it is usually the moment the fee is recalculated. Sterilization commonly lowers the rate: Senneterre charges $25 for a sterilized animal and $45 if it is not; La Sarre charges $15 for a sterilized dog and $30 otherwise. A new microchip number should be added to the record even where it does not change the price, because it is the identifier a shelter or clinic will scan.

What if you have moved?

A licence belongs to an animal, an owner and a municipality. If you moved within the same municipality, update the address on the existing record. If you moved to a different one, expect to register there — Dorval, for example, requires registration within 30 days of the animal arriving in the territory. See Moving? What happens to your pet's license.

The one-minute version

Confirm the phone number, confirm whether your municipality uses a fixed licence year or a rolling one, pay before the deadline rather than after, and replace a lost tag when you lose it. Everything else on this list is detail.

Sources

• Encadrement des chiens — Gouvernement du Québec
• Contrôle animalier — Ville de Senneterre
• Animaux — Ville de La Sarre
• Dog License — City of Pointe-Claire
• Licence pour chien — Ville de Brossard

Rules differ by municipality — always confirm on your own municipality's page. Use Find Your Municipality to reach it, or read How to renew your pet license. Municipal teams can see how renewals and reminders are run in pet licensing software for Canadian municipalities.