Registering your dog helps keep them safe if they become lost, gives you peace of mind and helps us plan services for our growing community.
Register your dog
All dogs in South Australia must be registered through Dogs and Cats Online, the state's central registration and microchip database.
To register your dog, you'll need:
- An email address
- Any concession cards
- Desexing or microchipping certificates (if required)
- Your renewal notice (if your dog has previously been registered)
Renew your registration
Dog registrations must be renewed each year between 1 July and 31 August.
You'll receive a renewal notice by email, SMS or post, depending on your preferred contact method.
Registration fees
| Dogs | Price | Concession |
|---|---|---|
| Non-standard dog | $117.00 | $58.50 |
| Standard dog (de-sexed and microchipped) | $58.50 | $29.25 |
| Puppy (under 6 months of age) | $58.50 | $29.25 |
| Assistance dogs (including in training) | Nil | Nil |
| Working dog | $58.50 | $29.25 |
| Racing greyhound | $16.00 | $8.00 |
| Late registration fee | $23.00 | $23.00 |
- Registration is valid until July each year (irrespective of when you last paid your registration). This means if you register your dog in June, you'll still need to pay for registration renewal again in July.
- Dogs and Cats Online might charge a late fee if you don’t register your dog on time and we may send you fines as well.
- If your dog dies, you won’t be able to apply for a refund or transfer the registration to another animal.
Update your details
It's important to keep your details up to date so we can contact you if your dog becomes lost and ensure your renewal notices are sent to the right address.
Update your details if:
- You've changed your address or contact details
- You no longer own your dog
- You're transferring ownership
- Your dog has died
Assistance dogs
Assistance dogs must be accredited by the Dog and Cat Management Board.
Frequently asked questions
- Renewal notice (only if the dog was previously registered)
- An email address
- Any concession cards
- You may need certificates of microchipping or desexing if this wasn’t previously recorded
- Certificates of desexing or microchipping
If you’re entering a new dog into Dogs and Cats Online, you might need to upload a certificate of desexing or microchipping. If you can’t find your certificate, you’ll need to get another to complete your registration.
To get a microchip certificate, visit Pet Address, and enter your microchip number (you’ll find this on any veterinary documents or invoices).
Your renewal code will be sent to you in July each year by the contact method that you choose when you first registered your dog (this is why it’s important to keep your details updated in your Dogs and Cats Online account).
From July 2018, dog registration discs in South Australia are issued just once, and not every year. This helps to reduce waste and streamline pet registration.
Registered dogs will be given a permanent registration number and a once-off grey coloured disc. You’ll get a registration number that’s linked to your dog, even if you move to a different Council or if your dog changes owners. You also have a choice to replace the plastic grey disc with an engraved metal disc.
It’s important to know that you’ll still need to renew your dog's registration each year.
Dogs and Cats Online will send you a plastic registration tag/disc when your dog is first registered, and this is a lifetime disc. If you need a replacement disc, you can buy one from Dogs and Cats Online for $10. Or if you know your dog’s registration number, you can have this engraved on a metal disc along with your dog's name and any other contact details.
Yes, it’s compulsory to microchip your dog by the time they’re 12 weeks old. Your local yet can do this for you, or visit Chipblitz to get information about their discount microchipping days.
It’s compulsory for dog owners, breeders, councils, vets, microchip implanters, the RSPCA, the Animal Welfare League, assistance dog organisations and others to give information to the Dogs and Cats Online system. Dogs and Cats Online helps us and other organisations (like the RSPCA) continue to keep animals and communities safe.
For example:
- An officer at the City of Mitcham can update a dog owner’s record to indicate that they’ve paid their annual dog registration fee, and that the dog is now registered.
- An officer at the City of Mitcham can get information from Dogs and Cats Online so they can investigate a breach of the Dog and Cat Management Act and prosecute the offender.
- An RSPCA inspector can get information from Dogs and Cats Online so that they can investigate and prosecute animal cruelty cases and other breaches of the Animal Welfare Act.
- A registered vet and their staff can search Dogs and Cats Online for a dog already in the Dogs and Cats Online system. They’ll be able to see the name and phone number of the owner, and then update the dog’s microchipping and de-sexing information.
- The Dog and Cat Management Board makes decisions in line with the SA Government Information Privacy Principles about how much information officers can get access to. Dogs and Cat Online incorporates the public register of dog and cat breeders in SA, and not all the information about breeders held within the system is accessible to the public.
You can apply for a dog business registration if the business involves:
- a kennel at which dogs are bred or trained; or
- the provision of security or other services involving the use of dogs.
You’ll find information about registering a dog business under Section 35 of the Dog and Cat Management Act. To register your business call us on 1300 133 466.
If you’re not already part of a breeder’s association, you’ll need to register as a breeder at the same time that you register your dog.
Registration fees mean that we can:
- Help lost or injured dogs be reunited with their owners
- Regularly communicate with dog owners and the public
- Create resources to develop dog management programs and to support legislation
- Provide funding to support of pounds and shelters
- Provide funding for community education, and administrative and research expenses of Councils
- Support by-law control
- Enforce effective dog control legislation, and control and reduce dog problems for the community (such as investigating barking dog complaints and dog attack complaints
A quarter of all dog registration income goes directly back to the Dog and Cat Management Board, and this helps the City of Mitcham become a member of the Board. The Board is responsible for:
- Providing information and advice about the act and their responsibilities
- Acting as a conduit of information between state and local government
- Undertaking radio and television advertising campaigns to raise the awareness of being a responsible pet owner
- Producing and providing councils with a range of brochures and publications
- Providing the public with an avenue to utilise when they believe councils haven’t acted in accordance with the law
If you have lost or found a dog, please call 1300 133 466.