New Harford County Animal Licensing Rules to Take Effect Feb. 18

From Harford County government:

The Harford County Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits (DILP) has announced that changes to the county’s animal licensing procedures will take effect on February 18. These changes are the result of Harford County Council Bill 13-47, introduced at DILP’s request and passed unanimously in December.

The changes are intended to take advantage of the capabilities of DILP’s new licensing system, which will be operational in July. One example is the implementation of rolling calendar year licensing. This will allow for renewals to be spread throughout the year, alleviating the need to process approximately 9,000 licensing renewals over a two month period.

Other examples of improvements that the new system will provide are the issuance of a single tag for the life of the animal and the ability to submit an application or renewal of animal licenses online. Replacement tags will be available at a minimal cost already established by law should a tag be lost or misplaced. These provisions will be effective in July 2014.

Another change is the end of multi-year licensing. The new system will allow for a more efficient interaction for county citizens seeking to obtain animal licenses. Existing multi-year licenses set to expire in 2015 and 2016 will not be affected.

County citizens should also be aware that a one-time extension for current licenses that are set to expire July 1, 2014 was approved. The extension will establish a new expiration date of September 1, 2014. The one-time request allows for licenses set to expire this coming year to be fully handled and take advantage of the new system from notification to reissuance. Renewals that are traditionally sent out in May of each year will now be sent in July.

For more information, please contact Rich Truitt, Deputy Director for the Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits at 410-638-3366.