My tender conscience can no longer take this life of crime, so today, I’m going in to confess and get my dogs’ tags. I really don’t have an excuse. I just forgot . . . for about two years, actually. (One dog automatically got tags when we adopted her at the pound 1.5 years ago, but I forgot to renew them.)
So, what will they do to me? I’m hoping they’ll be lenient because I’ve confessed before being caught. The usual fine I see after a quick perusal of the newspaper is $25. Will they charge me this fine when I go in to get the tags?
I think that will depend on your particluar location’s city ordanance, and how how zealous they are in enforcing the regulations. My WAG is that they’ll be more grateful that you finally remembered than angry that you forgot. Like the county tax office that only charges you a late fee for vehicle registration renewal if you’ve actually been caught with an expired sticker by the police.
But I could be wrong. They might swat you with a rolled-up newspaper and lock you into the garage until you’ve learned your lesson.
Did you get you Rabies Tag at the vet? They may have the city/county tag and forgot to mention it. Call them FIRST and get one & receipt from them, otherwise go to whoever issues them and just ask for and buy one. Don’t ask them. Let them ask the question(s).
IME, you go to your county building and pay for a license. They have no idea how long you have had the dog/etc. When a dog is picked up by animal control without a license is when you are fines (again, IME).
I agree with vetbridge - I don’t always remember to renew my dog’s license on time but have never paid a penalty.
Our city used to (not sure if they still do) have a plan where one month of the year if you renewed during that month, or got a new license during that month, it was cheaper than the rest of the year. That was kinda nice.
But I have never heard of anyone paying a penalty - that would just discourage people from renewing, and be counterproductive.
In our county, once you have registered the dog, the annual renewal is $10 and the penalty for missing the date by even one day is an additional $10. On the other hand, nothing on the form indicates when the dog was purchased, so an initial registration is $10 whether you have had the dog two days or two years. (If the Auditor discovers that you have had a dog for three months or more without registering, there is a separate fine of $30, but that requires a dog warden to have actually discovered that you have had the dog(s) longer than three months, and that outfit is already overworked and underfunded.)
I’m pretty sure that someone volunteering to register a dog late would only be charged the late fee, not the “avoiding registration” fine, but I also suspect that that sort of rule varies widely by location.
The only way you’re really going to know what to expect is to call your local authority and ask. (Do it from a pay phone so they can’t trace the call. )
Yep, I did this a couple years ago when I had to make hard choices about paying mortgages & putting food on the table. The city just renewed the license for the renewal fee.
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