How to Complete and Submit a Florida Dog Ownership Transfer Form

Florida does not publish a single statewide dog ownership transfer form. Each county’s animal services department sets its own paperwork, submission method, and fees. Some counties provide a dedicated transfer form, others require a notarized letter, and a few have no formal pet registration at all. Whichever county you’re in, a complete transfer means three things: a written record signed by both parties, a current rabies vaccination certificate handed to the new owner, and an update to the dog’s microchip registry.

What to Gather Before You Start

Pulling these together first will save you a second trip to animal services.

Rabies vaccination certificate. Florida law requires every dog four months or older to be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian, who issues a certificate on the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians form or an equivalent approved by local government. If the vaccination has lapsed, get the dog current first; most counties will not process a license change without a valid certificate.¹
Microchip number, if the dog is chipped. You’ll need it for the county paperwork and to update the registry.
Photo ID for both parties. Miami-Dade County requires copies of each person’s driver’s license or valid state photo ID, and other counties often ask on the spot.²
Full contact information for both parties. Broward County’s form, for example, collects home, business, and mobile phone numbers plus email for both the previous and new owner.³
The dog’s description: breed, color, sex, approximate age, and any distinguishing features.

Filling Out the Transfer Document

What you actually complete depends on the county. There are three patterns.

Counties With a Dedicated Form

Broward County provides a downloadable Ownership Transfer Form. Both owners complete it with their names, addresses, phone numbers, and the pet’s identifying details, then sign. Broward’s version includes a notary section.⁴ Check your county animal services website for something similar before drafting anything from scratch.

Counties Requiring a Notarized Letter

Miami-Dade County uses no standard form. Instead, the county requires a notarized transfer of ownership letter from the current owner.² The letter should identify the dog by name, breed, color, and microchip number, state that ownership is being voluntarily transferred, name the new owner, and carry the date. Any notary public will do. Banks, UPS stores, and law offices commonly offer the service for a few dollars.

Counties Without Mandatory Registration

Not every Florida county registers pets. Orange County, for example, does not require it. Where the county keeps no record, there is nothing on file to update, but you should still put a written transfer agreement in place. Include the dog’s description, microchip number, vaccination status, both parties’ names and addresses, the date, and both signatures. This document is what protects the new owner if a dispute later arises about who is responsible for the dog.

Submitting the Paperwork

Getting the submission wrong is where most transfers stall. Rules vary by county.

In Miami-Dade, both the old and new owner must appear in person at the Animal Services Pet Adoption and Protection Center with the notarized letter and copies of photo ID. There is no mail or online option for this transaction.²

Broward County is more flexible. You can bring the completed form to Animal Care or email it to animalcare@broward.org, and new owners can update pet information through the county’s online portal.⁴

For other counties, call or check the animal services website before you go. Some accept mailed documents, some require an in-person visit, and a few will handle things by phone or email. If the county issues license tags, the new owner will usually need to buy a new one. Annual license fees across Florida counties generally range from $10 to $75 depending on whether the dog is spayed or neutered. Pasco County, for instance, charges $15 per year for an altered dog and $50 for an unaltered dog.⁵

Updating the Microchip Registry

Filing county paperwork is only half the job. If the dog is microchipped, the chip database still lists the previous owner’s name and phone number, which means a lost dog gets returned to the wrong person. This step matters more than the county filing if the dog ever gets loose.

The exact process depends on which company holds the registration. Most follow a similar pattern: the previous owner logs in, initiates a transfer by entering the new owner’s name and email, and the new owner creates an account and pays a transfer fee to accept it. PetLink, one of the larger registries, charges $29.99 for an ownership transfer.⁶ Other registries charge different amounts or include free transfers with a lifetime registration.

If you don’t know which company the chip is registered with, any veterinarian or shelter can scan the chip and read out the number. You can then run it through the AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup tool at petmicrochiplookup.org, which searches multiple registries at once. Confirm the new owner’s phone, address, and email are current once the transfer is done.

Transferring a Dog Classified as Dangerous

Florida imposes strict rules on transferring any dog that has been officially classified as dangerous under Chapter 767 of the Florida Statutes. These are not optional, and violating them can result in the dog being seized.

No transfer during an investigation. A dog that is the subject of a dangerous dog investigation cannot be relocated or have its ownership transferred until the investigation, hearings, and any appeals are fully resolved.⁷
Notify animal control before the transfer. The current owner must provide the new owner’s name, address, and telephone number to the local animal control authority before selling or giving away a dangerous dog.⁷
The new owner inherits every restriction. Confinement, insurance, and registration requirements all carry over, even if the dog moves to a different county, and the new owner must notify animal control in the new jurisdiction that the dog is present.⁷

If you’re taking on a dog you suspect has a bite history, ask directly and get the answer in writing. Florida’s strict-liability bite statute makes the owner responsible for damages when a dog bites someone in a public place or on the owner’s property, regardless of whether the owner knew the dog was aggressive.⁸ That liability travels with ownership, so the new owner is on the hook the moment the transfer takes effect.

If the New Owner Lives Out of State

The federal government does not regulate pet owners moving their own animals between states, but the destination state may require a health certificate issued by a licensed veterinarian within a set number of days before travel.⁹ Vaccination, testing, and treatment requirements vary. Contact the state veterinarian’s office at the destination before the transfer date to confirm what’s needed. Health certificates issued on the standard USDA APHIS form are typically valid for 30 days.

Within Florida, there is no state-level requirement for moving a dog between counties. You just update the license and registration with the new county’s animal services department if that county requires licensing.

After the Transfer

Hand the new owner the dog’s rabies certificate and full veterinary records, along with information on any ongoing medications. Keep your copy of the signed transfer document indefinitely. If the dog bites someone or damages property after the transfer, that signed and dated agreement is your proof that you were no longer the owner when it happened.

1
Florida Statutes. Florida Code 828.30 – Rabies Vaccination of Dogs, Cats, and Ferrets
2
Miami-Dade County. Dog or Cat Tag Transfer
3
Broward County. Ownership Transfer Form
4
Broward County Animal Care. Tag Registration Database
5
Pasco County. Pet License
6
PetLink. Transfer of Ownership
7
Florida Senate. Florida Code 767.12 – Classification of Dangerous Dogs
8
Florida Statutes. Florida Code 767.04 – Dog Owners Liability for Damages to Persons Bitten
9
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Take a Pet From One U.S. State or Territory to Another (Interstate)