How to Fill Out and Submit a Texas Animal Bite Report Form

If an animal has bitten or scratched someone, Texas requires you to report it to the local rabies control authority, and the Texas Animal Bite Report Form is the one-page document the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) publishes for that purpose. You can download it as a PDF from the DSHS zoonosis control page¹ or pick one up from your city or county animal control office. Fill it out, send it to the rabies control authority for the place where the victim lives, where the animal is, or where the bite happened, and expect a follow-up investigation.

Take Care of the Wound First

Paperwork can wait a few minutes. Wash any bite or scratch immediately with soap and water. This is the single most effective first-aid step for a possible rabies exposure.² Then see a doctor, even if the wound looks minor. Animal bites carry infection risks beyond rabies, and puncture wounds are prone to bacterial complications.

If the biting animal can’t be located, is a high-risk species, or later tests positive, your doctor will recommend post-exposure prophylaxis: a dose of rabies immune globulin plus a series of vaccine injections given over about two weeks. Started promptly, it is nearly 100 percent effective at preventing rabies.²

Where to Get the Form

DSHS hosts the current Animal Bite Report Form as a downloadable PDF on its zoonosis control page.¹ Blank copies are also available from any of the eight DSHS regional zoonosis control offices and from most municipal or county animal control departments.³ Local agencies will often walk you through the fields if you call in or come by in person.

Who Has to Report, and How Fast

Under Texas Health and Safety Code Section 826.041, anyone who knows about an animal bite or scratch that could reasonably transmit rabies must report it to the local rabies control authority in the county or city where the victim lives, where the animal is, or where the bite happened.⁴ The same duty kicks in if you simply suspect an animal is rabid, whether or not it has bitten anyone. The obligation isn’t limited to doctors or veterinarians. It covers pet owners, neighbors, mail carriers, and anyone else with direct knowledge.

The statute doesn’t set a deadline in hours. But the required 10-day observation period starts the moment of the bite, not the moment you file, so every day of delay eats into the window authorities have to watch the animal. Some cities and counties add their own reporting deadlines on top of the state rule, so check with local animal control.

Not reporting a bite you know about is a Class C misdemeanor, which carries a fine of up to $500.

What to Put on the Form

Section 826.041 requires every report to include the victim’s name and address, the animal owner’s name and address if known, and any other information that helps authorities locate the victim or the animal.⁴ The DSHS form asks for more than the statutory minimum. Have this ready:

Victim information: full name, age, home address, and phone number.
Incident details: date, time, exact location, and a description of the circumstances, including whether the animal was provoked, running loose, or acting strangely.
Animal description: species, breed, sex, color, and approximate size. If the animal was a stray with no identifiable owner, note that.
Owner information: name, address, and phone number of the animal’s owner. If the owner is unknown, say so explicitly rather than leaving the fields blank.
Vaccination status: whether the animal has a current rabies vaccination, the vaccine tag number, and the veterinarian who administered the shot. Mark it unknown if you don’t know, which prompts a more cautious response.
Bite description: where on the body the person was bitten, the severity of the wound, and whether the victim sought medical treatment.

Complete every field you can. Blank spaces slow the investigation and force an officer to chase down information you already had. When a detail is genuinely unknown, write “unknown” so the reviewer can see you addressed the question instead of skipping it.

Where to Send It

The completed form goes to your local rabies control authority. In most Texas jurisdictions, that’s the municipal animal control department or the county health department. If you don’t know who handles rabies control in your area, contact the DSHS regional zoonosis control office for your part of the state, and they can point you to the right local authority.³

How you submit depends on the office. Most accept fax, email, or in-person drop-off; some larger jurisdictions run online portals, but that isn’t universal in Texas. Call first if you aren’t sure. The DSHS central office in Austin can be reached at 512-776-7676, and regional phone numbers are on the DSHS zoonosis contact page.³

What Happens After You File

Once the report reaches the local rabies control authority, the statute requires an investigation.⁴ An animal control officer typically contacts the owner to start the quarantine and may also call the victim to confirm details and confirm they’ve sought medical care.

For dogs, cats, and domestic ferrets, the animal must be quarantined for a 10-day observation period regardless of vaccination status. The clock runs from the time of the bite. The default location is a department-licensed quarantine facility chosen by the local authority, where the animal is observed at least twice a day. The authority can also approve a veterinary clinic, or home confinement if all of these apply:⁵

The local rabies control authority approves the enclosure to prevent escape.
The animal has a current, unexpired rabies vaccination. Puppies and kittens under 16 weeks may be confined at home without vaccination.
You watch the animal daily and notify authorities immediately if its behavior or health changes.
The local authority or a veterinarian observes the animal on at least the first and last days of confinement.
The animal was not a stray at the time of the bite.

If the animal stays healthy through the 10 days, it goes home. If it shows signs of rabies or dies during observation, it must be euthanized and its brain tissue submitted for testing. Facility quarantines carry daily boarding fees that add up quickly over 10 days, so ask about cost upfront.

The 10-day option does not exist for free-roaming wildlife. Texas treats skunks, bats, foxes, coyotes, and raccoons as high-risk species. A free-roaming high-risk animal that bites or scratches someone must be euthanized and tested. There is no quarantine-and-wait alternative for those species, and there is no approved method for testing a live animal.⁶ Lab results are typically available 24 to 72 hours after the specimen reaches the lab.⁷ Livestock and other animals outside the dog-cat-ferret and high-risk categories are handled at the discretion of the local authority, generally through a 30-day observation period or euthanasia and testing.

A Warning for Dog Owners

If you own the dog, cooperating with the bite report and quarantine is not the end of your exposure. Under Health and Safety Code Section 822.005, an owner who negligently fails to secure a dog commits a third-degree felony if the dog makes an unprovoked attack causing serious bodily injury off the owner’s property, and a second-degree felony if the attack causes death.⁸ A conviction can also result in a court order to destroy the dog. These criminal provisions are separate from any civil lawsuit the bite victim may file. Filing the report and cooperating with quarantine doesn’t shield you from those consequences, but refusing to report adds a misdemeanor to whatever else you may be facing.

1
Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Animal Bite Report Form
2
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About Rabies
3
Texas Department of State Health Services. Contact Information
4
State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code Section 826.041 (2025) – Reports of Rabies
5
Legal Information Institute. 25 Tex. Admin. Code Section 169.27 – Quarantine Method and Testing
6
Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Administrative Code – Rabies Control
7
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Laboratory Methods for Rabies Testing
8
State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code Section 822.005 (2025) – Attack by Dog