UK dog laws: what every owner needs to know (2026)

When your dog is in a public place, it must wear a collar with your name and address on it, or on a tag attached to it. That's the Control of Dogs Order 1992, and it applies even if your dog is microchipped. A personalised dog tag carries your surname, house number and postcode on the back of a QR code tag. Packs of hounds, registered guide dogs and some dogs while they're working are exempt, and a dog without a tag can be picked up and treated as a stray. Read UK dog tag law explained.

Dogs must be microchipped and registered by the time they're 8 weeks old, and you must keep the details up to date, for example when you move house or change your number. You can be fined up to £500 if your dog isn't microchipped. Our guide to dog microchipping law has the detail, and how to update your pet's microchip details shows how to keep them right.

It's against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control anywhere, including in your own home. According to GOV.UK, a dog counts as dangerously out of control if it injures someone or makes someone worried that it might, and a court can also decide it is if it attacks someone's animal.

In England and Wales, you can get an unlimited fine, up to 6 months in prison, or both. If your dog injures someone, you can be sent to prison for up to 5 years, or up to 14 years if it kills someone. Your dog may also be destroyed.

Five types of dog are banned in the UK: the Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro and XL Bully. It's against the law to sell, give away, abandon or breed from one, and you can only keep one with a Certificate of Exemption. In England and Wales that has applied to XL Bully dogs since 1 February 2024; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own XL Bully rules, and in Northern Ireland it has been an offence to own one without a certificate since 1 January 2025.

Two changes for banned breed dogs in England and Wales in 2026: since 1 July, owners no longer need third party public liability insurance, and from 1 November, you must not leave a child under 12 in close contact with a banned breed dog in a private place, such as a home or garden, without adult supervision. GOV.UK has guidance on keeping children safe around banned dogs at home.

No single law says dogs must always be on a lead, but there are places they must be. Councils can name roads where dogs must be kept on a lead, under section 27 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, and rule 56 of the Highway Code says to keep a dog on a short lead on the pavement, the road and paths shared with cyclists or horse riders.

In England and Wales, councils can also make public spaces protection orders for parks and other public areas. These can mean keeping your dog on a lead, putting it on a lead when an officer asks, keeping it out of certain places, limiting how many dogs you walk, and clearing up after it. Councils must let people know where they apply, for example with signs in a park. Ignoring one can mean a £100 fixed penalty, or up to £1,000 if it goes to court.

In England and Wales, councils set the rules on dog fouling with Public Spaces Protection Orders, and most have one that requires you to clear up after your dog in public places. Check your own council's. Breaking an order can mean a fixed penalty of up to £100, or a fine of up to £1,000 (level 3) if it goes to court (sections 67 and 68 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014).

In Scotland, not clearing up after your dog in a public place is an offence under the Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003. The fixed penalty is £80, rising to £100 if it isn't paid within 28 days, and guide dogs, service dogs such as police dogs, and working dogs herding livestock are exempt.

In Northern Ireland, councils can give an on-the-spot fine of £80 or take you to court, with some exemptions for people with certain disabilities.

In England and Wales, it's an offence if your dog attacks or worries livestock on farmland, or on a road or path. Worrying includes chasing livestock, and being in a field with sheep when your dog isn't on a lead or under close control. The law was strengthened on 18 March 2026, raising the maximum penalty from a £1,000 fine to an unlimited one and giving the police powers to seize a dog, so keep your dog on a lead around farm animals. Scotland has its own law on livestock worrying. See walking your dog in the countryside.

In England and Wales, anyone who finds a stray dog must return it to its owner or take it to the council, and the council only has to keep a stray for seven days. See how to get your dog back from the dog warden, and what to do if you've found a dog.

You must stop. If you can't give your details to the dog's owner at the scene, you must report it to the police as soon as you reasonably can, and within 24 hours. The same rule covers horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, donkeys and mules, but not cats. See what to do if you hit a dog or cat.

Under the Pet Abduction Act 2024, stealing a pet in England or Northern Ireland can lead to up to five years in prison, a fine, or both. Our guide to protecting your dog from theft covers what to do if it happens.

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, you must take reasonable steps to meet your dog's needs: a suitable place to live, a suitable diet, being able to behave normally, being housed with or apart from other animals as it needs, and protection from pain, suffering, injury and disease. That's the law in England and Wales, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own animal welfare laws.

• You don't need a dog licence in England, Scotland or Wales, but most dogs in Northern Ireland need one. See dog licences in the UK.
• In England, pet shops and other licensed sellers can't sell a puppy under six months old unless they bred it themselves, so you buy direct from the breeder or adopt from a rescue. That's Lucy's Law, covered in our new puppy checklist.
• Taking your dog from Great Britain to the EU or Northern Ireland needs a microchip, a rabies vaccination and an animal health certificate. See taking your dog or cat abroad.
• Got a cat too? See UK cat laws.