Bill Text: NJ S600 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Allows dog owners to procure identification cards for guide or service dogs; appropriates $100,000.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-01-13 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [S600 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-S600-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator JAMES BEACH
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Allows dog owners to procure identification cards for guide or service dogs; appropriates $100,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning guide and service dogs, amending and supplementing P.L.1941, c.151, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.1941, c.151 (C.4:19-15.2) is amended to read as follows:
2. Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog of licensing age shall annually or every third year, in accordance with a 3-year dog license or renewal thereof issued under subsection b. of section 12 of this act (C. 4:19-15.12b), apply for and procure from the clerk of the municipality or other official designated by the governing body thereof to license dogs in the municipality in which [he] the owner resides, a license and official metal registration tag for each [such] dog so owned, kept or harbored, and shall place upon each [such] dog a collar or harness with the registration tag securely fastened thereto. A person or group temporarily caring for a dog placed in a foster home as part of a formalized training to be a guide dog or service dog shall be exempt from applying for and procuring a license and registration tag for the dog while the dog remains in the foster home for such training.
A person who owns a guide dog or service dog may also, at the same time the owner applies for and procures a license and registration tag for the dog or renews the license and registration tag, apply for and procure a card, developed by the Department Health pursuant to section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), identifying the dog as a guide dog or service dog.
The application for the identification card shall include an affidavit signed by the owner attesting that the dog for which the card is being sought has been trained as a guide dog or service dog. A person who knowingly submits a false affidavit with the application for the identification card is liable to a civil penalty of $500.
For the purposes of this section, "guide dog" and "service dog" mean a guide dog or service dog as defined in section 5 of P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-5).
(cf: P.L.2015, c.163, s.1)
2. Section 3 of P.L.1941, c.151 (C.4:19-15.3) is amended to read as follows:
3. The person applying for the license and registration tag shall pay the fee fixed or authorized to be fixed in section 12 of this act, and the sum of [$1.00] $1 for a one-year registration tag or [$3.00] $3 for a three-year registration tag for each dog; and for each renewal, the fee for the license and for the registration tag shall be the same as for the original license and tag; and said licenses, registration tags and renewals thereof shall expire no later than June 30 in the year stated on the license; except that this expiration date shall not require a municipality to alter its schedule for administering rabies inoculations to any dog to be licensed and registered; nor shall this expiration date require a municipality to alter its schedule for renewing licenses and registration tags, provided that the registration period precedes June 30. The governing body of a municipality may stagger the expiration of such annual licenses so long as all expirations occur no later than June 30 in the calendar year stated on the license.
Only one license and registration tag shall be required in any licensing year for any dog owned in New Jersey, and such license and tag shall be accepted by all municipalities as evidence of compliance with this section.
An identification card issued to an owner of a guide dog or service dog pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1941, c.151 (C. 4:19-15.2) shall not expire and shall be accepted by all municipalities as evidence that the owner's dog has been trained as a guide dog or service dog.
Dogs used as guide dogs or service dogs shall be licensed and registered as other dogs hereinabove provided for, except that the owner or keeper of a guide dog or service dog shall not be required to pay any fee therefor. A person who owns a guide dog or service dog and applies for an identification card pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1941, c.151 (C. 4:19-15.2) shall not be charged a fee to procure the card. A dog temporarily placed in a foster home as part of a formalized training to be a guide dog or service dog shall not be required to be licensed and registered while the dog remains in the foster home for such training.
For the purposes of this section, "guide dog" and "service dog" mean a guide dog or service dog as defined in section 5 of P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-5).
License forms and uniform official metal registration tags designed by the Department of Health shall be furnished by the municipality and shall be numbered serially and shall bear the year of issuance and the name of the municipality.
(cf: P.L.2015, c.163, s.2)
3. (New section) The Department of Health shall develop and make available to the clerk of a municipality or other official designated by a governing body to license dogs in the municipality, a card that can be used to identify a person's dog as a guide dog or service dog as defined in section 5 of P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-5). The person who owns the guide or service dog may request to apply for the identification card, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1941, c.151 (C4:19-15.2), on a form prescribed by the department. The form shall include the name and address of the owner of the guide dog or service dog and any other information prescribed by the department by rule.
4. The Department of Health shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the provisions of this act.
5. There is appropriated from the General Fund $100,000 to the Department of Health for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this act.
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Department of Department of Health (DOH) to develop and make available to the clerk of a municipality or other official designated by a governing body to license dogs, a card that can be used to identify a person's dog as a guide or service dog. The person who owns the guide or service dog may request to apply for the identification card, and the application is to include the owner's name and address and any other information prescribed by the DOH.
The bill amends section 2 of P.L.1941, c.151 (C4:19-15.2) to allow the owner of a guide or service dog, at the same time the owner applies for a dog license and registration tag or renews the license and registration tag, to apply for and procure the identification card. The application is to include an affidavit signed by the owner attesting that the dog has been trained as a guide or service dog. A person who knowingly submits a false affidavit with the application is liable to a civil penalty of $500.
The bill also amends section 3 of P.L.1941, c.151 (C.4:19-15.3) to stipulate that an identification card issued to a guide or service dog owner does not expire and is to be accepted by all municipalities as evidence that the dog has been trained as a guide or service dog.
The bill provides that a guide or service dog owner who applies for an identification card is not to be charged a fee to procure the card.
