Louisiana Dog Breeder Rules: Kennel License, the 75-Dog Limit and When USDA Licensing Applies

The quickest way to sort this out is to stop thinking of "the breeder law" as one rule. You have four separate questions, and each one uses a different count.

First, the kennel license. Under R.S. 3:2772(G), an individual or business with five or more dogs that breeds and sells dogs must get a kennel license from the parish or municipality. Second, the state cap. Subsection H limits a breeder or seller to 75 dogs over one year old kept for breeding purposes. Third, the application statements. Subsection I requires two disclosures on every initial or renewal kennel-license application: your USDA status and your sales-tax number. Fourth, federal licensing. USDA APHIS decides whether you need a federal license based on what you do, such as wholesale sales or selling to buyers who never see the dog in person.

So, a breeder with six dogs who sells puppies to families in person can need a Louisiana kennel license and still fall outside federal licensing. You have to run each test.

The statute's wording is specific. R.S. 3:2772(H) says no individual or business that breeds, buys or sells dogs "retail, wholesale, or to the public" may maintain "more than seventy-five dogs over the age of one year at any time for breeding purposes."

Three parts of that sentence matter when you count. The activity is broad: breeding, buying or selling, by any kind of sale. The age is over one year, so the wording does not state that puppies under a year count toward this cap. And the purpose is breeding, so the wording does not state that ordinary companion pets count either. Your city or parish can still set its own animal limit with its own definitions.

The 75 figure is a ceiling, not a permit. You can sit far below it and still need a kennel license, a federal license, a tax account and zoning approval.

Under R.S. 3:2772(G), the trigger is five or more dogs when the individual or business breeds and sells dogs. The governing body of the parish or municipality issues the license and sets the annual amount by ordinance, as long as it charges at least the state minimum.

The statutory minimums break down this way, measured by dogs over six months old (state statute, as of September 2026):

The fee bands count dogs over six months old, while the 75-dog cap counts dogs over one year old kept for breeding. Keep a list of every dog with its birth date and whether it is a breeding dog or a pet, and you can answer both counts quickly.

Your parish or city may charge more than these minimums. Ask the parish clerk or municipal licensing office for the current fee before you budget.

R.S. 3:2772(I) asks every applicant for an initial or renewal kennel license to provide two things:

1. A USDA Class A or Class B animal-dealer license number, or the reason neither license is required.
2. A Louisiana sales-tax identification number, or the reason you are not required to have one.

This is where the state rule and the federal rule meet. Louisiana doesn't decide your USDA status, but it asks you to state it, so work out your federal answer first. If you are relying on an exemption, name it plainly, for example that you keep four or fewer breeding females and sell only their offspring, born and raised on your premises, in person. Ask the licensing office what wording it expects for both statements.

Short answer: the ten-female registration was a 2015 proposal, and the current statute uses the application statements above instead.

The original text of House Bill 710 proposed that a professional commercial breeder with ten or more breeding females, selling retail, wholesale or to the public, register every year with the local parish clerk. That registration would have listed the kennel name, the location of each housing facility, the sales-tax number, each Louisiana-licensed veterinarian under contract, and an annual facility inspection. It also exempted breeders of hunting dogs as the bill defined them. Legislative records show a substitute bill became Act 365 in 2015.

The current R.S. 3:2772 has no ten-female registration subsection. Subsection I asks for the USDA and sales-tax statements instead. The two compare this way:

If someone tells you ten females is the Louisiana number, they are likely remembering the 2015 bill. Count against the five-dog rule, and ask your parish clerk whether any local registration applies on top of the kennel license.

Federal licensing under the Animal Welfare Act follows your activity. The USDA APHIS dog-activity guide gives examples of activities that require a license:

• Wholesale sales of dogs for pets, hunting, breeding or security.
• Transfers for compensation to another person or organization for later placement or adoption.
• Retail sales where the buyer, seller and dog are not physically together, so the buyer can't see the dog before purchase or custody.
• Sales of imported dogs the buyer can't see before purchase or custody.
• Exhibiting more than eight dogs.

APHIS also lists examples where a license is not required. Two matter most to breeders. Retail sales where the buyer, seller and dog are physically together, and the buyer can see the dog before buying, are one. Keeping four or fewer breeding females and selling only their offspring, born and raised on your premises, for pets or exhibition, is the other. Both come with conditions, and neither one removes your Louisiana kennel license or local approvals. A breeder with four females and five dogs total can be exempt federally and still need the parish license.

If an online buyer pays and takes the puppy without ever seeing it in person, that looks like the sight-unseen retail sale APHIS describes. Run your exact sales method through the USDA Licensing and Registration Assistant, which APHIS says takes about 5 to 15 minutes.

If you do need a license, the APHIS new dealer application packet describes Class A as a breeder and Class B as a broker. As of September 2026, the packet lists a $120 non-refundable application fee.

The kennel-license application asks for a Louisiana sales-tax identification number or the reason you don't need one. The Louisiana Department of Revenue says a new business can register tax accounts through LaTAP using "Register My Business," and that a business may need a sales-tax account if it sells taxable goods or services. LDR also tells businesses to keep records of sales, purchases, payroll and tax filings. Ask LDR whether your sales are taxable before your first sale.

An EIN is a separate federal step. The IRS gives EINs directly and for free, and says an LLC, corporation or partnership generally needs one. The Louisiana Secretary of State's geauxBIZ tool can build a list of possible federal, state and local licenses and permits for your business.

Inspection depends on which license you hold. Louisiana's kennel-license statute doesn't name a state inspector, so ask the issuing parish or municipality whether an inspection is required, who conducts it, whether it is yearly or tied to renewal, and what documents and facility conditions they check. If you hold a USDA license, APHIS conducts routine unannounced inspections and publishes inspection reports.

Each part of this has its own office, and calling the right one first saves you repeat calls.

Parish clerk or municipal licensing office. R.S. 3:2772 gives the kennel license to the parish or municipal governing body. Ask whether your dog count and sales activity need a license, the current fee, which form to use, and what to write for the USDA and sales-tax statements.

Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry. The LDAF Office of Animal Health and Food Safety handles state animal-health matters. Ask whether any animal-health, movement, disease-reporting or veterinary-document requirement applies to your operation. Don't assume LDAF issues the local kennel license. Contact: (225) 925-3962, ahfsinfo@ldaf.state.la.us.

Local animal control. Ask what local dog limits apply, whether they inspect kennels, what rabies, tag, nuisance, waste, noise and fencing rules apply, and whether a separate animal-business permit is needed.

City or parish zoning. Ask whether the property allows commercial breeding, as covered in the next section.

USDA APHIS Animal Care. For federal licensing, contact Animal Care at animalcare@usda.gov or 970-494-7478.

A license from one office doesn't make the property approved in another office's eyes. The SBA tells Louisiana owners to contact the local business-license office and consider zoning before they open.

Rules vary by city and parish on dog limits, home-occupation approval, conditional use, setbacks, noise, waste, drainage, parking and building permits. New Orleans, for example, has its Department of Safety and Permits run the city zoning ordinance and points owners to its property viewer to find a property's zoning classification. Its zoning materials treat kennels as an outdoor-business use.

Before you accept a deposit, send your planning or zoning office these questions and keep the written reply:

1. Is commercial dog breeding allowed at this address?
2. Is a kennel a permitted, conditional or prohibited use here?
3. Does a home-based breeder need home-occupation approval?
4. Is a conditional-use application required?
5. What dog-number, enclosure, setback, waste, noise and sanitation rules apply?
6. Is a separate kennel, animal-control or business license required?
7. Who inspects the property?
8. What are the current fees and renewal dates?

These answers cover whether you need a license, how many dogs you can keep, breeding without a license and how USDA and kennel licenses fit together.

If you breed and sell dogs and have five or more dogs, yes: R.S. 3:2772(G) requires a kennel license from your parish or municipality. The license is annual, and your local government sets the amount at or above the $15, $25 or $30 state minimum. You may also need a USDA license depending on how you sell.

The state cap in R.S. 3:2772(H) applies to people and businesses that breed, buy or sell dogs: no more than 75 dogs over one year old for breeding purposes. That wording does not set a general limit on pets. Your city or parish may have its own dog limit, so ask animal control or zoning for the number at your address.

If you have five or more dogs and you breed and sell them, the statute requires you to procure a kennel license, so selling without one does not meet the law. Running a covered federal activity, such as wholesale or sight-unseen retail sales, without a USDA license is a separate federal problem. Ask your parish licensing office what applies if you have been selling without a license.

No. USDA covers activity under the Animal Welfare Act, while the kennel license, sales-tax registration and zoning are state and local matters. A USDA licensee still lists that license number on the Louisiana kennel-license application.

Start with the counts, because every office will ask for them, then work down the list:

1. List every dog by age (over six months, over one year) and purpose (breeding or pet).
2. Count your breeding females.
3. Write down every way you sell: in person, online, shipped, wholesale.
4. Call your parish clerk or municipal licensing office about the kennel license and its current fee.
5. Get a written zoning answer before you use the property.
6. Register your Louisiana tax account through LaTAP, or confirm with LDR why you don't need one.
7. Run your sales method through the USDA Licensing and Registration Assistant.
8. Prepare your two kennel-license statements: USDA number or reason, sales-tax number or reason.
9. Ask who inspects your facility and what they check.
10. Keep copies of every application and every written answer.

Once the licensing side is settled, DogServ's directory and marketing pages can help people find you, though a listing or a website never stands in for a permit. Start the paperwork with one call to your parish this week.

• aphis.usda.gov: Animal Care
• aphis.usda.gov: APHIS new dealer application packet
• aphis.usda.gov: USDA APHIS
• aphis.usda.gov: USDA Licensing and Registration Assistant
• direct.aphis.usda.gov: APHIS
• irs.gov: IRS
• ldaf.la.gov: LDAF Office of Animal Health and Food Safety
• legacy.sba.gov: SBA
• legis.la.gov: House Bill 710
• legis.la.gov: Legislative records
• legis.la.gov: Louisiana R.S. 3:2772
• nola.gov: Department of Safety and Permits
• revenue.louisiana.gov: Louisiana Department of Revenue
• sos.la.gov: Louisiana Secretary of State's geauxBIZ