Dog registration

If you live in the Kāpiti Coast District, you must register your dog with Kāpiti Coast District Council before it is three months old and renew the registration every year. This page explains how to register your dog for the first time, renew your registration, update your details, pay fees, request replacement tags, and access dog-related forms and services across Ōtaki, Waikanae, Paraparaumu, Raumati, Paekākāriki, and the wider district.

If you live in the Kāpiti Coast District, you must register your dog with us before it is three months old. You also need to renew your dog registration every year.

Registering your dog helps us:

reunite lost dogs with their owners
promote responsible dog ownership
improve community safety
support animal management services across Ōtaki, Waikanae, Paraparaumu, Raumati, Paekākāriki, and the wider district.

If you do not register your dog, you could be fined up to $3,000.

Dogs registered after 31 July may incur a late fee.

Subscribe to our dog owners e-news

Subscribe to our dog owners' occasional e-newsletter and receive emails when we have important information to share like dog registration dates, alerts and updates.

Register your dog for first time

You must register your dog if:

your dog is over three months old
you live in the Kāpiti Coast District
your dog has not previously been registered with us.

Ways to register your dog

To register your dog for the first time, you have a number of options:

small fluffy dog on the beach holding a stick in its mouth with yellow paw prints as decoration in the background

Apply using a paper form [PDF 80 KB]

Download and complete the Dog Registration Form [PDF 80 KB].

You can then choose to:

bring the form to one of our service centres and pay in person
scan and email the completed form to us
post the completed form to us. See payments to select the option that suits you.

Postal address
Kāpiti Coast District Council
Private Bag 60601
Paraparaumu 5254

Once we receive your completed form and payment, we will issue your dog’s registration tag.

Apply online

If you have previously owned a dog in Kāpiti Coast and already have an online dog account, you can register your new dog through your online services account.

Renew your dog registration

Dog registrations must be renewed every year.

In June, we send registered dog owners:

a personalised renewal form
an invoice
information about how to renew.

Check your renewal information carefully and let us know if any details need updating.

Ways to renew your registration

Renew online

Use our Online Services Account portal.

You will need:

a debit or credit card
your dog owner ID from your renewal notice.

If you have lost your owner ID, contact us.

Renew in person

Bring your renewal form to one of our service centres and pay in person.

Renew by post

Post your completed form and payment using one of the available payment options.

Pay by internet banking

You can pay directly to:

Westpac account: 03 0732 0306101 00

Use your dog owner ID as the payment reference. You can find this on the front of your registration form that we send you.

If you pay by internet banking, we will process your registration automatically. You do not need to do anything further unless you want payment confirmation.

See Animal management fees for more information about:

how much it costs to register your dog
how your dog registration payment is used
fines
applying for a dog registration late fee waiver
fee refunds on the death of a dog.

To renew your dog's registration:

Use our Online Services Account portal. You'll need a debit or credit card and your dog owner ID (this can be found on your personalised re-registration form, or if you've misplaced it call us).Bring your personalised re-registration form into one of our service centres and pay the fee in person.
If you've lost your form, or it hasn't arrived, contact us for a copy.
Post your completed registration form to us. See Payments for other options to pay.
Pay using internet banking to our Westpac account 03 0732 0306101 00. Use your owners ID, which you can find on the front of your registration form as the reference.

If you pay your dog registration through internet banking, we'll register your dog and you don't need to do anything more. If you need confirmation we’ve received your payment, email or call us.

Check that you've subscribed to our dog owners' occasional email newsletter (we email this group only when there is important information to share, such as toxic algae alerts).

Updating your dog registration details

We’re encouraging all dog owners to be environmentally friendly and receive their registration invoices by email, so if you need to update any details, or want to receive your registration invoice electronically, do get in touch.

You'll need to let us know in writing, so you can email us or stop into one of our service centres and complete your details with one of our friendly staff.

Our tags

We've moved to long-life dog tags.

In 2022 we issued anodised aluminium dog tags, designed to last a dog’s lifetime, and a number of dog owners let us know about several issues, especially the noise created by the metal tags and the registration information rubbing off. We agree the aluminium tags have not performed as we’d hoped.

You can request an alternative to replace faulty tags, for example if your dog's registration data has rubbed off. The replacement tags are made in Aotearoa New Zealand from recyclable plastic and the registration data is stamped on. These new tags are guaranteed for five years but we expect them to last longer, and any that need replacing can be recycled by the manufacturer.

If your new metal tag is working well and you're happy with it, you don't need to do anything.