Dog Licensing Rules for Shanghai 2011

As the law has changed regarding pet dogs in Shanghai (again), here are the steps to get your dog licensed.

The new rules state that people can only own 1 pet per household from now on.
The only exception to this is where you had more pets previously licensed in your household; you can continue to renew their licenses, but not add new dogs.

Note that the instructions below are for Xu Hui District, but are similar for other districts.

I suggest buy a plastic file, and keep all related paperwork together.
To succeed in this mission, you’ll need patience, some cash, and some kind of canine.

Ouch that hurt! aka vaccinations

Bring
Dog
Money (few hundred rmb).

In Xu Hui district (also would be ok for other districts), this is the large pet hospital at 2451 Xie Tu Lu
带狗去斜土路2451号打疫苗

You’ll need to ask for a “gou yi miao ban zheng” 办理狗证续证

The dog will get a vaccination shot, price for this varies depending on which vet you visit, but should be less than 100rmb.
You’ll also get a piece of paper. This is called a da zhen ping zheng. This is important, don’t lose it!

If your dog has never been licenced before, you will also need to get an id implanted too.
This is a small rfid tag that gets injected somewhere around the neck area.

This will also cost somewhere in the less than 100rmb range.
You’ll also get a piece of paper for that, again, don’t lose it.

If you don’t have the magic piece of paper, have the vet make another one for you. China runs on small bits of paper that are easily lost, so make sure that you have anything you possibly may need in a folder.

Lastly, don’t forget to get an official fapiao for the above, and keep that together with everything else.

The Joy of Paperwork! (at your local neighborhood police station)

Bring
The rental contract for where you live (or a property ownership book if you own your apartment).
Your Passport (with your work permit / residence permit inside).
The 2 or 3 papers from the vet that you got in step 1.
Your dog.
More money (500rmb)

In Chinese that looks like this – 带上狗证，房产证，护照去徐汇区湖南派出所登记
Take all of the above to your local police station.
(Not all do licenses, but they’ll be able to point you to which one in your district is responsible for doing dog licenses)

In Xu Hui district this is on Xiang Yang Lu, near Fuxing road (opposite the fake electronics mall)

    电话：23037446
    办公时间：8：30am－5：00pm
    地址：襄阳南路203号靠近复兴中路( Xiangyang Nanlu 203#(Near fuxingzhonglu)

Give them all the paperwork you have so far, and 500RMB.
They should give you another slip of paper with a receipt, and a date to come back.
OR they’ll do it all there and then.
This depends on your districts setup.

Success!

Whichever of the above, at some point you’ll collect a pack of goodies!

This will include a dated sticker (this should be stuck on your door)
A Dog licence photo id card (this should be carried whenever you walk your dog).
A dog tag (which you should put on your dogs collar).
Plus some other assorted bits and pieces depending on which dog food company is sponsoring the gifts (last year was a bowl and some dog food).

I usually make copies of everything, and put into that file I told you to make in step one, and throw it into a safe place.

Currently you don’t need to bring photo’s, but from the 15th of June 2011, you’ll need to bring photos.
One side view, and one front view of your dog, in passport photo sized (1×3″) shots.
This was immense fun last time I tried to do this, as my dog doesn’t want to sit still for photo’s, and it took a while to get that done.

At time of writing this is all currently correct, but rules change (eg the we’re not sure about the photo’s thing yet), so have a chinese person call, and confirm first. Make sure that they ask for a clear answer that you understand, as its not unknown for people in China to forget to tell you about some essential item you need to bring, so ask clearly for what exactly is needed, and have them repeat it out to you.

Good luck!