Utah dog laws: leash, licensing, bites and breed rules

This is a general summary of Utah state law about dogs. It is information, not legal advice. Reviewed November 2026.

Leashes and licensing

Utah has no statewide leash law and no statewide dog licence. Instead, state law gives cities and towns the power to license, tax, regulate or even prohibit the keeping of dogs, and to authorize the destruction, sale or other disposal of a dog found at large contrary to an ordinance. If a city caps the number of dogs a person may keep, it must allow the person to keep a law enforcement service dog or a retired service dog on top of that limit. In practice, whether your dog must be leashed or licensed depends on your city or town.

State law also speaks to dogs and other animals. Any person may injure or kill a dog while it is attacking, chasing or worrying a commercially valuable domestic animal, a service animal or hoofed protected wildlife, or while it is attacking domestic fowl.

Rabies vaccination

The state's communicable disease rule deals mainly with what happens after a bite. A healthy dog, cat or ferret that bites a person is confined and observed at least daily for ten days from the bite, regardless of vaccination status, as specified by local animal control ordinances. If it shows no signs of rabies and was vaccinated before the incident, it can be released after the ten days with no further restrictions. If it was unvaccinated, it must be vaccinated at the owner's expense before release, or within 72 hours if no veterinarian is available.

Dangerous dogs and bites

Utah's bite statute is strict liability. An individual who owns or keeps a dog is liable for an injury caused by the dog, regardless of whether the dog is vicious or mischievous and regardless of whether the owner knows it. The statute has exceptions: no liability for injury or death to another animal that entered the owner's private property without consent while the dog was reasonably secured in a fence or enclosure, or to a trespasser on the property while the dog was so secured. Damages follow the state's general damages statute. Government agencies are protected when a certified law enforcement dog is used under a written policy.

The state dog statutes set up no dangerous-dog registry. The criminal statute covers allowing a vicious animal to go at large. The owner commits that offense if, knowing the animal's propensities, the owner willfully lets it go at large or keeps it without ordinary care, and the animal injures or kills another animal or a person who took reasonable precautions. It is a class B misdemeanor, and a third-degree felony if the animal causes a human death.

Breed-specific rules

A municipality may not adopt or enforce a breed-specific rule, regulation, policy or ordinance regarding dogs, and any such rule is void.

Animal cruelty

Intentionally or knowingly torturing a companion animal, meaning a dog or cat, is a third-degree felony. Other aggravated cruelty, such as torturing, poisoning or unlawfully killing an animal, is a misdemeanor graded by the person's mental state. Cruelty law also covers failing to provide necessary food, water, care or shelter, which includes appropriate protection against extreme weather.

Where to check your local rule

Cities and towns often have stricter leash, licence, number-of-dogs and dangerous-dog rules, though not breed rules. Check your city or county animal control website or ordinance code. If your dog has bitten someone or been reported, talk to a lawyer or the animal-control office.