Laws & Enforcement
Dealing With Animal Noise
We (the County of Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control) can only accept and process animal noise complaints—including barking dog complaints—from residents of our service area. We provide service to all unincorporated (non-city) areas of Los Angeles County as well as to a number of contracted cities.
The City of Los Angeles is not serviced by our agency (except for small unincorporated areas surrounded by or adjacent to the city). If our agency does not serve your city, we cannot accept your complaint request. Our agency does not have the legal authority to conduct animal noise abatement proceedings outside our service area.
We understand that continuous noise caused by animals ( dogs, roosters, etc.) can adversely affect quality of life, and we are dedicated to helping to resolve such situations.
The following areas handle their own barking dog complaints:
Carson City | Lawndale Palos Verdes Estates Redondo Beach Rolling Hills Torrance City West Hollywood Whittier City |
When you use our Online Service Request tool, your location will be checked to ensure that we can accept the Animal Noise Compliant. If you are out of our jurisdiction, our tool will direct you to the appropriate agency that handles your location. Before continuing, please check Animal Care Centers to ensure that we service your area.
Animal Noise Complaint Process
It is required that the following steps be followed for animal noise complaints:
1. Submit your complaint
Submit your complaint, either by visiting any of our animal care centers, by completing the form found below, or by calling our Communication Center.
2. A courtesy letter will be sent
The animal care center staff will send a courtesy letter to the resident (and to you) notifying both parties of the complaint and the need to resolve the situation.
3. Affidavit requirement
An affidavit will be included with the letter to the complaining party. Please fill out the affidavit completely, sign it and send it via U.S. Mail to the address shown in the letter or deliver to any Department animal care center near you. Please be aware that we must receive a signed original affidavit. Copies, faxes, scanned documents, or those that lack either a signature or verifiable information regarding the excessive noise, cannot be acted upon.
4. Officer issues warning
Once we receive the sworn affidavit, an officer will be dispatched to the address where the noise is coming from (as indicated on teh affidavit) and speak to the person responsible for the animal(s). The officer will issue a Warning of Excess Noise form (WEN).
5. Ten days to reduce the noise
Once the WEN has been issued to the animal owner or responsible person, they have ten (10) days to reduce the noise.
6. Administrative Citation
If the excessive noise continues beyond the ten-day period, the complaining party can provide the Department with some evidence of the continuing excessive noise. With evidence to support the complaint we can re-contact the owner/responsible person and issue an administrative citation that results in a fine that must be paid within 30 days. The first offense has a civil penalty of $100. If the responsible party fails to correct the noise each complaint may result in additional administrative citations with penalties increasing on a progressive scale to $500 for each occurrence.
For additional information on this process, or, if you have received a courtesy letter stating that a complaint was made against your animals please click on these links:
Department of Animal Care and Control's Confidentiality Policy
Please be advised that the Department of Animal Care and Control is a public agency, and as such, it is statutorily obligated to comply with the State of California Public Records Act as defined in Ca. Government Code § 6250 et. seq. Whenever legally appropriate, the Department makes every effort to protect an individual’s right to privacy. However, you should be aware that information you submit to the Department is subject to the Public Records Act and under certain circumstances, the Department may be required to disclose some or all of the information that you submit in accordance with the Public Records Act or by order of the Court.