How Much Extra Does an Unaltered Pet Cost? $175 in Tacoma, a $50 Permit in Fort Worth, $14 in New Orleans, $15 in Oxford and $10 in Waterloo

These are five examples, not a national average. Every figure below comes from one city's own page or code and can change. If you want the ordinary yearly license first, our guide to dog license fees by county covers the baseline, and the cat license fee comparison shows the same altered-versus-unaltered split for cats.

Tacoma, Washington: $175 unaltered, $40 or $30 altered

Tacoma's annual pet license schedule, effective September 1, 2025, lists an unaltered dog at $175 and an unaltered cat at $175. An altered dog is $40 and an altered cat is $30. By my arithmetic that is a $135 premium for a dog and a $145 premium for a cat. Seniors 65 and older and people with permanent disabilities pay less: $10 for an altered dog, $5 for an altered cat and $100 for an unaltered animal. The schedule also lists late penalties of $15 at 30 days after expiration and $25 at 60 days. Tacoma's own page says the 2025 ordinance raised fees, particularly for unaltered pets, to encourage responsible ownership.

Fort Worth, Texas: a $50 intact pet permit

Fort Worth handles it with a permit instead of a bigger license. The city's code compliance page says female dogs and cats over six months and male dogs and cats over eight months must be spayed or neutered, or the owner must get an intact pet permit. The city's fee page lists the intact pet permit at $50 per pet, and $500 for an intact pet permit issued together with a reclaim from impoundment. Licenses there are only required for pets that are not microchipped, and the page lists microchips at $12. An owner who keeps an unaltered, microchipped pet therefore pays the permit but no separate license.

New Orleans, Louisiana: $14 license plus an optional $20 permit

As summarized by PETA from the New Orleans city code, the annual license for a spayed or neutered animal is $9 plus a $1 administrative fee, $10 in total. For an unaltered animal it is $13 plus the same $1 fee, $14 in total. The city also allows an intact dog permit under Sec. 18-309, with an initial $10 application fee plus a prorated share of a $20 annual permit fee, and a $20 renewal due each January 1. In the first year the permit therefore adds up to $30 on top of the license, which my arithmetic puts at up to $44 against $10 for a fixed animal.

Oxford, Mississippi: $15 versus $5

Oxford's city code, Sec. 18-74, lists a neutered male dog and a spayed female dog at $5 per year and an intact male or female dog at $15 per year. That is a flat $10 yearly premium, one of the smaller gaps in this set, and it applies to dogs only in the section we read.

Waterloo, Iowa: $5 versus $10, and it doubles after March

Waterloo's animal license page, as returned in search results (the page itself returned an error when we tried to open it directly), lists $5 for an altered dog or cat and $10 for an unaltered one from January 1 through March 31. From April 1 through December 31 the fees are $10 and $20. Licenses require a rabies certificate and proof of spay or neuter from a veterinarian, and the license expires each January 1. Treat this entry as less certain than the others and check the city's page before paying.

Side by side

• Tacoma, WA: $175 unaltered vs $40 (dog) or $30 (cat) altered.
• Fort Worth, TX: $50 intact pet permit per pet; $500 when combined with an impound reclaim.
• New Orleans, LA: $14 unaltered vs $10 altered, plus an intact dog permit of $10 to start and $20 a year.
• Oxford, MS: $15 intact vs $5 neutered, per dog per year.
• Waterloo, IA: $10 vs $5 through March 31, $20 vs $10 after April 1.

Across these five, the extra charge for leaving an animal unaltered runs from $5 in Waterloo's early window to $145 for a Tacoma cat. Over a five-year hold, Oxford's $10 premium adds up to $50, while Tacoma's $135 dog premium adds up to $675 (my arithmetic, assuming fees do not change).

Why the gap is so wide

Cities set these numbers for different reasons. Tacoma's increase is framed as a way to push owners to alter their pets and to support spay and neuter work. Fort Worth ties the permit to a mandatory sterilization rule. Oxford and Waterloo keep the premium small. The result is that the same decision, leaving a dog intact, can cost $10 a year in one city and $135 in another.

What the alternative costs

For many owners the comparison is between paying the premium every year and paying for surgery once. Typical prices are in our guides to the cost of spaying or neutering a dog and a cat. A low-cost clinic quote of $50 to $150 for a cat can be recovered in a single year in a city like Tacoma, but this is not a recommendation to have or skip a procedure. That is a decision for you and your veterinarian, and the surgery cost is separate from what a city charges.

Other fees can stack up too. An unaltered animal may also trigger extra rules. Households with several pets should check whether a cap or a separate permit applies, as in our guide to the multiple pet permit. Late penalties, replacement tags and reclaim fees are charged on top of the license in several of the cities above.

What to ask your city before paying

• Is the unaltered rate a higher license fee, a separate permit, or both?
• Do seniors, disabled owners or microchipped pets pay a different rate?
• Does the fee change depending on the month you buy it?
• Is proof of spay or neuter, or a rabies certificate, required at purchase?
• What are the late penalties if the license lapses?

This guide is about costs only, not veterinary advice or legal advice. Figures were taken from the published pages of the City of Tacoma, the City of Fort Worth, the New Orleans city code as summarized by PETA, the Oxford city code as summarized by PETA, and the City of Waterloo page as returned in search results, and can change at any time. Confirm the current fee and ordinance with your city before paying.