Can a Virginia locality charge more than $50 to license a kennel with hundreds of dogs?

Plain-English summary

In August 2013, Senator Stephen Martin asked the AG a precise statutory question about kennel license taxes. § 3.2-6528 says a Virginia locality "shall impose by ordinance a license tax on the ownership of dogs" with the tax for each dog set between $1 and $10 per year, and adds: "Any ordinance may provide for a license tax for kennels of 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 dogs or cats not to exceed $50 for any one such block of kennels." A large breeder might have hundreds of dogs split across many physical kennel blocks. Was $50 a single ceiling for the whole establishment, or a per-block cap that could be multiplied?

The AG read it as per-block. The phrase "for any one such block of kennels" was the key. "Block" generally means a continuous row of buildings, or any number of things regarded as a unit. So a "block of kennels" is a continuous row of cat or dog houses or shelters containing 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 animals. A kennel establishment can have one such block or many. The phrase "for any one such block" implies the cap applies to each block, not to the establishment overall.

The contrast with the broader word "establishment" mattered. § 3.2-6500 defines a "kennel" as "any establishment in which five or more canines, felines, or hybrids of either are kept" for breeding, hunting, training, renting, buying, boarding, selling, or showing. But the AG concluded that in § 3.2-6528 the word "kennel" was being used in the more limited dictionary sense ("a house for a dog"), with "block" further qualifying it. Under this reading, the locality can tax each block up to $50, and a large operation with multiple blocks faces multiple charges.

The practical effect: Virginia localities have a real revenue tool against very large dog operations, but each block is capped at $50, so the per-animal cost is limited. A large commercial kennel with, say, ten blocks of 30 dogs each could face up to $500 in local license tax annually, not $50 total.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2013. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Background and statutory framework

Va. Code § 3.2-6528 requires every Virginia county and city to impose a license tax by ordinance on dog ownership and authorizes a license tax on cat ownership in localities that adopt it under § 3.2-6524(B). The per-animal tax ranges from $1 to $10 per year.

The kennel provision in § 3.2-6528 lets the ordinance "provide for a license tax for kennels of 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 dogs or cats not to exceed $50 for any one such block of kennels." § 3.2-6500 defines a "kennel" for purposes of Chapter 65 of Title 3.2 as any establishment with five or more dogs, cats, or hybrids kept for breeding, hunting, training, renting, buying, boarding, selling, or showing.

The opinion applied standard statutory construction canons: plain meaning when the language is clear; the General Assembly is presumed to choose its words with care; and a statute is not to be construed by singling out a particular phrase, with every part presumed to have some effect.

Common questions

Q: How much can a Virginia locality charge to license a kennel?
A: Per this opinion, up to $50 per block of 10 to 50 dogs or cats, with no overall cap on the number of blocks. A large kennel with many blocks faces a total bill scaled by the number of blocks.

Q: What counts as a 'block of kennels'?
A: A continuous row of dog or cat houses or shelters containing 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 animals. The opinion read "block" in the architectural sense, a continuous row, rather than a generic group.

Q: Does this apply to commercial dog breeders too?
A: Generally yes. § 3.2-6528 imposes the license tax on dog ownership broadly, and the kennel-block provision applies regardless of the kennel's commercial purpose.

Q: What if a kennel has 8 dogs in one structure?
A: It does not fit the kennel-block tax, which is keyed to blocks of 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 animals. The locality would still license each dog individually under the per-animal tax (between $1 and $10 each).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.oag.state.va.us/annual-reports-opinions/official-opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.oag.state.va.us/files/Opinions/2013/12-009_Martin.pdf

Original opinion text

COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Office of the Attorney General
Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II
Attorney General

August 23, 2013

900 East Main Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
804-786-2071
FAX 804-786-1991
Virginia Relay Services
800-828-1120
7-1-1

The Honorable Stephen H. Martin
Member, Senate of Virginia
Post Office Box 700
Chesterfield, Virginia 23832

Dear Senator Martin:

I am responding to your request for an official advisory opinion in accordance with § 2.2-505 of the Code of Virginia.

Issue Presented

You inquire whether the local license tax on kennels authorized by § 3.2-6528 is limited to $50.00 as a total cap that may be charged by a locality for any kennel license, or whether the Code allows localities to charge more than $50.00 for successive numbers of dogs.

Response

It is my opinion that § 3.2-6528 authorizes a locality to charge a kennel establishment more than $50.00 in local license taxes in circumstances where the establishment maintains multiple blocks of kennels, however, the locality may not charge more than $50.00 for any one individual kennel block.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Section 3.2-6528 provides, in relevant part:

The governing body of each county or city shall impose by ordinance a license tax on the ownership of dogs within its jurisdiction. The governing body of any locality that has adopted an ordinance pursuant to subsection B of § 3.2-6524 shall impose by ordinance a license tax on the ownership of cats within its jurisdiction . . . . The tax for each dog or cat shall not be less than $1 and not more than $10 for each year . . . . Any ordinance may provide for a license tax for kennels of 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 dogs or cats not to exceed $50 for any one such block of kennels.

"A primary rule of statutory construction is that courts must look first to the language of the statute. If a statute is clear and unambiguous, a court will give the statute its plain meaning." Furthermore, courts must assume that the "legislature chose, with care, the words it used when it enacted the relevant statute, and [courts] are bound by those words as [they] interpret the statute." In addition, "'[a] statute is not to be construed by singling out a particular phrase; every part is presumed to have some effect and is not to be disregarded unless absolutely necessary.'"

The language of § 3.2-6528 reads, "[a]ny ordinance may provide for a license tax for kennels of 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 dogs or cats not to exceed $50 for any one such block of kennels." The qualifier "not to exceed $50" seems to suggest the answer that $50 is a cap for an individual kennel. The qualifying language "for any one such block of kennels" suggests, however, that there is not an absolute cap. Further, the language "kennels of 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 dogs or cats" suggests that the statute seeks to qualify the word "kennels."

For Chapter 65 of Title 3.2, "unless the context requires a different meaning," § 3.2-6500 provides a statutory definition of kennel as "any establishment in which five or more canines, felines, or hybrids of either are kept for the purpose of breeding, hunting, training, renting, buying, boarding, selling, or showing." It appears, however, that the word "kennel" in § 3.2-6528 is intended in its more limited sense, as "a house for a dog." The statute's qualifying word "block" generally is defined to mean "a continuous row of buildings . . . any number of persons or things regarded as a unit." Thus, in order to give effect to each word used in § 3.2-6528, the phrase a "block of kennels" more properly is interpreted to mean a continuous row of cat or dog houses or shelters containing 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 dogs or cats. A kennel establishment might have one block of kennels or multiple blocks of kennels. Given this definition, the qualifying language "for any one such block of kennels" suggests that a locality can charge for each successive block of kennels. The statutory cap of $50.00 thus applies to one individual kennel block and is not intended as a cap on the license taxes a locality may charge to a kennel establishment.

Conclusion

Accordingly, it is my opinion that § 3.2-6528 authorizes a locality to charge a kennel establishment more than $50.00 in local license taxes in circumstances where the establishment maintains multiple blocks of kennels, however, the locality may not charge more than $50.00 for any one individual kennel block.

With kindest regards, I am

Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II
Attorney General