A USDA Class C license is the federal authorization from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) that you need to exhibit regulated animals to the public. It costs $120, lasts three years, and is issued only after your facility passes a pre-licensing inspection under the Animal Welfare Act.1Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Licensing Rule (APHIS-2017-0062) After that, you take on a set of ongoing duties around records, veterinary care, emergency planning, and public safety that inspectors can check at any time.
Who Needs a Class C License
Federal law defines an exhibitor as any person or organization that shows animals to the public for compensation, and compensation isn’t limited to ticket sales. If a business uses a live animal display to draw customers, generate advertising revenue, or sell merchandise, APHIS treats that as compensated exhibition.2Legal Information Institute. 7 USC 2132(h) – Definition of Exhibitor Zoos, circuses, carnivals, traveling wildlife shows, and educational animal programs are the classic examples. So are less obvious operations: a restaurant that keeps a bear on display, a mall with a holiday reindeer pen, or a photographer offering sessions with exotic animals.
Class C is the exhibitor category. Class A covers breeders, and Class B covers dealers who buy and resell animals. If showing animals to people is your primary activity, you fall under Class C. Nonprofits are not exempt; the statute explicitly includes exhibitors “whether operated for profit or not.”2Legal Information Institute. 7 USC 2132(h) – Definition of Exhibitor
Which Animals Are Covered
The Animal Welfare Act covers warm-blooded animals used for exhibition. Farm animals used for food or fiber, horses not used in research, and rats and mice bred for research are outside its reach.3National Agricultural Library. Animal Welfare Act In practice, if you exhibit wolves, big cats, bears, primates, marine mammals, or other wild or exotic species, you need the license. Domestic dogs and cats count too when displayed publicly for compensation.
Birds are a more recent addition. You need a Class C license if you exhibit more than eight pet bird species or any non-pet bird, though a narrow exception exists for facilities displaying four or fewer raptors. APHIS classifies pet birds by size based on average adult weight, with 250 grams as the dividing line between small and large species.4Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. AWA Standards for Birds A handful of parakeets and no wild species may not require a license at all; add a toucan or an owl and the answer changes.
Who Is Exempt
Several categories of animal display don’t require a Class C license. Agricultural shows, county fairs, livestock exhibitions, rodeos, purebred dog and cat shows, horse shows, and barrel racing are all exempt, and so is a petting zoo stocked entirely with domestic farm animals like goats, sheep, pigs, and rabbits.5U.S. Department of Agriculture. Licensing and Registration Under the Animal Welfare Act
Retail pet stores are exempt as long as they sell common pet species directly to buyers in person. The moment a pet store displays a wild or exotic animal, sets up a petting area, or takes animals out for promotional events, APHIS no longer considers it a retail pet store, and the business needs an exhibitor license.5U.S. Department of Agriculture. Licensing and Registration Under the Animal Welfare Act Individual owners who show a household pet for small side income are also exempt, though the Secretary of Agriculture decides where “small” ends.
Applying for the License
The application starts with APHIS Form 7003A, available on the USDA website. The form collects the legal name of your business, any trade names, and the physical address of every location where you house animals. Mobile and temporary facilities need addresses too.6United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. APHIS Form 7003A – Application for License
For the animal inventory, the form asks for the largest number of animals you held at any one time during the previous business year, broken down by category: dogs, cats, marine mammals, bears, wild or exotic felines, wild or exotic canines, wild or exotic hoofstock, farm animals, and others. You report totals per category, not individual identifications.6United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. APHIS Form 7003A – Application for License The application also requires disclosure of any prior license revocations or animal cruelty convictions. Misrepresenting your history can result in denial and legal consequences.
The fee is $120, non-refundable, paid at submission.7Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. New License Application – Exhibitor It’s the same for all USDA license classes and covers the full three-year term.1Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Licensing Rule (APHIS-2017-0062) Submit through the USDA Animal Care online portal or by mail to your regional APHIS office.
The Pre-Licensing Inspection
After APHIS processes your application, an inspector contacts you to schedule the first pre-licensing visit.8Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Transcript: Preparing for a Prelicense Inspection at Your Facility The inspector evaluates whether your facility meets federal standards for structural strength, animal space, ventilation, drainage, lighting, and protection from weather. They also check that you have a veterinary care program in place and a working record-keeping system.
You get up to three attempts to pass, and all pre-licensing inspections must be completed within 60 days of the first visit.1Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Licensing Rule (APHIS-2017-0062) If you fail, the inspector’s report will detail what needs correction, and you can fix the problems and retry within that window. Failing three times means starting over with a new application and another $120 fee. Timing from application to license depends on regional inspection workload, so build lead time in before any planned exhibition dates.
Ongoing Obligations Once Licensed
Getting the license is the beginning. Federal regulations require exhibitors to keep detailed records for every animal acquired, held, transported, or transferred. For dogs and cats, records must include the source, acquisition date, description (species, breed, sex, age, color, markings), official identification numbers, and the date and method of any disposition. For other animals, the same basic tracking applies with less granular identification requirements.9eCFR. 9 CFR 2.75 – Records: Dealers and Exhibitors APHIS Forms 7019 and 7020 are available for tracking non-dog-and-cat species.
Every exhibitor must also have an attending veterinarian with a written program of veterinary care. If your vet works part-time or on a consulting basis, the arrangement needs a formal written care program and regularly scheduled facility visits, and the vet must have enough authority to make real medical decisions.10eCFR. 9 CFR 2.40 – Attending Veterinarian and Adequate Veterinary Care The program should cover vaccinations, parasite control, emergency treatment, and nutrition.
APHIS inspectors can show up at any reasonable time to review records, check animals, and evaluate facility conditions. The law gives them access without advance notice.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2146 – Administration Sloppy or missing records are one of the fastest ways to attract enforcement.
Since July 2022, every licensed exhibitor must also maintain a written contingency plan for emergencies. The plan must cover animals at your main facility and any holding locations, and if you transport animals, it must address emergencies on the road. It has to identify triggering events, response actions, chain of command, and required resources and training, and it must be reviewed at least annually. Staff need training on their roles within 60 days of the plan being established, new hires within 30 days of starting, and updates within 30 days of any change from the annual review.12USDA APHIS. Animal Care Tech Note – Development Guide: Contingency Plans for Emergencies Traveling exhibitors must carry a copy at all times.13USDA APHIS. Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Regulations
When the public is present, every exhibited animal must have enough distance or physical barriers to keep both animal and audience safe, and a responsible, knowledgeable, identifiable employee must be present during any period of public contact. Lions, tigers, wolves, bears, and elephants must be under the direct control of a knowledgeable and experienced handler whenever on public display.14eCFR. 9 CFR 2.131 – Handling of Animals Outdoor housing needs a perimeter fence; for large predators and other dangerous species, any fence shorter than eight feet requires written approval from the APHIS Administrator.15USDA APHIS. Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Regulations
If you exhibit nonhuman primates, federal regulations add a written plan for environmental enrichment that promotes psychological well-being, including social grouping for species that live in groups and opportunities for species-typical behaviors. Individually housed primates must at minimum be able to see and hear others of their own or a compatible species.16eCFR. 9 CFR 3.81 – Environment Enhancement to Promote Psychological Well-Being
Renewing the License
The Class C license runs on a three-year cycle. To renew, submit a new application with the $120 fee at least 90 days before your current license expires.1Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Licensing Rule (APHIS-2017-0062) Renewal requires passing an announced compliance inspection, and the 90 days give APHIS time to schedule and complete it. Letting the license lapse means you cannot legally exhibit regulated animals until you go through the full application process again.
Appealing a Denial or Failed Inspection
For a regular inspection report, you have 21 days from receipt to file a written appeal with supporting documentation. APHIS aims to respond within 30 days, and for regular inspections the appeal decision is final.17USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Animal Care Tech Note: Inspection Report Appeals Process
Appeals from a third failed pre-licensing inspection are on a tighter clock. APHIS must receive your appeal within seven days, and the Deputy Administrator issues a decision within seven days after that. For new applicants, that decision is final. Current licensees renewing can request a formal hearing, but only if they applied at least 90 days before their existing license expired and submit the hearing request within 30 days of the denial notice.17USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Animal Care Tech Note: Inspection Report Appeals Process
Penalties for Violations
The Animal Welfare Act gives the Secretary of Agriculture broad enforcement tools. For any violation, the agency can assess a civil penalty of up to $14,575, adjusted annually for inflation.18Federal Register. Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustments for 2025 Each violation counts as a separate offense, and each day a violation continues is treated as a new one, so costs compound quickly.
APHIS can temporarily suspend a license for up to 21 days without a hearing, then extend the suspension or permanently revoke it after a formal proceeding.19Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2149 – Violations by Licensees The agency can also issue cease-and-desist orders, and knowingly ignoring one carries an additional penalty of up to $2,185 per day.18Federal Register. Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustments for 2025 Criminal penalties are available for willful violations, and operating without a license at all is itself a violation of the Act.5U.S. Department of Agriculture. Licensing and Registration Under the Animal Welfare Act
In setting penalty amounts, APHIS considers the size of your business, the seriousness of the violation, whether you acted in good faith, and your past compliance.19Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2149 – Violations by Licensees A first-time paperwork lapse at a small facility won’t draw the same response as repeated welfare failures at a large operation, but the ceiling is high enough that a single serious violation can be financially devastating for a small exhibitor.