OC Animal Care: Free Pet Adoption for Veterans

OC Animal Care waives the adoption fee for a veteran with a VETERAN-marked California licence or ID, one animal every six months. The county's release calls the State law permissive and the shelter "participating"; Food and Agricultural Code 30505 and 31751.4 make the waiver mandatory.

Also called: Pets for Vets, SB 245, OC Animal Care, adoption fee, dog, cat, Tustin.

For: Veteran or service member.

Where it applies

Written for the jurisdictions listed here.

Orange County, CACounty

OC Animal Care, the county shelter in Tustin, applies the Pets for Vets Act; see the California entry. A veteran who shows a valid California driver licence or ID card with the VETERAN designation adopts a dog or cat with all standard adoption fees waived, one animal every six months. How the county describes the law. Its November 2025 release says the act "authorizes California's public animal shelters to waive adoption fees" and lets veterans adopt "from participating California shelters, including OC Animal Care". The statute is not optional: Food and Agricultural Code sections 30505 and 31751.4 say a public animal shelter "shall not charge an adoption fee" to such a veteran. Every public shelter in the county, city ones included, owes the same waiver. The six-month limit is narrower too. The release says one animal every six months; the statute lets a shelter limit a veteran to one dog and one cat each six months, so a veteran may adopt one of each.

Thresholds

Thresholds for OC Animal Care: Free Pet Adoption for Veterans
Gate	Rule
VETERAN on a California licence or ID	The only proof is a California driver licence or ID marked VETERAN. No rating is needed.

Sources

Updated

Last updated 2026-09-30.

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Disclaimer

VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.