Pet Ownership Course
About the required online pet ownership course for application of dog and cat licences
Last updated 5 March 2026
This course aims to share more about the basic pet care of dogs and cats, and responsible pet ownership, to help raise standards of pet care and build a harmonious living environment in the community. It will cover four topics:
Biology such as life cycle and reproduction;
Pet care and health including understanding pet behaviour, husbandry and caring for sick pets;
Responsible pet ownership; and
Rules and legislation related to pet ownership.
With effect from 1 September 2024, first-time cat or dog licence applicants will be required to complete the pet ownership course online before licence issuance. This free online course will take about 20-30 minutes. After completing the course, you may apply for a licence on the Pet Animal Licensing System at pals.avs.gov.sg. For step-by-step instructions on applying for a pet licence, please refer to this page.
Step-by-step instructions on registering for the pet ownership course can be found here:
Guides for registering for the pet ownership course
Residential Status | Registration Mode | Step-by-Step Guide |
Singaporeans, Permanent Residents and Foreign Identification Number (FIN) holders | Singpass (Instructional guides and services on Singpass can be found here.) | |
Foreigners with passport number only | Manual registration Note: User will need to download Google Authenticator app for two-factor authentication. |
To learn more about the Cat Management Framework, please visit this page.
Are there options for an offline course if some pet owners are not able to access or are unfamiliar with online training?
We recognise that there may be pet owners who may not be able to access the online course or are unfamiliar with online training. We are looking into ways to provide support, so that these groups will also be able to complete the course from 1 September 2024. Meanwhile, pet owners can seek assistance from their friends or family where possible.
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