Pet-friendly evacuation: what each state requires

Written from the sources below on 17 October 2026. How we use sources.

Picture this. An evacuation order comes at dusk. Your cat is already in the carrier, and you do not know if the shelter down the road will let her in. The answer depends on where you live, and often your county decides it, not your state.

This page shows what each US state has put in law about pets in emergency plans and shelters. Every row links to the official source and says when we checked it. Where we could not find a state law, the row says so and sends you to your county.

The short version

• Where we found a state law, it tells officials to plan for pets, or to set aside at least one shelter that takes them.
• We did not find a state law that orders every shelter to take pets.
• FEMA says many public shelters and hotels do not allow pets inside. Pick your pet's place to stay before you need it.

What the federal law does

Congress passed the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act in 2006 (Public Law 109-308, approved 6 October 2006). It changed the Stafford Act, the main federal disaster law, in three ways.

• The head of FEMA must make sure state and local emergency plans take into account the needs of people with household pets and service animals before, during and after a major disaster or emergency.
• FEMA may help states and local governments pay for animal emergency preparedness, including emergency shelter facilities that take people with pets and service animals.
• Federal disaster help can cover the rescue, care, shelter and essential needs of people with household pets and service animals, and of the animals themselves.

The Act does not say that any particular shelter must take your pet. FEMA's advice to owners is plain: if local officials ask you to evacuate, your pet should evacuate too. Read more in Animal laws: where to start.

How to read the list

• State law means a statute or session law, or an official state page describing one, that tells the state or local governments what to plan or provide for pets, or tells owners what they must do. It is not the same as a rule that every shelter takes pets.
• No state law found; check your county means we looked and found none. Laws change and we may have missed one. County emergency management offices write the shelter plans people actually use.
• A few official sites would not open for us. For those we read the Internet Archive's saved copy of the official page, and the row gives the date of that copy. The link goes to the official page.
• This page is information, not legal advice.

State by state

Each state has its own row, in alphabetical order. Use your browser's find tool to jump to yours.

Alabama

No state law found; check your county. Ready Alabama says not all evacuee shelters will let you bring a pet. If you are asked to evacuate, it says to call 211 to find a shelter that will take you and your pet.

Source: Ready Alabama, Ready Pets. Checked 17 October 2026.

Alaska

No state law found; check your county. A 2026 bill, HB 335, would make the state write a pet and service animal disaster plan. The Legislature's page shows it still in the House Finance committee on 24 April 2026, so it is not law.

Sources: Alaska Legislature, HB 335; Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, pets. Checked 17 October 2026.

Arizona

No state law found; check your county. Arizona's emergency information site says many emergency shelters cannot accept pets for public health reasons.

Source: Arizona Emergency Information Network, Pet Preparedness. Checked 17 October 2026.

Arkansas

No state law found; check your county. The state emergency management division has a page on animals in disasters. It covers ID tags and what to do if a pet gets lost.

Source: Arkansas Division of Emergency Management, Animals in Disaster. Checked 17 October 2026.

California

State law. At its next update, a county must change its emergency plan to name emergency shelters that can take people with pets. A city or county that names shelters must name at least one that takes pets, and must post pet emergency information on its website (Government Code 8593.10). A 2025 law adds that, at the next update, a city or county must set steps for rescuing a pet from an evacuation zone, and name who residents can call for pet information during an evacuation (Government Code 8593.11).

Sources: Government Code 8593.10; AB 478 (2025), which added 8593.11. Checked 17 October 2026.

Colorado

State law. A 2024 law, HB 24-1033, approved 11 April 2024, strongly encourages local emergency plans made or changed from 1 July 2024 to address people with animals. For plans made or changed from 1 January 2025 it requires this when practicable. The plan should cover evacuation, shelter and transport for a person and their animal, and, to the extent practicable, at least one shelter opened in an emergency that takes a person with an animal.

Source: Colorado General Assembly, HB24-1033. Checked 17 October 2026.

Connecticut

State law, limited. Each town or city must consider whether to put these into its emergency plan: evacuation of pets and service animals, and temporary sheltering of pets and service animals (General Statutes 28-7). The law asks towns to consider it. It does not make them include it.

Source: General Statutes, chapter 517 (sections 28-1 and 28-7) (read in the Internet Archive's copy of the official page, saved 31 August 2026). Checked 17 October 2026.

Delaware

No state law found; check your county. The Office of Animal Welfare says that if local officials ask you to evacuate, your pet should evacuate too.

Source: Delaware Office of Animal Welfare, Hurricane. Checked 17 October 2026.

District of Columbia

State law. The Mayor must have an emergency preparedness plan for the protection, sheltering and evacuation of domestic animals during and after a major disaster or emergency (D.C. Code 8-1861.01).

Source: D.C. Code 8-1861.01. Checked 17 October 2026.

Florida

State law. The state emergency plan, and the standards it sets for county plans, must address how people evacuate with pets. A county that keeps designated shelters must also designate a shelter that can take people with pets (Florida Statutes 252.3568).

Source: Florida Statutes 252.3568. Checked 17 October 2026.

Georgia

No state law found; check your county. Georgia's emergency management agency says most public shelters can't accept pets because of health rules, so plan ahead.

Source: Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, Georgia Pets. Checked 17 October 2026.

Hawaii

State law. Each county emergency management agency is responsible for identifying and operating places that can shelter the public and places that can shelter pet animals (Hawaii Revised Statutes 127A-19).

Source: Hawaii Revised Statutes 127A-19 (read in the Internet Archive's copy of the official page, saved 7 January 2026). Checked 17 October 2026.

Idaho

No state law found; check your county. The Idaho Office of Emergency Management says not all shelters or hotels accept animals, and tells owners to know where to go before an emergency.

Source: Idaho Office of Emergency Management, Preparedness Includes Pets (read in the Internet Archive's copy of the official page, saved 13 June 2026). Checked 17 October 2026.

Illinois

State law. The law's definition of an emergency operations plan says the plan must include plans that take into account the needs of people with household pets and service animals after a major disaster or emergency (20 ILCS 3305/4).

Source: Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act, section 4 (read in the Internet Archive's copy of the official page, saved 30 April 2025). Checked 17 October 2026.

Indiana

No state law found; check your county. The Department of Homeland Security tells owners to confirm in advance which evacuation locations allow animals.

Source: Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Pet Preparedness. Checked 17 October 2026.

Iowa

No state law found; check your county. Ready Iowa says most shelters do not accept pets. It tells owners to list hotels, kennels, friends and family outside their area where a pet could stay.

Source: Ready Iowa, Prepare Your Pets for Disasters. Checked 17 October 2026.

Kansas

No state law found; check your county. The state emergency management division's pet page tells owners to plan how they will shelter and evacuate with their pets.

Source: Kansas Division of Emergency Management, Pet Preparedness. Checked 17 October 2026.

Kentucky

No state law found; check your county. Kentucky Emergency Management tells owners to research pet-friendly hotels, shelters and boarding places they can stop at while they are away from home.

Source: Kentucky Emergency Management, Emergency Planning for Pets. Checked 17 October 2026.

Louisiana

State law. The Department of Agriculture and Forestry says state law (La. R.S. 29:729) requires every parish to send in a Parish Pet Plan by 1 March each year. The plan covers humane evacuation, safe transport and temporary sheltering of service animals and household pets. We read this on the department's page, not in the statute text.

Source: Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Animal emergency planning. Checked 17 October 2026.

Maine

State law, limited. The agriculture commissioner must set up a State of Maine Animal Response Team to prepare for and respond to animal emergencies (7 M.R.S. 1901). We found no Maine law that requires pet evacuation plans or pet shelters; check your county.

Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 7, section 1901. Checked 17 October 2026.

Maryland

No state law found; check your county. The state's MdReady site says pets are not allowed in emergency shelters for public health and safety reasons.

Source: MdReady, Pets and Livestock (read in the Internet Archive's copy of the official page, saved 13 August 2026). Checked 17 October 2026.

Massachusetts

State law. Since 2014, every emergency plan of operations must include strategies to support people with household pets, and the pets in their care, including service animals (Acts of 2014, chapter 54).

Source: Acts of 2014, chapter 54 (read in the Internet Archive's copy of the official page, saved 18 May 2026). Checked 17 October 2026.

Michigan

No state law found; check your county. MIReady says many public shelters and hotels do not allow pets inside.

Source: MIReady, Pet Preparedness. Checked 17 October 2026.

Minnesota

No state law found; check your county. We read Minnesota Statutes chapter 12, the emergency management chapter, and found no section on pets or service animals. A rule outside that chapter may exist, so ask your county.

Source: Minnesota Statutes, chapter 12, Emergency Management. Checked 17 October 2026.

Mississippi

No state law found; check your county. The Board of Animal Health lists a companion animal sheltering plan and a guide to preparing to evacuate with pets.

Source: Mississippi Board of Animal Health, Evacuation, Transportation and Sheltering. Checked 17 October 2026.

Missouri

No state law found; check your county. The Department of Health and Senior Services says service animals are the only animals allowed in most shelters, though some shelters arrange for pets to stay in a nearby building.

Source: Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Information for Preparing Shelters. Checked 17 October 2026.

Montana

No state law found; check your county. The state's emergency framework for mass care (March 2026) covers the life-sustaining needs of survivors and their household pets and service animals. That is a plan, not a law.

Source: Montana Disaster and Emergency Services, ESF 6 framework. Checked 17 October 2026.

Nebraska

No state law found; check your county. Nebraska Emergency Management says not all Red Cross shelters accept pets, so decide ahead of time where yours will go.

Source: Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, Pets (read in the Internet Archive's copy of the official page, saved 15 April 2026). Checked 17 October 2026.

Nevada

State law. State and local emergency plans must address the needs of people with pets, service animals and service animals in training. To the extent practicable, they must name at least one shelter that takes people with pets and include evacuation, transport and shelter for people with pets (NRS 414.095). Plans must also, to the extent practicable, keep a person with a disability together with their service animal during evacuation and sheltering (NRS 414.097).

Source: Nevada Revised Statutes, chapter 414 (read in the Internet Archive's copy of the official page, saved 11 October 2026). Checked 17 October 2026.

New Hampshire

State law, limited. In an emergency, state policy is that service animals are not separated from the people they serve (RSA 21-P:37-a). That law is about service animals only. We found no New Hampshire law about household pets in emergency plans; check your county.

Source: RSA 21-P:37-a (read in the Internet Archive's copy of the official page, saved 28 May 2024). Checked 17 October 2026.

New Jersey

State law. When state or local officials order an evacuation, the owner or caretaker of a dog, pet or service animal must make every effort to evacuate with the animal (N.J.S.A. 4:22-17.2, as the Department of Health's guide describes it). If that is not possible, the guide says to take the animal to a safe area the emergency has not reached, or secure it indoors and tell local responders where it is. Breaking the rule can bring a fine, jail time, community service or seizure of the animal. The state's emergency page adds that public shelters cannot take pets unless they are ADA service animals.

Sources: New Jersey Department of Health, Guide to Prevention of Animal Cruelty Laws (2018); New Jersey Office of Emergency Management, Evacuation. Checked 17 October 2026.

New Mexico

No state law found; check your county. The state emergency agency's planning page lists pets among the things to plan for with your household network.

Source: New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Make a Plan. Checked 17 October 2026.

New York

State law. The state disaster plan, and the plan each county outside New York City and each city of one million or more must write, must include programs to assist people with household pets and service animals after a disaster, with particular attention to evacuation, shelter and transportation options (Executive Law 22 and 23).

Sources: Executive Law 22; Executive Law 23. Checked 17 October 2026.

North Carolina

No state law found; check your county. ReadyNC says all shelters should have a plan to accommodate pets, but don't expect to keep your pet beside you in a shelter.

Source: ReadyNC, Pets and Service Animals. Checked 17 October 2026.

North Dakota

No state law found; check your county. The state's Pets and Emergencies sheet says Red Cross disaster shelters cannot accept pets because of state regulations and other considerations, and tells owners to keep a list of pet-friendly places.

Source: North Dakota Department of Emergency Services, Pets and Emergencies. Checked 17 October 2026.

Ohio

No state law found; check your county. The Ohio Emergency Management Agency's family guide tells owners to list family, friends, boarding places, vets and pet-friendly hotels that could shelter their pets.

Source: Ohio Emergency Management Agency, Disaster Preparedness Family Guide. Checked 17 October 2026.

Oklahoma

State law, limited. A 2015 law, the Care and Disposition of Disaster Animals Act, covers pets separated from their owners in a state-declared emergency or federal disaster. An animal shelter that takes them in must hold them at least 30 days before it can place them with a new owner. The law does not require any shelter to take them in (Title 4, sections 701 to 707). We found no Oklahoma law that requires pet evacuation plans or pet shelters; check your county.

Source: Oklahoma Statutes, Title 4, Animals (see sections 4-701 to 4-707). Checked 17 October 2026.

Oregon

State law. The Department of Agriculture, with the state emergency management department, the Department of Human Services and local governments, must write an animal emergency operations plan. It must provide for the evacuation, transport and temporary sheltering of companion animals and service animals in a major disaster or emergency (ORS 401.977).

Source: Oregon Revised Statutes 401.977 (read in the Internet Archive's copy of the official page, saved 2 November 2025). Checked 17 October 2026.

Pennsylvania

No state law found; check your county. Ready PA says emergency shelters will take people and service animals, but do not always allow pets.

Source: Ready PA, Include Everyone In Your Plan. Checked 17 October 2026.

Rhode Island

No state law found; check your county. The Department of Environmental Management tells cities and towns to include pets in local emergency plans and points to the federal PETS Act as the reason.

Source: Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Emergency Animal Care (read in the Internet Archive's copy of the official page, saved 18 November 2025). Checked 17 October 2026.

South Carolina

No state law found; check your county. The state has an Emergency Animal Sheltering Annex (2018) that guides county planners on sheltering animals. It is guidance, not a law.

Source: South Carolina Emergency Management Division, Emergency Animal Sheltering Annex. Checked 17 October 2026.

South Dakota

No state law found; check your county. The state's bReady flood page says to take your pets with you, but only service animals may be allowed in public shelters.

Source: South Dakota bReady, Flood Information (read in the Internet Archive's copy of the official page, saved 16 December 2023). Checked 17 October 2026.

Tennessee

No state law found; check your county. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency tells owners to know which hotels, shelters or friends will allow pets.

Source: Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, Is Your Pet Ready for an Emergency (read in the Internet Archive's copy of the official page, saved 7 October 2026). Checked 17 October 2026.

Texas

State law. The state emergency management division must help local governments make plans for the humane evacuation, transport and temporary sheltering of service animals and household pets in a disaster (Government Code 418.043).

Source: Texas Government Code, chapter 418 (section 418.043). Checked 17 October 2026.

Utah

No state law found; check your county. Be Ready Utah says many public shelters and hotels do not allow pets inside.

Source: Be Ready Utah, Preparedness for Pets and Livestock. Checked 17 October 2026.

Vermont

State law, limited. The Division of Emergency Management's state emergency strategy must be designed to protect the lives and property, including domestic animals, of people threatened by hazards (20 V.S.A. 3a). We found no Vermont law that sets pet evacuation or pet shelter steps; check your town.

Source: Vermont Statutes, Title 20, section 3a. Checked 17 October 2026.

Virginia

State law. The Department of Emergency Management must develop an emergency response plan for people with household pets and service animals in a disaster, and help local agencies develop their own (Code of Virginia 44-146.18).

Source: Code of Virginia 44-146.18. Checked 17 October 2026.

Washington

State law. A 2025 law, effective 27 July 2025, says local governments must, to the extent practicable, address cosheltering (people and their companion animals sheltered together or next door) in each update of their emergency plans. They must also identify emergency shelters that can take people with companion animals, and post companion animal emergency information on their websites.

Source: Chapter 80, Laws of 2025 (ESHB 1201). Checked 17 October 2026.

West Virginia

No state law found; check your county. ReadyWV has a Pets and Animals section in its planning pages.

Source: ReadyWV, Make a Plan. Checked 17 October 2026.

Wisconsin

No state law found; check your county. Ready Wisconsin says many public shelters and hotels do not allow pets inside.

Source: Ready Wisconsin, Planning for Pets. Checked 17 October 2026.

Wyoming

No state law found; check your county. The Office of Homeland Security says public shelters for people cannot accept pets because of health and safety rules, except service animals. It tells owners to find pet-friendly shelters first.

Source: Wyoming Office of Homeland Security, Pet Preparedness. Checked 17 October 2026.

Make your plan before the order comes

Whatever your state says, the people who open and run shelters are in your county. Call your county emergency management office and ask three things: which shelters take pets, whether you stay with your pet or the pet goes to a separate building, and what papers to bring. FEMA also suggests asking your local animal shelter or animal control office.

Then pack. Our pet emergency kit checklist lists what to gather, and Find local help points to organizations near you.

Rules change. Check the official link in your state's row before you rely on it.

Questions people ask

Does every shelter have to take pets?

No. We did not find a state law that orders every shelter to take pets, and the federal Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act does not say that any particular shelter must take your pet. FEMA says many public shelters and hotels do not allow pets inside. Pick your pet's place to stay before you need it.

What does the federal pet evacuation law do?

The 2006 Act changed the Stafford Act, the main federal disaster law. FEMA must make sure state and local emergency plans take into account the needs of people with household pets and service animals. FEMA may help pay for animal emergency preparedness, including emergency shelters that take people with pets. Federal disaster help can also cover the rescue, care and shelter of household pets.

Who decides where my pet can go in an evacuation?

Often your county, not your state. The people who open and run shelters are in your county. Call your county emergency management office and ask which shelters take pets, whether you stay with your pet or the pet goes to a separate building, and what papers to bring. FEMA also suggests asking your local animal shelter or animal control office.

Should my pet evacuate with me?

Yes. FEMA's advice is plain: if local officials ask you to evacuate, your pet should evacuate too. Our pet emergency kit checklist lists what to pack.