Blog · First-time owners
Pet Ownership Course Singapore: Your First Legal Step
The free Pet Ownership Course is the AVS course every first-time dog owner in Singapore has to finish before a licence is issued. It runs online, takes about 20 to 30 minutes, and has been compulsory since 1 September 2024. Here is what is actually inside it, where it sits in the dog licence process, and when to do it so it never holds your puppy up.
By Nelson & Kim, Curious Tails · Published 2026-07-25 · From real handover-day paperwork
What is the AVS Pet Ownership Course?
The Pet Ownership Course is a free online course run by Singapore's Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS). Since 1 September 2024, every first-time licence applicant for a cat or dog must complete the online Pet Ownership Course before licence issuance. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes and covers pet biology, pet care and health, responsible ownership, and the rules and legislation around owning a pet in Singapore.
We complete the licensing paperwork for every puppy that leaves our shop, so we watch families meet this requirement most weeks. It is the smallest step in the whole process, and the one people worry about most.
Read the AVS Pet Ownership Course pageWhat it covers
- Biology: life cycle and reproduction
- Pet care and health: behaviour, husbandry, caring for a sick pet
- Responsible pet ownership
- Rules and legislation on owning a pet here
The course, in numbers
- it costs nothing to take
- $0
- minutes, start to finish
- 20–30
- topic areas covered
- 4
- time only, for first-time applicants
- 1
it costs nothing to take
minutes, start to finish
topic areas covered
time only, for first-time applicants
Where the Course Sits in the Licence Process
The Pet Ownership Course is step two, not step one. The microchip comes first, because the microchip number is a required supporting document and the licence application simply cannot be submitted without it. Course second. Then the application itself, on the Pet Animal Licensing System at pals.avs.gov.sg.
Several popular Singapore licensing guides list "register on PALS" as step one, which sends first-time owners to a portal they cannot finish anything on yet. Fix the order and the whole thing takes an afternoon of waiting rather than a fortnight of confusion.
One date worth knowing: dogs aged three months and older must be licensed. Our puppies leave at around nine weeks, so you have a genuine runway, not a deadline breathing down your neck. The vaccination and microchipping timeline lines up with it neatly.
AVS sets out the same sequence on its application steps page, including the supporting documents you will be asked for.
The Four Things the Course Actually Teaches
Most guides describe the syllabus as "pet care basics and licensing rules" and leave it there. AVS is more specific than that. The course covers four areas: biology, including life cycle and reproduction; pet care and health, including understanding pet behaviour, husbandry and caring for sick pets; responsible pet ownership; and the rules and legislation related to owning a pet in Singapore.
The module first-time owners actually remember is the one on caring for a sick pet. Nobody plans for the 11pm scare in the first fortnight, and having heard the basics once beforehand takes the panic out of it.
The legislation section is the other quietly useful one. It is where the rules that catch new owners out live, from leash requirements to the limits on how many dogs a home may keep, and it is the cheapest half hour of homework a first-time owner will ever do.
The four module areas
- Biology: life cycle and reproduction
- Pet care and health: behaviour, husbandry, caring for a sick pet
- Responsible pet ownership
- Rules and legislation on owning a pet here
Can You Fail It? What AVS Actually Publishes
No. AVS publishes no pass mark and no fail state on its own Pet Ownership Course page. It is a set of modules to work through, not an exam with a cut-off.
This is worth saying plainly, because two of the better-known Singapore licensing guides tell readers they will receive a "Certificate of Completion" and one of them puts the duration at 30 to 60 minutes. AVS says 20 to 30 minutes and says nothing about a certificate. When a commercial guide and the regulator disagree, take the regulator.
What the licence application needs is that you completed the course. Nothing to memorise, nothing to revise, nothing to print and bring along.
What AVS does not say
- No pass mark is published
- No fail state is published
- No certificate is required on the AVS page
- Completion is what the licence application needs
How to Get In: Two Doors, Depending on Your ID
AVS runs two access routes into the same course. Singpass holders use the Singpass link, and passport holders use a separate passport-holder link. The pet ownership course modules live at go.gov.sg/petownershipcourse.
We mention this because it is the question we field most often from expat families, and almost nobody writing about the course online answers it. No Singpass does not mean no licence.
The course is offered in all four of Singapore's official languages, and it runs perfectly well on a phone. Several of our customers have finished it on the MRT.
Two ways in
- Singpass holders: the Singpass access link
- Passport holders: a separate access link
- All four official languages supported
- Works fine on a phone
The One Step Your Pet Shop Cannot Do for You
We complete the dog licensing and paperwork at the point of purchase, and we sit with you while it is done rather than handing over a form and wishing you luck. That is the part first-time buyers dread, and it is genuinely ours to carry.
The course is the exception. It is tied to your own login and your own identity, so it has to be you, on your phone, for half an hour. There is no version of this where a shop can take it on your behalf, and any seller who offers to is telling you something about how they operate.
So the honest split is a simple one: your 30 minutes, our paperwork. It is the same sentence we say at the door on handover day.
When to Do It So It Never Delays Your Puppy
Do the course while you are already waiting. Our puppies go home about a week after their second vaccination, which lands around week nine, and after a deposit we board the puppy free for up to a month with vaccinations continuing on schedule at our cost. That gap is measured in weeks. The course is measured in minutes.
Families who leave it to collection day are the only ones we have ever seen feel rushed by it, and the rush is entirely self-inflicted. There is no processing queue and no waiting period on the course itself.
Honestly, the best moment is the evening you place the deposit, while the excitement is still doing the work for you. Diary it then and it is done before the pen is even out of the box.
Your actual timeline
- Weeks 6, 8 and 12: core vaccinations
- Around week 9: puppy goes home
- After a deposit: free boarding up to 1 month
- Anywhere in there: your 30 minutes
What the Licence Itself Costs, and the Row Buyers Miss
There is no single dog licence fee in Singapore. AVS prices in licence fee tiers, and the row nobody quotes is the one that matters most to a puppy buyer: a dog below five months of age is S$15 for a one-year licence, and that is the only duration offered at that age.
Past five months the standard table takes over. A non-sterilised dog in the first three of a household is S$90 for one year, S$165 for two and S$230 for three. Sterilised rates are S$15, S$25 and S$35 for the same durations. A 10% rebate applies to payment by GIRO, online or AXS.
Here is why it matters. Puppies go home unsterilised, and vets generally advise sterilisation only from around seven months, so a first licence taken late sits on the S$90 row rather than the S$15 one. Licensing at purchase, while the puppy is nine weeks old, is not just tidier. It is cheaper.
Fees do get revised, so check the current AVS fee table before you pay. For the wider picture of what a first year actually costs, the first-year budget planner breaks it down line by line.
Dog licence fees, by row
- Below 5 months: S$15, one-year only
- Sterilised, first 3 dogs: S$15 / S$25 / S$35
- Non-sterilised, first 3 dogs: S$90 / S$165 / S$230
- 10% rebate via GIRO, online or AXS
Rates published by AVS for the period before 1 September 2026. Verify before paying.
Three Situations, Three Different Answers
Buying from a licensed shop with collection weeks away? Do the course this week and forget about it. We handle the licence application at purchase, so the course is your only task on the list.
Collecting in the next few days? Do it tonight. Thirty minutes now beats discovering on collection morning that the licence cannot be issued yet.
Adopting or taking on a rehomed dog rather than buying? Same course, same order, but the PALS application is yours to submit, with the microchip number from whoever is passing the dog on. Every route ends at the same portal.
If you are still at the stage of choosing rather than collecting, have a look at the puppies we have available first. The paperwork is easier to plan once the dog is real.
Which one are you?
- Collecting in a few weeks: do it this week
- Collecting in a few days: do it tonight
- Adopting or rehoming: same order, your own PALS application
Why This Course Exists, and Why We're Glad It Does
A 30-minute gate in front of a 12 to 15 year commitment is not a burden. We would happily see it doubled.
Almost every regret we have untangled in two years of matching puppies to families traces back to a decision made with no information at all: a breed picked from a photograph, a schedule nobody thought through, a seller nobody checked. None of that is stupidity. It is just how excitement works.
What we tell first-time owners, though, is slightly contrarian. You do not need a lot of information upfront. You need a simple routine to follow and someone to call when you are unsure. The course gives you the baseline. The routine is what we hand over at the door, and the mistakes we spend most of our time untangling are routine problems rather than knowledge problems.
The Licence That Protects You Is Not Yours
Your dog licence keeps you compliant. The seller's licence is the one that protects you, and it is the check almost nobody does before paying a deposit.
Every legitimate pet shop in Singapore appears on the AVS public registry, and the search takes about 60 seconds. Ours is AS24J00046. Check us first; an honest shop never minds. Unlicensed sellers are where the smuggled-puppy stories start, and a seller with no licence of their own can help you with none of the paperwork on this page.
Our 60-second guide to checking any shop's licence walks the process with the red flags attached, or go straight to the AVS public registry and search a name.
What Happens on Handover Day
Licensing and paperwork are completed at the point of purchase, with us doing the filling in and the checking. You bring the course completion, your ID and your address, and that is the whole of your homework.
The rest of the day is the good part. The starter kit, 30 or more items worth over $500, arrives with the puppy and gets set up in your home rather than left in a bag by the door, and we walk you through what every item is for. A free first lesson with an AVS-certified trainer is booked for week one.
If the puppy falls sick within the first five days, bring it back and we will nurse it. After that our WhatsApp stays open for care questions for as long as you have the dog, which is the part of the service the paperwork never captures.
What to bring
- Course completed
- Your ID and contact details
- Your home address for the licence
- Nothing else, we handle the rest
Pet Ownership Course Questions, Answered
Is the AVS Pet Ownership Course really free?
Yes. AVS runs it free online, and there is no paid tier or upgrade to buy. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes, which is one evening rather than one weekend.
Can you fail the Pet Ownership Course?
AVS does not publish a pass mark or a fail state on its course page. Some third-party guides mention a certificate; AVS itself does not state one. What matters is that you complete it before you apply for the licence on PALS.
Do I need Singpass to do the Pet Ownership Course?
No. AVS publishes two access routes, one for Singpass holders and a separate one for passport holders, so foreign residents can complete it too. The course content is the same either way.
Will the course delay my puppy coming home?
Not if you do it during the wait. Our puppies go home about a week after their second vaccination, around week nine, and after a deposit we board them free for up to a month. Thirty minutes fits inside that gap without touching your collection date.
Does my pet shop handle the dog licence for me?
We complete the dog licensing and paperwork at the point of purchase and walk you through every field. The one part we cannot do is the course itself, because it is tied to your own login. Your 30 minutes, our paperwork.
Do I need to take the course again for a second dog?
The requirement is written for first-time cat or dog licence applicants, so once you already hold a licence you are no longer a first-time applicant. If your situation is unusual, check the AVS licensing requirements page rather than guessing.
How much is a dog licence in Singapore?
It depends on which row you land on. A dog below five months old is S$15 for a one-year licence. A non-sterilised dog past that age is S$90 for one year, with two-year and three-year options priced higher. A 10% rebate applies to payment by GIRO, online or AXS.
What do I need before I can apply for the licence?
The microchip number is the real prerequisite, because the application cannot be submitted without it. Microchip first, course second, PALS application third. Guides that list PALS registration as step one have the order wrong.
Working through the rest of the list? The full first-time owner checklist covers the five decisions in order, and the week-by-week care guide picks up the day your puppy arrives.
Visit or message us
Let Us Take the Paperwork
2 Balestier Road #01-701 S320002 Singapore
Weekdays 12pm–6pm, Weekends 10am–6pm
Can't make the trip to Balestier? WhatsApp us about licensing, the course, or anything else on the first-timer list. Honest answers either way.
Still weighing your options?
Take the two-minute breed selector, matched to your actual routine and home.