When it comes to editing the owner of a dog, it’s sometimes difficult to know the correct procedure to use. For example, to process an ownership change in Avitar Clerk, there are functions to Transfer a Dog’s Ownership within Community, Transfer a Dog’s Ownership from Another Community, Edit an Existing Dog, or you can simply change the ownership when processing a renewal. In order to help you decide which option best fits your situation, detailed information on each process is listed below.

Ownership Change at Renewal
The ownership of a dog can be changed during the renewal process. You can use the Renew Existing Dog License process to change the dog ownership only if:

• The dog has not already been renewed for the current license year and
• The dog was previously licensed in your community

To change the dog ownership at renewal time, from the Dog Licensing main menu, select Renew Existing Dog License. Search for the prior owner and select the dog from the resulting grid. The Renew Dog License screen displays.

Select the Owner Mailing Address tab. Use the Owner Lookup button to search and select the new owner. Enter your next available dog tag number and update the rabies information if needed. Select Next to complete the process.

Edit an Existing Dog
The Edit an Existing Dog process allows you to change/update the information on an existing dog in your system. Typically, you will use this process to change the ownership of a dog when the dog has two owners and one of the owners is over 65. If the current license is registered to the owner who is under 65, they may decide to change the ownership in order to save money.

You should not use this process to change the ownership of a dog if:

• The dog does not already exist in your database,
• The dog is up for renewal (see Ownership Change at Renewal), or
• The new owner should be charged the $1.50 transfer fee (Transfer a Dog’s Ownership)

To change the ownership of a dog utilizing the Edit an Existing Dog process, from the Dog Licensing main menu, select Edit an Existing Dog. Search for the prior owner and select the dog from the resulting grid. The Edit Dog screen displays.

Use the Owner Lookup button to search and select the new owner. When you select Save, a message box will display stating you have changed the owners using the Edit process instead of the Transfer process. If you are sure you wish to proceed, select Yes to complete the process.

Transfer a Dog’s Ownership within Community (RSA 466:3)
The Transfer a Dog’s Ownership within a Community process is used when a dog owner in your community gives or sells a licensed dog to another owner in your community. The process essentially just puts the dog into the new owner’s name, so if the dog is lost and subsequently found, you can contact the correct owner of the dog. The Transfer a Dog’s Ownership within Community will charge the new owner a $1.50 fee per RSA 466:3. Note, if the dog’s license has expired, you should change the ownership through the Ownership Change at Renewal process listed above.

To change the ownership of a dog utilizing the Transfer a Dog’s Ownership within a Community process, from the Dog Licensing main menu, select Transfer a Dog’s Ownership within a Community. The system will ask if you want to issue a new license for this dog. Select Yes to issue a new tag or No to use the dog’s existing license tag number. Once you search and select the new owner, the Transfer License dialog box displays.

If you elected to enter a new tag for this dog, you will need to enter the new number into the Tag Number text box and select Next to collect the $1.50 fee. If you elected not to issue a new tag, the only information available to edit will be the rabies information. Click Next to complete the process.

Transfer a Dog’s Ownership from Another Community (RSA 466:3)
The Transfer a Dog’s Ownership from Another Community process is used if a dog has been licensed in New Hampshire for the current year and the dog owner gives or sells the dog to another owner in your community. The Transfer a Dog’s Ownership from Another Community will charge the new owner a $1.50 fee per RSA 466:3. Usually, a new owner will want to transfer the license into his/her name before renewal time because this will add the dog to your town’s database. Then if the dog is lost and subsequently found, a search of your database will find the new owner’s contact information.

Note, in order to transfer a dog license, the new owner will need to prove they have already paid for a dog license in another New Hampshire community. This can be accomplished simply by providing the current license for the dog.

To change the ownership of a dog utilizing the Transfer a Dog’s Ownership from Another Community process, from the Dog Licensing main menu, select Transfer a Dog’s Ownership within a Community. Once you have searched and selected the new owner the Transfer Dog from Another Community dialog box displays.

Enter the information about the dog in the appropriate text boxes and click Next. When the licensing dialog box displays, select the License Type from the drop down menu and enter the license tag number. Select Next to complete the process.