Maryland Dangerous Dog Law

What happens in the first days after a bite

Anyone who knows a person was bitten must report it right away to the local police or sheriff, or in Frederick County to the county animal control center¹³. An officer fills out the state's Animal-Bite Report and Rabies Quarantine Agreement Form, and the local health officer gets it within 24 hours¹³. That form is often the first official record of your dog's bite, and it is the record a later dangerous-dog case will start from.

Your dog must then be quarantined for at least 10 days after the bite, in a place and manner the local health officer or the state Public Health Veterinarian approves¹⁴. The regulation does not require a shelter or a home; it leaves the place and manner to the officer, not to you¹⁴. The officer can order a veterinary exam during the quarantine, and you pay for it and for other associated costs¹⁴. If a veterinarian sees possible signs of rabies, the dog may be euthanized and tested¹⁴. A dog that stays healthy through the 10 days could not have passed on rabies when it bit²⁵. See dog bite quarantine.

How Maryland labels a dog dangerous

The state law is short and works in two steps. First, a county or municipal animal control unit may find a dog potentially dangerous if it bit a person on public or private property, killed or severely injured a domestic animal off its owner's property, or attacked without provocation, and the unit tells the owner its reasons in writing¹⁵. Second, a dog becomes a dangerous dog if, after that finding, it bites a person, kills or severely injures a domestic animal off the owner's property, or attacks without provocation¹⁵. A dog that kills or severely injures a person without provocation is a dangerous dog at once, with no earlier finding needed¹⁵.

"Severe injury" has a fixed meaning: broken bones or disfiguring lacerations requiring multiple sutures or cosmetic surgery¹⁵. "Owner's real property" means land you own or lease, but not a public right-of-way or the common areas of a condominium, apartment complex or townhouse development, so a bite in an apartment hallway counts as off your property¹⁵. Dogs owned by and working for a government or police unit are outside the statute¹⁵.

The state statute does not set up a hearing. Each county or city decides who hears the case and how to appeal, so read the notice you receive closely for its deadline.

Baltimore City as an example

In Baltimore City, if the animal control office believes a dog is dangerous or vicious after investigating a complaint, it must send a written report to the Animal Hearing Panel and impound the dog until the hearing²². A request for a hearing generally has to be filed with the panel within 10 days of the notice or action you are contesting²⁰. A dangerous animal must be kept in a secure enclosure, muzzled and leashed outside it, microchipped and altered, with warning signs posted²¹. A vicious animal, which includes one that severely bit or attacked a person, must be euthanized on the panel's order¹⁷¹⁸. Bites by an animal protecting itself, its young or a person, or reacting to pain, or bites on someone who was trespassing, tormenting it or committing a crime, do not make it vicious¹⁷. A written appeal to the Health Commissioner is due within 10 days of the panel's decision¹⁹.

What you must do once your dog is dangerous

Under § 10-619 you may not leave the dog unattended on your property unless it is indoors, in a securely enclosed and locked pen, or in another structure designed to restrain it¹⁵. Off your property it must be leashed and muzzled, or otherwise securely restrained and muzzled¹⁵. If you sell or give away a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog, you must tell the authority that made the finding the new owner's name and address, and tell the new owner in writing about the dog's behavior¹⁵. State law does not require liability insurance, registration or a microchip; counties and Baltimore City add their own conditions¹⁵²¹.

Fines and criminal charges

Breaking any part of § 10-619 is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,500¹⁵. The statute carries no jail term. In a case where an owner's recklessness creates a substantial risk of death or serious injury, prosecutors also have the general reckless endangerment statute, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 5 years in prison, a $5,000 fine or both¹⁶. Local codes add civil fines; Prince George's County's 2026 code uses escalating fines of $500, $1,500 and $3,000 for dangerous-animal violations²³. See dog bite criminal charges.

Breed rules

Maryland does not stop counties from regulating by breed: a 2014 bill to forbid it died in the Senate without a vote²⁴. Prince George's County banned pit bull terriers for decades and lifted the ban through CB-097-2025, effective February 2, 2026; owners of formerly banned dogs now need a $25 special permit and must complete training²³. The civil liability statute, by contrast, has been breed-neutral since 2014¹². See breed-specific legislation.

If the dog bites again

A second incident is what turns a potentially dangerous dog into a dangerous dog under state law, bringing the confinement and muzzle rules and the $2,500 fine with it¹⁵. Locally, a second bite after a dangerous finding can mean a vicious-animal finding; in Baltimore City that leads to a euthanasia order¹⁷¹⁸. In a civil suit, the presumption that you knew your dog was dangerous becomes much harder to rebut after an earlier incident¹. See my dog bit someone.

Rules for a declared dog in Maryland

Maryland rules in brief

Reporting. Under COMAR 10.06.02.05, anyone who knows that a person was bitten by an animal must report it immediately, by phone or in person, to the local police or sheriff's department; in Frederick County the report goes to the county animal control center¹³. The police complete the Maryland Animal-Bite Report and Rabies Quarantine Agreement Form and must make it available to the local health officer within 24 hours¹³.

Euthanasia. The state statute contains no euthanasia procedure; destruction orders come from county and city codes¹⁵. In Baltimore City, for example, the Animal Hearing Panel must direct the Health Commissioner to euthanize an animal it finds vicious, which includes one that has severely bitten a person without excuse, and the owner can appeal to the Commissioner in writing within 10 days¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹. Separately, a veterinarian may euthanize a quarantined dog showing possible signs of rabies so it can be tested¹⁴.

Criminal penalties. Breaking the § 10-619 confinement, leash-and-muzzle or transfer-notice rules for a dangerous dog is a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $2,500¹⁵. Maryland's general reckless endangerment statute, which reaches anyone who recklessly creates a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury, carries up to 5 years in prison, a $5,000 fine or both¹⁶.

Breed rules. No state statute bars breed-specific local laws; a 2014 bill to forbid them died in the Senate without a vote²⁴, and Prince George's County ended its own pit bull ban only on February 2, 2026²³.

Compare states: dangerous dog laws by state, bite quarantine rules, euthanasia after a bite. If your dog bit someone, start with what happens next.

Sources

1. Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 3-1901, Maryland General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
2. Senate Bill 247 (2014), chapter 48: Civil Actions – Liability for Injury or Death Caused by Dogs, Maryland General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
3. Tracey v. Solesky, 427 Md. 627, 50 A.3d 1075 (2012), No. 53, Sept. Term 2011 (with opinion on reconsideration), Maryland Judiciary. Checked 17 October 2026.
4. Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 5-101, Maryland General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
5. Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 5-201, Maryland General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
6. Coleman v. Soccer Ass'n of Columbia, 432 Md. 679, 69 A.3d 1149 (2013), Maryland Judiciary. Checked 17 October 2026.
7. Matthews v. Amberwood Associates Ltd. Partnership, 351 Md. 544, 719 A.2d 119 (1998), CourtListener (Free Law Project). Checked 17 October 2026.
8. Ward v. Hartley, 168 Md. App. 209, 895 A.2d 1111 (2006), Maryland Judiciary. Checked 17 October 2026.
9. Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 11-108 (noneconomic damages cap), Maryland General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
10. Owens-Illinois, Inc. v. Zenobia, 325 Md. 420, 601 A.2d 633 (1992), CourtListener (Free Law Project). Checked 17 October 2026.
11. Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 5-304 (Local Government Tort Claims Act notice), Maryland General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
12. Md. Code, Insurance § 19-206.1 (notice of dog breed exclusions), Maryland General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
13. COMAR 10.06.02.05 (reporting animal bites), Maryland Division of State Documents. Checked 17 October 2026.
14. COMAR 10.06.02.07 (quarantine of dogs, cats and ferrets), Maryland Division of State Documents. Checked 17 October 2026.
15. Md. Code, Criminal Law § 10-619 (dangerous dogs), Maryland General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
16. Md. Code, Criminal Law § 3-204 (reckless endangerment), Maryland General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
17. Baltimore City Health Code § 10-703 (vicious animals – definition), City of Baltimore. Checked 17 October 2026.
18. Baltimore City Health Code § 10-1007 (corrective actions), City of Baltimore. Checked 17 October 2026.
19. Baltimore City Health Code § 10-1008 (appeal to Commissioner), City of Baltimore. Checked 17 October 2026.
20. Baltimore City Health Code § 10-1004 (opportunity for hearing), City of Baltimore. Checked 17 October 2026.
21. Baltimore City Health Code § 10-702 (dangerous animals), City of Baltimore. Checked 17 October 2026.
22. Baltimore City Health Code § 10-116 (finding animal to be dangerous or vicious), City of Baltimore. Checked 17 October 2026.
23. Pit Bull Fact Sheet (CB-097-2025), Prince George's County Government. Checked 17 October 2026.
24. Senate Bill 991 (2014): Dogs – Breed-Based Restrictions – Prohibition, Maryland General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.
25. Rabies, Maryland Department of Health. Checked 17 October 2026.
26. House Bill 466 (2026): Motor Vehicle Accidents Involving Vulnerable Individuals – Comparative Negligence, Maryland General Assembly. Checked 17 October 2026.