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A dog bill of sale is a signed receipt for a dog. It names the seller and buyer, describes the dog or puppy, and shows the price and date. Breeders and private owners use it, especially when a puppy changes hands for cash.
This page gives you a free form to fill out online, download as a PDF or Word file, print, and sign. It also shows what to write in each part of the form and what to settle with the other side before you sign.
A bill of sale for a dog is a short written document that shows a named seller sold a described dog to a named buyer on a stated date for a stated price.
The signed paper gives each side the same account of the deal. That matters most after a cash sale, because cash leaves no bank statement to check later. The form also shows any amount still owed and the date the buyer agreed to pay it.
This form is one of several animal and property forms on FormsPal. See the main bill of sale template page for the other types.
The table below describes the FormsPal dog bill of sale form, including its other names, its length, and the file formats you can download.
| Document Name | Dog Bill of Sale Form |
| Other Names | Puppy Bill of Sale, Pet Bill of Sale |
| Avg. Time to Fill Out | 8 minutes |
| # of Fillable Fields | 58 |
| Available Formats | Adobe PDF; Microsoft Word |
A puppy bill of sale and a pet bill of sale are other names for this document, and our form has fields for a dog or puppy of any age. Before you sell a young puppy, check your state's official sources for any minimum sale age, because the form itself does not answer that.
Enter the puppy's date of birth, and the paper shows its age at the sale. For a kitten or an adult cat, use the cat bill of sale, which describes that animal instead.
You can create a free dog bill of sale template on this page, answer the questions on the order form, and download the finished file as a PDF or a Word document.
Fill in the name, address, breed, color, cost, and other relevant details on the order form. Whether you are a breeder or dog owner, you can customize the bill of sale to suit your sale needs. The Word file lets you change the wording, and the PDF is ready to print and sign on paper.
Gather these items before you open the template, because the form asks for each of them and a missing detail holds up the signing:
Use a dog bill of sale whenever a dog or puppy changes hands for money, whether a breeder sells a litter, an owner rehomes a pet for a price, or a family buys a puppy.
The paper is most useful in these situations:
For the seller, the bill of sale fixes the agreed price, the balance still owed, and any promise made about the dog's health, so a later disagreement has a paper to start from.
It also marks the day the dog left the seller's care. A breeder with several puppies on the market can match each signed paper to one dog by its description and date of birth.
For the buyer, the bill of sale shows who sold the dog, what was paid, and what was promised, so the facts of the purchase do not rest on memory.
Ask the seller for one before you hand over any money, and read the health and payment parts closely. A dog changes hands in a few minutes, but questions about the sale can come up months later. Keep a copy with the dog's other papers, such as vaccination records and any registration certificate.
A dog bill of sale should include the sale date, both parties, a description of the dog, the price and payment terms, any guarantee, and the signatures.
Example only, with made-up details: Ana Reyes sells to Sam Cole one female beagle named Daisy, tricolor, born March 2, in good health, for $900. Sam pays $200 by money order on the sale date and the remaining $700 by cashier's check on June 1. Both sign and each keeps a copy.
Words such as "in good health" in the example can read as the seller's promise, while the form's as-is paragraph says the seller gives no warranties about the dog's health. Describe only what the seller knows, say in the additional terms which of the two applies, and check your state's sale-of-goods rules on warranties, because this page does not say how the two fit together.
Selling a dog goes in this order: advertise the dog, meet the potential buyer, fill out the bill of sale together, and decide whether to add a notary.
Put up your ad well before the sale, especially if your other dogs are expecting puppies, because an early ad gives the dog more time to find the right home.
Choose where to advertise, such as newspapers, flyers, or online listings. Include the breed, the vaccination dates, and other details, and keep the dog's papers within reach so you can show them. Compare similar listings near you to find a reasonable price that will not scare off buyers.
Meet each prospective buyer in person before you agree to anything, so you can judge whether your dog will have a good home.
Do not hesitate to ask about earlier pets, the reason for buying a dog, the neighborhood, and how the buyer plans to care for the animal. Answer the buyer's questions about the dog's health openly too, because the answers shape what you write on the form. If the buyer plans to visit your home, keep your bill of sale printed and ready.
Fill out the bill of sale with the buyer once you agree on the price, so both of you see every detail before anyone signs.
You can download and print a free sale form for a dog on our site instead of writing one from scratch. The next section goes through it part by part.
A public notary can acknowledge the signed agreement with a stamp and a certificate, so talk with the buyer about whether you want this extra step.
When the buyer has paid in full, give the new owner a receipt that shows the payment is complete, along with the dog's papers.
Fill out a dog bill of sale by entering the date, both parties, and the dog's details, then choosing the payment terms, reading the as-is paragraph, and signing.
Work through the parts below in order. If a local authority gives you its own form for the sale, use that one instead.
Enter the hand-over date at the top of the form, meaning the day the seller gives the dog to the buyer, and use that same date wherever the form asks for the purchase date.
Enter the same details for the seller and the buyer, so that each person can be found again if a question comes up after the sale:
Describe the dog being sold by filling in each of these details, and leave a line blank only when it does not apply to this dog:
Write enough that anyone reading the paper could tell this dog apart from its littermates, and mention any markings. If you do not know the breed or the exact birth date, say so instead of guessing, because a wrong detail invites a later argument. If the dog has a microchip, add its number to the additional terms.
Enter the hand-over date as the purchase date, then the entire amount the buyer will pay for the dog, and mark how that amount will be paid:
Then mark how the buyer is going to pay:
The “as-is” paragraph is the seller's statement that they give no warranties about the health condition of the dog or puppy.
Check your state's pet sale and sale-of-goods rules before you rely on it, because this page does not say whether the wording holds there or can limit a buyer's rights.
If the seller has promised a health guarantee, edit the Word file so the paper and the promise say the same thing.
Have the seller and the buyer each sign in the corresponding fields, so the form shows that both sides read and accepted the same terms.
You can also have one or several witnesses attest the deal.
The form ends with a section where a notary public can attest the signatures, and the notary completes that section.
This page cites no rule on notarizing a dog sale, so check the rules of your own state before you decide. Give each party a signed copy to keep.
When a dog gets sick after the sale, the buyer's next step depends on what the bill of sale says about health and on the rules of your own state. If the buyer and the seller live in different states, read both states' rules, because this page does not say which state's rules govern the sale.
Read the rules of your own state on these points before you rely on the as-is paragraph in the bill of sale.
A buyer with a sick dog should see a veterinarian first, because the dog's care comes before the paperwork and the vet's notes show what was wrong and when.
A health guarantee in a bill of sale works best when it says what is covered, how long the cover lasts, and what the buyer gets if the dog is ill.
Agree on these points before you sign, and write them in the additional terms:
A guarantee and an as-is paragraph pull in opposite directions, so do not leave both on the same form without saying which one applies to what.
This page does not list those rules state by state. Your state legislature's website is a good place to start, and an attorney in your state can tell you how a rule applies to your sale. Take these questions with you:
A dog bill of sale covers the whole sale of one dog, while a puppy deposit agreement, a purchase agreement, or a sale receipt each covers a smaller or a longer part of the deal.
| Paper | What it covers | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Dog bill of sale | The parties, the dog, the price, the payment terms, and the signatures | The day the dog is sold |
| Puppy deposit agreement | The deposit, what it holds, and when the rest is due | Before the puppy is ready to leave |
| Puppy purchase agreement | The sale plus longer terms, such as a guarantee or care promises | When the parties want detailed terms |
| Puppy sale receipt | The money paid, and little else | When a payment is made |
| Registration certificate | The dog's entry with a breed registry, not the sale | When the dog is registered |
A holding deposit and a down payment do different jobs: a holding deposit reserves a puppy before the sale, while a down payment is the first part of the price once the sale is made.
Our form has a down payment field under installment payments. For a down payment, write in the additional terms when ownership passes to the buyer and what happens if the balance is not paid. Put a holding deposit in the additional terms or in a separate puppy deposit agreement, and say whether the buyer gets it back if the sale falls through. Check your state's sale-of-goods rules on these points, because this page does not say what they provide.
These answers cover the practical questions about a bill of sale for a dog that the sections above leave open.
Yes, you can create the form on this page for free, then download it as a PDF or Word file and print it.
Yes, you can print the form and complete it in pen, as long as both parties can read every line and each keeps a signed copy.
Yes, you can fill in the PDF online: visit the online PDF editor, open the downloaded file to fill it in and sign it, then print a copy of the bill of sale for each party.
Both the seller and the buyer keep a signed copy, so each one can answer a later question about the price, the dog, or the terms without asking the other.
Yes, if money changes hands, enter the amount as the price, and write "no charge" if you ask for nothing and still want a signed paper.
Use one bill of sale for each puppy, because each puppy usually goes to its own buyer and has its own description, price, and terms.
Yes, you can use this form for a puppy sold online, and both of you still fill it out and sign it before the dog changes hands.
Before you list the puppy, check the listing site's rules on selling animals and any licensing and shipping rules that may apply, especially if you will not meet the buyer in person or the dog will travel to another state.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
