Dog Bite Liability Rules by State (2026)
Which states make dog owners strictly liable for bites and which follow a 'one bite' rule.
| State | Dog bites |
|---|---|
| Alabama | A dog owner is liable if the dog, without provocation, bites or injures a person who is lawfully where the person has a right to be, but this statute applies only when the injury happens on property owned or controlled by the dog's owner, or when the person was chased off that property by the dog. Ala. Code § 3-6-1 |
| Arizona | Strict liability. A dog owner is liable for damages when the dog bites a person who is in a public place or lawfully in a private place (including the owner's property), regardless of whether the dog was known to be vicious. The owner or caretaker must give the bitten person the owner's contact information. A dog's breed may not be considered in deciding liability. There are limited exceptions for police and military dogs. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 11-1025 |
| California | Strict liability. A dog owner is liable for damages to anyone bitten by the dog while in a public place or lawfully in a private place (including the owner's property), regardless of whether the dog was known to be vicious. A person is lawfully on the owner's property when carrying out a legal duty (such as mail delivery) or when invited, expressly or impliedly. There are limited exceptions for police and military dogs. Cal. Civ. Code § 3342 |
| Colorado | A person who suffers serious bodily injury or death from a dog bite while lawfully on public or private property may recover economic damages from the dog's owner, regardless of whether the dog was known to be vicious (strict liability for economic damages). The owner is not liable under this statute if the person was trespassing, was on the owner's property posted with a "no trespassing" or "beware of dog" sign, knowingly provoked the dog, or was a veterinary worker, groomer or trainer at work, among other exceptions. Other claims, such as negligence, are still available. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-21-124 |
| Connecticut | Strict liability. If a dog damages the body or property of any person, the owner or keeper (or both) is liable for the damage, unless the injured person was trespassing or committing another tort, or was teasing, tormenting or abusing the dog. If the owner or keeper is a minor, the parent or guardian is liable. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22-357 |
| Delaware | Strict liability. A dog owner is liable for any injury, death or loss to a person or property caused by the dog, unless the injured person was trespassing or committing (or trying to commit) a crime on the owner's property, committing a crime against any person, or teasing, tormenting or abusing the dog. Del. Code tit. 16, § 3053F |
| District of Columbia | Owners and custodians may not let their animals run at large. If a dog injures a person while at large, the owner's lack of knowledge of the dog's vicious tendencies, standing alone, does not excuse the owner from a finding of negligence. D.C. Code § 8-1808(a) |
| Florida | Strict liability with reductions. A dog owner is liable for damages to anyone bitten while in a public place or lawfully on private property (including the owner's), regardless of whether the dog was known to be vicious. The owner's liability is reduced by the bitten person's percentage of negligence. If the owner displayed an easily readable "Bad Dog" sign in a prominent place, the owner is not liable unless the victim was under 6 or the owner was negligent. Fla. Stat. § 767.04 |
| Georgia | Modified "one bite" rule. An owner or keeper of a vicious or dangerous animal who, through careless management or by letting it go at liberty, causes injury to someone who did not provoke it may be liable. A dog's vicious tendency can be shown by proving that a local ordinance required it to be leashed or at heel and it was not at the time. O.C.G.A. § 51-2-7 |
| Hawaii | The owner or harborer of an animal that causes personal injury or property damage is liable even if the owner did not know the animal was vicious or dangerous. Owners of animals known by species or nature to be dangerous, wild or vicious are absolutely liable. Haw. Rev. Stat. § 663-9 |
| Illinois | Strict liability. If a dog or other animal, without provocation, attacks, attempts to attack or injures a person who is behaving peaceably in a place where he or she may lawfully be, the owner is liable for the full amount of the injury. 510 ILCS 5/16 |
| Indiana | The statute imposes strict liability only in a narrow situation: if a dog, without provocation, bites a person who is acting peaceably and is where he or she is required to be to carry out a duty under state or federal law or postal regulations (for example, a mail carrier), the owner is liable for all damages, even if the dog was never vicious before. Other bites are governed by general law. Ind. Code § 15-20-1-3 |
| Iowa | Strict liability. A dog owner is liable for all damages done by the dog when it is attacking or attempting to bite a person (or worrying, maiming or killing a domestic animal), unless the injured party was doing an unlawful act that directly contributed to the injury. Iowa Code § 351.28 |
| Kentucky | Strict liability by statute: any owner whose dog is found to have caused damage to a person, livestock or other property is responsible for that damage. KRS 258.235(4) |
| Louisiana | Strict liability. The owner of a dog is strictly liable for injuries to people or property caused by the dog that the owner could have prevented and that did not result from the injured person's provocation of the dog. La. Civ. Code art. 2321(B) |
| Maine | When a dog injures a person who is not on the owner's or keeper's premises, the owner or keeper is liable for the damages without proof of negligence; the injured person's fault reduces recovery for physical injury only if it exceeded the owner's fault. For other animal injuries (or dog injuries on the owner's premises), the owner or keeper is liable if the damage resulted from the owner's negligence and was not the injured person's fault. 7 M.R.S. § 3961 |
| Maryland | Modified rule. In a lawsuit against a dog's owner for injury or death caused by the dog, evidence that the dog caused the injury creates a rebuttable presumption that the owner knew or should have known the dog had vicious or dangerous propensities. The owner is strictly liable for injury caused while the dog is running at large, unless the injured person was trespassing, committing a crime, or teasing, tormenting, abusing or provoking the dog. For non-owners (such as landlords), the common law as of April 1, 2012 applies, without regard to breed. Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 3-1901 |
| Massachusetts | Strict liability. If a dog damages a person's body or property, the owner or keeper (or the parent or guardian of a minor owner) is liable, unless the injured person was trespassing, committing another tort, or teasing, tormenting or abusing the dog. A child under 7 is presumed not to have been doing any of those things. M.G.L. c. 140, § 155 |
| Michigan | Strict liability for bites. If a dog bites a person without provocation while the person is on public property or lawfully on private property (including the owner's property), the owner is liable for the damages regardless of the dog's past viciousness or the owner's knowledge of it. MCL 287.351 |
| Minnesota | Strict liability. If a dog, without provocation, attacks or injures a person who is acting peaceably in a place where the person may lawfully be, the owner (including anyone harboring or keeping the dog) is liable for the full amount of the injury. Minn. Stat. § 347.22 |
| Missouri | Strict liability. The owner or possessor of a dog that bites a person without provocation, while the person is on public property or lawfully on private property, is strictly liable for the damages, regardless of the dog's past viciousness or the owner's knowledge. Owners are also strictly liable for damage to property or livestock caused by their dogs. Damages are reduced by the injured person's percentage of fault, and the owner may also be fined up to $1,000. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 273.036 |
| Montana | Strict liability inside incorporated cities and towns. The owner of a dog that bites a person without provocation, while the person is in a public place or lawfully in a private place within an incorporated city or town, is liable for the damages regardless of the dog's past viciousness or the owner's knowledge. The statute does not cover bites outside incorporated cities and towns. Mont. Code Ann. § 27-1-715 |
| Nebraska | Strict liability. A dog owner is liable for all damages to any person (other than a trespasser) bitten by the dog, and for damages from the dog killing, wounding, injuring, worrying or chasing any person or domestic animals. Limited exceptions apply to police and military dogs used under a written policy. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 54-601 |
| New Hampshire | Strict liability. A person injured, or whose property or animals are damaged, by a dog the person does not own or keep may recover damages from the person who owns, keeps or possesses the dog, unless the injured person was committing a trespass or other tort. A parent or guardian is liable if the owner or keeper is a minor. RSA 466:19 |
| New Jersey | Strict liability for bites. The owner of a dog that bites a person who is in a public place, or lawfully in a private place (including the owner's property), is liable for the damages, regardless of the dog's past viciousness or the owner's knowledge of it. N.J.S.A. 4:19-16 |
| New York | Limited strict liability. The owner or custodian of a dog that has been found to be a dangerous dog is strictly liable for the medical costs of injuries the dog causes to a person or animal (with exceptions, such as when the dog was defending someone during certain serious crimes). Other dog-bite liability is governed by court decisions. N.Y. Agric. & Mkts. Law § 123(10), (11) |
| North Carolina | Strict liability for dangerous dogs. The owner of a dog that has been determined to be a dangerous dog is strictly liable for any injuries or property damage the dog inflicts on a person, the person's property, or another animal. Other dog-bite cases are governed by court decisions. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 67-4.4 |
| Ohio | Strict liability statute. The owner, keeper or harborer of a dog is liable for any injury, death or loss to person or property caused by the dog. Exceptions apply if the injured person was committing or attempting a crime (other than a minor misdemeanor) on the owner's property or against a person, or was teasing, tormenting or abusing the dog on the owner's property. Door-to-door salespeople and solicitors on the property are still covered. Ohio Rev. Code § 955.28(B) |
| Oklahoma | Strict liability statute. A dog owner is liable for the full amount of damages when the dog, without provocation, bites or injures a person who is in a place where they have a lawful right to be. 4 Okla. Stat. § 42.1 |
| Oregon | Limited strict liability statute. If a court has already found that a dog is a "potentially dangerous dog" and the dog later injures a person or damages property, the keeper is strictly liable for the economic damages. This does not apply to a person who provoked the dog, assaulted the keeper, or trespassed on premises from which the keeper may lawfully exclude others. Other dog-bite claims depend on common-law rules. Or. Rev. Stat. § 609.115 |
| Pennsylvania | Under the Dog Law, any cost to a bite victim for medical treatment resulting from an attacking or biting dog must be paid fully by the dog's owner or keeper. Other damages (such as pain and suffering) are not addressed by this provision and depend on general negligence and common-law rules. Dog Law, Act 225 of 1982, § 502(b) (3 P.S. § 459-502(b)) |
| Rhode Island | Strict liability statute in part. If a dog assaults, bites or otherwise injures a person who is traveling the highway or is outside the enclosure of the dog's owner or keeper, the owner or keeper is liable for all damages, and the victim does not need to prove the owner knew the dog was dangerous. If the same dog causes damage again, the owner pays double damages and the court orders the dog killed. R.I. Gen. Laws § 4-13-16 |
| South Carolina | Strict liability statute. If a person is bitten or otherwise attacked by a dog while in a public place or lawfully in a private place (including the dog owner's property when there by invitation or performing a legal duty), the owner or keeper is liable for the damages. It does not apply if the person provoked or harassed the dog and that caused the attack, or to certain trained law-enforcement dogs acting under lawful command. S.C. Code § 47-3-110 |
| Tennessee | Statute with a mixed rule. A dog owner who fails to keep the dog under reasonable control or lets it run at large is liable for injuries to a person in a public place or lawfully on someone else's private property, even if the dog had shown no dangerous tendencies. However, if the injury happens on the owner's own residential, farm or other noncommercial property, the injured person must prove the owner knew or should have known of the dog's dangerous propensities. Exceptions include trespassers on the owner's non-residential property, provoking the dog, the dog defending someone from attack, a securely confined dog, and certain police or military dogs. The one-year personal injury deadline applies. Tenn. Code Ann. § 44-8-413 |
| Utah | Strict liability statute. A person who owns or keeps a dog is liable for an injury caused by the dog, whether or not the dog is vicious and whether or not the owner knew it was. Damages are determined under Utah's comparative negligence law. Exceptions include certified police dogs used properly in law enforcement, and injuries to a trespasser (in violation of the criminal trespass law) or another animal on the owner's private property while the dog is reasonably secured in a fence or enclosure. Utah Code § 18-1-1 |
| Washington | Strict liability statute. The owner of a dog that bites a person in a public place, or lawfully in a private place (including the owner's property), is liable for the damages, regardless of the dog's past viciousness or the owner's knowledge of it. It does not apply to the lawful use of a police dog. Rev. Code Wash. § 16.08.040 |
| West Virginia | An owner or keeper who lets a dog run at large is liable for any damage the dog causes to another person or their property while running at large. Bites in other situations are not covered by this statute. W. Va. Code § 19-20-13 |
| Wisconsin | Strict liability statute. A dog owner is liable for the full amount of damages caused by the dog injuring a person, domestic animal or property, subject to comparative negligence rules. If the owner knew the dog had previously, without provocation, bitten someone hard enough to break the skin and cause permanent scarring or disfigurement, the owner is liable for two times the damages for a similar bite. Wis. Stat. § 174.02(1) |
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.