California Laboratory Animal Use Approval Program: Application and Renewal Procedure
Last Update: June 26, 2007
The California Health and Safety Code (Division 2, Chapter 5, Commencing with Section 1650) and the California Code of Regulations (Title 17, Division 1, Chapter 2, Subchapter 1, Group 5) require that persons (individuals, corporations, or institutions) who wish to keep or use live, warm-blooded animals for education, research, testing, or diagnostic purposes apply to the California Department of Public Health for approval to conduct such activities. Applicants must be capable of and properly equipped to provide humane care and treatment of the animals kept or used.
Laboratories which are subject to federal regulation (USDA/NIH-OPRR) are exempt from State approval, as are animal husbandry activities and private veterinary practice. In effect, because the USDA regulates the use of all warm-blooded animals except birds and rats (genus Rattus) or mice (genus Mus) bred for use in research, only those laboratories which use exclusively Rattus, Mus, and/or birds, and do not receive federal funds to support animal use activities, must register with the California Department of Public Health. Approval is not required to keep or use animals for educational purposes in primary or secondary schools.
Certificates of approval must be renewed annually and changes in location, mailing address, responsible individual, or animal use should be reported promptly to the Department. Application and renewal fees are authorized, but are currently waived for all registrants. The Department does not conduct a routine inspection program. However, inspections may be conducted as a result of complaints from the public or other evidence of inappropriate or unapproved animal use.
Adherence to the tenets and standards of the most current edition of the NIH Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals is recommended as the best means of maintaining State approval. An Application for Approval to Keep and Use Laboratory Animals (click here) must be submitted to:
Animal Use Approval Program
California Department of Public Health
850 Marina Bay Parkway, Room B-153
Richmond, CA 94804
A Certificate of Approval should be received within 30 day of application. If approval is denied, the Department is required to provide in writing the grounds for denial within 90 days of receipt of the application.