St. Johns County Pet Waste & Leash Law, Explained

Local Rules · 5 min read

If you live in Nocatee, Ponte Vedra Beach, World Golf Village, Palencia, or anywhere else in St. Johns County, there's an actual county ordinance covering both leashing your dog and picking up after it — with real fines attached. Here's what it says.

The Leash Law

St. Johns County operates under its Leash and Dangerous Dog ordinance (County Ordinance 2017-36). The short version: any dog off its owner's property must be leashed or otherwise physically restrained in a way appropriate to the animal, and it has to stay under the direct control of its owner or handler at all times. This applies on sidewalks, in parks, and anywhere else outside your own yard — including most common areas inside gated communities.

The Pet Waste (Pooper-Scooper) Ordinance

St. Johns County also has a countywide pooper-scooper law. Under it, an animal is legally considered a public nuisance if it deposits feces on property that isn't its owner's, and the owner or handler doesn't clean it up. This covers neighbors' yards, sidewalks, common areas, parks, and trails — basically anywhere other than your own property.

What It Actually Costs

The fine schedule for violations is real and escalates fast:

• 1st violation: $75
• 2nd violation: $150
• 3rd violation: $250
• 4th violation: $500, plus a mandatory court date

These fines apply per incident, not per year — so a household with an off-leash dog that repeatedly leaves waste on a neighbor's property can rack these up quickly.

HOA Rules Usually Go Further

The county ordinance is the floor, not the ceiling. Nearly every planned community in St. Johns County — Nocatee, Ponte Vedra Beach's gated neighborhoods, World Golf Village, Palencia — layers its own, often stricter pet rules on top of the county code: mandatory poop-bag stations at every corner, waste removal within your own fenced yard (not just shared spaces), leash requirements even in "off-leash" looking common areas, and in some communities, documented proof of a professional waste-removal service as part of an ARC or violation response. Some HOAs issue their own fines separately from the county's, meaning a single incident can trigger both an HOA notice and a county citation.

The Simplest Way to Stay Compliant

The county ordinance only covers waste left on other people's property — but HOA violation notices are frequently triggered by waste that builds up visibly in a resident's own yard, especially in newer, tightly-packed developments where neighbors and landscaping crews can see directly into the yard. A scheduled removal service keeps a yard consistently clean, which solves both problems at once: nothing tracks off the property to trigger a county complaint, and nothing piles up to trigger an HOA one.

Check your ZIP for exact pricing and get your first cleanup free on our quote page.