An animal bite report form is the document that starts a public health investigation after an animal breaks a person’s skin, and every state requires one to be filed. There is no single national version — you use the form issued by the county or city health department where the bite happened. Most jurisdictions expect the report within 24 to 72 hours, and the fastest way to complete it correctly is to gather the wound, animal, and owner details at the scene, then enter them into your local agency’s online portal or paper form.
Handle the Wound and Gather Information First
Before the paperwork, wash the bite thoroughly with soap and running water for at least 20 minutes.1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Zoonotic Exposures: Bites, Scratches, and Other Hazards This step significantly reduces the risk of rabies and other infections. Then seek medical attention so a provider can evaluate the wound and decide whether stitches or antibiotics are needed.
While the incident is fresh, write down everything you can about the animal: breed, size, color, collar or tags, the direction it went, and any details about the owner. These fade fast, and the form asks for all of it. If you can, get the animal owner’s name, phone number, and address at the scene. Knowing where the animal lives is the single biggest factor in whether animal control can locate it for observation.
Who Files and How Long You Have
In most jurisdictions, healthcare providers who treat bite wounds are required to report the incident to the local health department or animal control agency. That obligation is separate from yours. If you visit an emergency room, the hospital files its own report, but many localities also require the bite victim or the animal’s owner to file independently, and some require all three. If you skip medical treatment, the reporting obligation falls entirely on you.
Deadlines vary. Some jurisdictions require a report by the end of the next business day, others give you up to 72 hours, and a few allow only 24. Check with your local health department or animal control office for the exact window. Missing it can result in fines, and it delays the quarantine process that protects you and your community from rabies.
Where to Get the Correct Form
Each county or city health department uses its own version, and you need the one for the jurisdiction where the bite occurred, not necessarily where you live. Start with your county health department’s website or your local animal control agency’s site. A search for “animal bite report” plus your county name will usually surface the form or an online reporting portal on the first page of results.
Many health departments now offer web-based portals where you type the information directly into a secure database. Others post a downloadable PDF you print, complete, and return. Physical copies are also available at emergency rooms, animal control offices, and some veterinary clinics. If you’re not sure which agency handles bite reports in your area, call your county health department’s main line and they’ll route you.
What the Form Asks For
The layout varies, but nearly every animal bite report form asks for the same four blocks of information: the victim, the animal and its owner, the incident itself, and the reporting party.
Victim Information
You’ll provide the bite victim’s full name, home address, phone number, date of birth or age, and sex. The form asks which part of the body was bitten (arm, hand, leg, face, torso), because bites near the head or hands carry higher rabies risk and can accelerate treatment decisions. Note whether the victim sought medical treatment and where.
Animal and Owner Information
Describe the animal as precisely as you can: species, breed, approximate size, color, sex, and any identifying features like a collar, tags, or microchip number. If you know the owner, provide their name, address, and phone number. If the owner is unknown, describe exactly where the animal was last seen — a street address, intersection, or nearby landmark — so animal control officers have a starting point.
The form will ask about the animal’s rabies vaccination status. If you know the animal was vaccinated, include the date of the last rabies shot and the veterinarian’s name if available. If you don’t know, mark the status as unknown. That answer matters, because an animal with no confirmed vaccination history will face stricter quarantine conditions.2Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Information for Veterinarians
Incident Details
Record the exact date, time, and location where the bite occurred, along with the circumstances. “Playing with neighbor’s dog in their backyard” or “stray approached while jogging on Oak Street” gives investigators useful context that a bare address does not. Note the type of exposure (bite, scratch, or saliva contact on broken skin) and describe the wound’s severity. A deep puncture on the hand triggers a different public health response than a superficial scratch on the forearm.
Filling It Out Cleanly
On a paper form, use black ink and print clearly. Illegible handwriting is the most common reason forms get returned for clarification, and that delay pushes back the start of the quarantine clock. Fill in every field. If a question doesn’t apply, write “N/A” rather than leaving it blank, because a blank field looks like you forgot and the agency may hold the form until you confirm. For online portals, required fields are usually marked with an asterisk, but filling in optional fields — especially the narrative description of what happened — gives investigators a fuller picture.
Wild Animals and Bats Are Handled Differently
Wild animal encounters get handled more urgently than domestic bites. Bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes are the primary rabies carriers in the United States, and rabid bats have been found in every state except Hawaii.3Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rabies in the United States: Protecting Public Health Unlike a dog or cat, a wild animal cannot be quarantined and observed. It needs to be captured and tested. Call animal control immediately so officers can attempt to locate the animal before it disappears.
Bat encounters deserve special attention because bat bites can be so small you might not feel or see them. If you wake up and find a bat in your bedroom, or a bat is found in a room with an unattended child or someone who was sleeping, that counts as a potential exposure even without a visible bite mark.4Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preventing Rabies from Bats Report it and let public health officials decide whether post-exposure treatment is warranted. If possible, confine the bat in a room by closing windows and doors without touching it, and let animal control capture it for testing.
On the report form, describe wild animal encounters the same way you would a domestic bite: species, location, time, circumstances, and wound details. Note any unusual behavior, such as daytime activity from a normally nocturnal species, since that helps officials assess rabies likelihood.
How to Submit the Form
Submission channels depend on your local agency, but most offer several. Online portals are the fastest route because the information reaches the database immediately and can trigger automated notifications to field officers. Many agencies also accept forms by fax, email, or in-person drop-off at the animal control office or a public health building during business hours. A few still accept mailed forms, but mail is the slowest option and risks missing tight reporting deadlines.
After submitting, ask for a case number or confirmation receipt. Some online portals generate one automatically. For fax or in-person submissions, you may need to request it. That case number lets you track the investigation’s progress and serves as proof you reported the incident on time, which is useful for insurance claims and any legal proceedings that follow. Keep a copy of the completed form itself along with the confirmation.
What Your Report Sets in Motion
Filing triggers two things. The animal gets quarantined, and the health department evaluates whether the victim needs post-exposure treatment.
For dogs, cats, and ferrets, the standard protocol is a 10-day confinement and observation period, and it applies regardless of whether the animal has a current rabies vaccination.2Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Information for Veterinarians The reasoning is straightforward: if a dog or cat was shedding rabies virus at the time of the bite, it will develop visible symptoms within 10 days. A healthy animal at the end of that window means the victim was not exposed. During the period, a veterinarian or animal control officer checks on the animal’s condition. Any sign of illness must be reported to the health department immediately, and an animal that develops rabies-consistent symptoms is humanely euthanized and its brain tested at an approved laboratory.5National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians. Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control
If animal control cannot locate the biting animal, health officials will assess the circumstances and advise the victim on whether post-exposure prophylaxis is necessary. PEP involves wound treatment, a dose of human rabies immune globulin, and a series of rabies vaccine injections.6Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Patient Care for Preventing Rabies Treatment needs to begin as soon as possible after exposure to be effective.7Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About Rabies The same recommendation applies when a captured stray tests positive, or when the biting animal was a wild species that could not be tested. Filing the report quickly is what makes that timeline possible.