No, as of January 17, 2024, Oakland Zoo members and Friends of the Wild can visit during regular daytime hours without a reservation. Advanced reservations are no longer required for member entry. For current Zoo hours, including when the entrance closes and when the Zoo is cleared, please visit our Zoo Hours and Pricing page.

If you are visiting with individuals not covered by your member benefits, they will be required to purchase General Admission tickets in advance. Visit our Tickets page for more details and current policies.

The Zoo is occasionally closed for holidays, private events, maintenance, or refurbishment. Visit our Hours & Pricing page for a list of planned closures. We also list planned closures in our Member Tips emails – to ensure you are subscribed, visit our Newsletter page.

The Zoo may be forced to close in the event of inclement weather or any events that cause unsafe conditions for guests or staff. Unplanned closures are announced on the Zoo’s homepage, social media accounts, and outgoing voicemail message (510-632-9525).

Your membership number is 12 digits long and starts with 501. You can find this number in the following locations:

• On a printed membership card above your name
• On a digital membership card underneath the QR code or at the top of the card details, which are visible by touching the “…” icon on an iPhone or the “i" icon on Android
• Underneath the bar code on the Temporary Pass PDF that is attached to online confirmation emails
• On the reply form of renewals sent by mail, or on any renewal email

Memberships expire on the last day of the month, 12 months from purchase. For example, if a membership is purchased January 12, it will expire on January 31 the following year.

Yes, gift memberships may be purchased online. On the Member Information page, enter the gift recipient's information (Name, address, telephone, and email). On the Billing Information page, click "Yes" to the question "Is this a gift?" then enter the gift purchaser's details (Name, billing address, credit card details). The gift purchaser will receive the confirmation email with a temporary pass attached, which you are welcome to share with the recipient so they can use their benefits right away. The digital membership card will be emailed to the gift recipient 2-4 weeks after purchase.

Oakland Zoo partners with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to provide our members with discounted admission at participating organizations. In addition to the AZA program, we also partner with some small, local organizations. Please know that a partner can change their participation in the reciprocal program at any time. We recommend contacting our partners in advance to confirm what benefits you will receive with your Oakland Zoo membership and what you will need to bring in order to receive reciprocal benefits.

The answer to all of these questions depends on your membership level.

Friends of the Wild members have transferrable admission benefits. A single Friend of the Wild membership gives free admission to any four adults and four children per day. A named cardholder does not need to be present for the membership to be used.

Individual-Family Deluxe memberships are non-transferable. A named cardholder must be present for the membership to be used. If a named cardholder is not visiting the zoo on a particular day, their admission benefits cannot be transferred to a guest. Guest admission is only allowed if the Primary member opts to have an adult guest spot in lieu of a named cardholder. This option is available for only Dual, Family Plus, and Family Deluxe memberships. Individual and Family memberships do not include the option for an unnamed adult guest. Our digital membership cards include a list of named cardholders and unnamed guests on the card details.

No. Our memberships give benefits to named cardholders, and one of the benefits for Family, Family Plus, and Family Deluxe members is free admission for up to four children. Your children are not members themselves. We know this is different from other facilities that offer individual annual pass programs (like amusements parks). Our membership structure allows all members to receive equal benefits for their membership fees, regard less of how many children reside in their household. As a named cardholder, you can bring any four children to the zoo–your own children, siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins, or friends. If your child is visiting the zoo with an adult who has their own Family, Family Plus, or Family Deluxe membership, that adult is welcome to use their membership to cover your child’s admission.

Member benefits are non-transferable. The named cardholders listed when a membership is purchased are locked in until the membership is renewed. However, if you have a Dual, Family Plus, or Family Deluxe membership with an unnamed adult guest, you can replace that guest spot with a named adult cardholder. If that case, please email your request to membership@oaklandzoo.org. If mid-year there is a change in your family’s situation, like you’ve hired a nanny, you also have the option to upgrade your membership to add the new adult as a named cardholder.

If you are purchasing an Individual - Family Deluxe level membership, we accept the following forms of payment:

• Credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover)
• Personal check (by mail or on-site only, not available for online purchases)
• Cash (on-site sales only)

If you are making a philanthropic contribution of $1,000 or more, which qualifies you for Zoologist level or other Friends of the Wild benefits, including free daytime admission, these additional forms of payment are accepted:

• Donor advised funds
• Employer matches
• IRAs
• Stock

Learn about more ways to support the Zoo here and about Friends of the Wild here.

Membership fees may be tax deductible, please check with your tax preparer to confirm. Our tax ID number is 94-1687847 and legal nonprofit name is Conservation Society of California. If you need a letter confirming this information, please email your request to membership@oaklandzoo.org.

To prevent fraud, all named cardholders are required to present a valid photo I.D. to staff in order to receive member benefits like free admission. Cross-checking the named cardholders with photo ID is how we enforce member benefits being non-transferrable. If you forget your photo ID, on-site staff are authorized to make a one time exception and accept another item with a printed name as proof of identity (i.e. a credit card, library card, Costco card, etc.).

Members can upgrade their memberships on-site or by phone. The upgrade fee is the full price difference between the membership levels. Upgrade fees are not pro-rated, so if your membership is due to expire in less than six months it may be a better option to renew and upgrade at the same time. If you renew your membership early at a higher membership level, the additional benefits become available right away.

Yes. Be sure to visit the Main Entrance Membership windows before closing (see Zoo hours) to request your upgrade. If you visited the zoo within the last 7 days and did not upgrade during your visit, please use this form to submit your upgrade request. Terms &conditions apply.

If you are a current member and would like to upgrade to a higher membership level, please email membership@oaklandzoo.org  with the details of your request.

Memberships non-refundable. If you are moving out of the area, you may be able to use your membership to visit a reciprocal zoo or aquarium near your new home.

Please send an email to membership@oaklandzoo.org with your previous address, new address, and membership number.

Subscribe online to receive our monthly PawPrints e-newsletter!

For Individual – Family Deluxe level memberships, digital cards are typically distributed 2-4 weeks after purchase. A digital card for your smartphone wallet will be sent by email.  

Members can use their benefits as soon as their purchase is complete. If you purchase a membership online, you will receive a confirmation email which includes a temporary pass attached as a pdf. If you buy a membership at the Zoo, you will receive a printed temporary pass. These temporary passes include your membership number, which you’ll need to make a reservation, and can be used to verify your member status at entry. We try to include member details in many of our email communications as well. If you have misplaced your temporary pass, try searching your email for messages from membership@oaklandzoo.org that include a section titled “For your convenience, here are your current membership details” with the text “This email may be used to verify your member status at entry.”

Adults or children with special needs may be accompanied by caretaker at no additional cost. An adult who requires a caretaker must be a named cardholder on a membership. A child who requires a caretaker must be accompanied by an adult who is a named cardholder on a membership. Please send an email to membership@oaklandzoo.org with details about your situation and to request this designation on your membership record.

The Primary member or gift purchaser are the only individuals who can request name changes on a membership. Please email membership@oaklandzoo.org and provide the correct names for all cardholders. Our staff will correct the mistake in our database and push an update to the digital card. If you haven’t received a digital card yet, we will also provide a new temporary pass by email.

If this membership is a gift, please provide staff with your information (name, address, telephone, and email) as well as the gift recipient’s information (name, address, telephone, and email).

To honor our relationship with our loyal members, the best discount offered is an early renewal offer. This offer arrives approximately four months before a membership expires. This discount is an incentive to renew early and does have an expiration date well before the membership is set to expire. Members do not “lose time” by renewing early–a full 12 months is added to their current expiration date.

Other discounts may be offered as seasonal promotions.

Members can add additional children to their Family, Family Plus, or Family Deluxe membership by paying $35 on-site or by phone. Please note, this option is only available to families who have more than four children in their household. Daycare groups and similar organizations cannot use our Memberships for admission–please email reservations@oaklandzoo.org to inquire about the admission discounts available to groups.

No, there is not a membership that allows for more than 4 named cardholders. If your household or group has more than four adults who would like to independently use member benefits, please purchase multiple memberships. We are happy to assist you in figuring out what is the best level or combination of memberships for your family. Please send an email with details about your situation to membership@oaklandzoo.org.

The Dual is a great option for one adult and one child. If you are a single parent with more than one child, we suggest a Family membership with the second cardholder being a relative or caregiver who is likely to bring your children to the zoo–named cardholders do not need to live in the same household. Another option is to share a Family, Family Plus, or Family Deluxe membership with another single parent.

If there is not another adult who will bring your children to the zoo or another adult you would like to share your membership with, please contact us to request a Single Parent discount. This discount is only available on-site or by phone. You’ll save $10 and receive a membership with free admission benefits for one adult and up to four children. Please note the Single Parent discount cannot be combined with any other discounts or promotional offers.

If your email provider auto-sorts or classifies incoming emails into categories like Promotions, Updates, or Focus/Other, be sure to check all of your Inbox Categories. You can also search for messages from membership@oaklandzoo.org or with the subject line "Your New Membership Card".

We recommend Apple Wallet for iPhone users. Apple Wallet is a native iOS app that is easy to use, reliable, secure, and already pre-installed on all Apple devices:

• Open the invitation email directly from your phone.
• Tap on the "Download Membership Card" button.
• Click on "Add to Apple Wallet".
• A preview will appear. Click on the "Add" button.
• The card will be saved to Apple Wallet and you will be able to access it from the Apple Wallet app.

We recommend Google Wallet for Android users. Google Wallet is a native OS app that is easy to use, reliable, secure, and already pre-installed on most Android devices:

• Make sure the Google Wallet app is installed. If not, you may download it from here.
• Open the invitation email directly from your phone.
• Tap on the "Download Membership Card" button.
• Click on "Save to Google Wallet".
• A preview will appear. Click on "Add" at the bottom of the screen.
• In some cases, Google Wallet might ask you to log in so you can save it to an account. Please log in to continue (no credit card information should be required).
• The card will be saved to Google Wallet and you will be able to access it from the Google Wallet app.

If you have an iPhone, navigate to the back of the membership card by clicking the “...” icon and selecting Pass Details. Then pull down on the screen and let it “pop” back up. You should see a spinning disk icon as the card is updated. Near the top of the Pass Details it should also give the date the digital card was last updated.

If you have an Android phone using Google Wallet, navigate out of your digital card in the Wallet app. Then reopen it in the Wallet app. This will refresh your digital card, and you should see any updates that have been made to the card.

If you have an Android using Passes, navigate to the card details by clicking the “i”. Ensure Automatic Updates is on. Pull down on the screen and let it “pop” back up. You should see the spinning disk icon as the card is updated, then confirm you see “Updated Just Now.”

The name on the front of the membership card is the Primary Member on the account. Additional named adults are listed on the card details, which can be viewed by clicking the “...” icon in Apple Wallet or the “Details" button in Google Wallet. The cards are designed this way because you will need the Primary member’s last name to validate the membership to renew (Friends of the Wild memberships excluded).

If you have an iPhone, navigate to the back of the membership card by clicking the “...” icon and select “Pass Details”. Then use the share icon to send the card to your additional cardholders by email. If you are sharing cards between two iPhones, another option is to send the card by iMessage.

If you are using Google Wallet, there is not an option to share the card inside the app. Please forward the invitation email to your additional cardholders with a note to open the email on their smartphone, then click the “Download Membership Card” button.

If you purchased your membership online, you’re welcome to print and use the pdf temporary pass attached to your confirmation email. If you purchased on-site, you should have received a paper temporary pass printed on receipt paper–if the ink is faded, please email membership@oaklandzoo.org to request a pdf temporary pass that you can print at home. If you don’t have access to a printer, please email membership@oaklandzoo.org to request that a pdf pass be mailed to you. If you do not have access to email, please call 510-632-9525 x160 to make your request.

Please contact us at membership@oaklandzoo.org or call 510-632-9525 x160 to update your record.

If you have an iPhone, the digital card will automatically download to Apple Wallet. Check the app for your new membership card (scroll through any tickets/cards that are already there–it may be hiding!).

If you have an Android, you’ll need to download the WalletPasses app from the Google Play Store prior to downloading your digital membership card.

If you have an ad-blocker installed on your phone or wifi network, it may be preventing the link from loading properly. Please add cuseum.com to your whitelist or temporarily disable your ad-blocker, then try again.

No, there is no penalty to renewing early. Upon renewal your membership will be extended 12 months from your current expiration date.

We want to save you the time and trouble of bargain-hunting. Your best renewal offer will come to you via email 4 months before your expiration date. To ensure you receive this renewal offer make sure the email associated with your membership is subscribed to our mailing list. To re-subscribe please visit https://www.oaklandzoo.org/newsletter and select “Members-Only Invitations & Offers”.

A Pass Validation error means the number entered is not found in our database. If you’ve been using copy/paste to enter your membership number, try typing the 12 digit number instead. Some members have found that copy/paste is adding a space at the end of the 12 digits, which causes the error.

Next, try using the last name of the other named cardholders. The validation system requires the last name of the Primary Member – if you share your membership with other adults who have a different last name, one of them might be listed as the Primary Member. The Primary Member is the person who received your membership cards in the mail or the original digital card by email.        

If manually typing the number doesn’t work or you do not have a 12 digit number starting with 501, please contact us to confirm your membership number and the Primary Member assigned (membership@oaklandzoo.org or 510-632-9525 x160.)

If you want to renew a Friends for the Wild membership, please visit www.oaklandzoo.org/renew and donate $1,000 or more or use one of the other ways to give. Following your donation, our team will update your membership and your digital card.

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Yes. Upgrading with the early renewal offer is a great way to save if your child has turned 2 years old or you want to add an adult guest to your membership benefits.

Your new benefits start immediately! Let's say you're upgrading from Dual to Family with an early renewal offer—you'll be able to start bringing four children to the Zoo for free as soon as you receive your temporary pass by email.

Yes, but the downgrade takes effect immediately and is not available online. Our online system only allows renewals at the same level or higher. Our database replaces an existing membership at the time of purchase, so if you downgrade from Family to Dual, you will lose the ability to bring four children to the Zoo for the remainder of your original membership time period. If you would like to downgrade your membership for the coming year, please renew in person at the Zoo or email your request to membership@oaklandzoo.org.

Yes, however to prevent fraud our online system will not allow you to remove a current cardholder. If you want to remove a cardholder and replace them with a guest spot or a different name, please send an email to membership@oaklandzoo.org with your desired change. We will make the change in the database, then when you renew online your temporary pass will arrive by email with the new cardholders included. Please know that any name changes take effect immediately, so if you remove a cardholder that person will not be able to use membership benefits for the remainder of the original membership period.