Apply for a home dog boarding licence

Overview

If you plan to offer home boarding for dogs as a business, you must apply for a Home Boarding Licence. This applies whether you are boarding dogs overnight or during the day in your own home. You need to complete this form if you would like to legally operate a home boarding service for dogs and ensure you meet the required welfare standards.

You must apply for a licence if:

you board dogs in your home for commercial purposes.
you earn income from boarding dogs, even if it is occasional.
you arrange boarding for others (e.g. via a franchise or pet-sitting platform).
you cannot apply if you’ve been convicted of animal welfare offences or banned from similar activities

You’ll also need to demonstrate compliance with the licence conditions during an inspection.

Restrictions

You will not get a licence if you’ve committed an animal welfare offence or if you’ve been banned from:

hiring out horses
selling pets
boarding cats or dogs
breeding dogs
keeping or training animals for exhibition

Fees

Type of licence	Administration and inspection fee	Licence fee	Total fee
Home boarding for dogs in a domestic setting (this may be during the day or overnight)	£450	£55.50	£505.50
Minor variation e.g. amend animals on licence	£25 per animal up to a maximum of 5 animals	N/A	£25 per animal up to a maximum of 5 animals
Re-assessment of star rating	£81.50 per hour	N/A	£81.50 per hour

Vet fees are payable by the applicant and recharged post inspection to the applicant by the council. A licence will not be granted until fees are paid in full. If no licence is granted only the licence fee will be refunded.

Where two activities are undertaken, fees payable will be the highest total fee plus 50% of any subsequent activity. This does not apply where the activity is a zoo or dangerous wild animal application.

Before you apply

You should read the:

Conditions

The council will inspect your premises before giving you a licence. They may carry out additional inspections any time after it’s granted.

You must prove that you can meet the licence conditions. These include showing that the animals are:

kept in suitable accommodation
given adequate food, drink and bedding
visited and exercised regularly
protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease
protected in case of an emergency, like a fire
looked after by people who are trained to care for the animals

You’ll also need to:

keep any records ready for inspection, for example a register of animals boarded, like dates they arrived and left
display the licence number in any advertising
display the licence clearly on the premises

Fines and penalties

You may be fined an unlimited amount or imprisoned for up to 6 months if you provide or arrange boarding for cats or dogs without a licence or do not follow the conditions of your licence.

Your licence can be taken away if you stop or delay an inspection, and you could be banned from running an animal boarding establishment.

Apply

You will need the following to complete this application:

a plan of the premises
a copy of your insurance policy
operating procedures
risk assessments
infection control procedures
relevant qualifications
training records
all documents relating to 9.1 of the conditions
emergencies as per 10.1 of the conditions

Begin your application

You will need to register for an account on our licencing website before you can apply.

Register now

If you already have an account, you can login and apply.

Login and apply now

After you apply

Once your application is submitted:

the council will review your documents
an officer will contact you to discuss your application and arrange an inspection
if approved, your licence and star rating will be issued and a paper copy will be sent to you
your licence must be displayed publicly and on any website used for your business

Star Rating System

The star rating shows how well a business meets animal welfare standards and how reliably it’s run. A higher rating (up to 5 stars) means better welfare and lower risk, and it allows for a longer licence period.

After inspection, your business will be awarded a star rating from 1 to 5, based on:

welfare standards (minimum or higher)
risk assessment (low or high risk)

Higher ratings (4 or 5 stars) mean:

you meet all required and at least 50% of optional higher standards
you qualify for a longer licence (up to 3 years)
you may benefit from fewer inspections

Lower ratings (1 or 2 stars) may result from minor failings or being a new applicant with no compliance history.

Appealing your rating

If you think your rating is unfair, you can appeal. Start by contacting the inspecting officer to see if the matter can be resolved informally. If you're still unhappy with the outcome, you can send a formal appeal by email to Environmental Health. You must do this within 21 days of getting your licence. Your appeal will be looked at by someone who wasn’t involved in your original inspection or rating.

Requesting a re-assessment

If you've made improvements and want a new rating, you can ask for a re-inspection. Just email Environmental Health and include:

what changes you’ve made
any evidence to support your request

There’s a fee for this service, and the re-inspection should happen within 3 months. Keep in mind that your new rating could be higher or lower.

Renewal applications process

Licence holders should submit a renewal application no less than 10 weeks before the expiry date of their current licence. This allows sufficient time for inspections and processing to ensure continuity of the licence. If you do not wish to renew your licence please let us know.

Useful Links

DEFRA Statutory Guidance for Home Boarding
Star Rating System Explained
Licence Conditions Overview