The keeping and running of animal boarding establishments (catteries and kennels) is controlled by the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) England Regulations 2018 under the licensable activity of providing or arranging for the provision of boarding for cats or dogs.
Any person wishing to carry on the business of providing, or arranging for the provision of, accommodation for other people’s dogs and cats, even if the premises is a private dwelling, must obtain a licence from the local authority.
Conditions
The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has now published procedural guidance for local authorities in relation to the new regulations, along with guidance notes on the conditions that will apply to licences issued to authorise the different licensable activities. The procedural guidance and other guidance notes can be downloaded from the DEFRA pages of GOV.UK.
These include:
- dog boarding
- home boarding for dogs
- dog day care
- dog breeding
- cat boarding
- selling animals as pets
- hiring out horses
- keeping or training animals for exhibition
Application forms
We have tried to make these documents as accessible as possible. If you require a different format, please contact us. You can read our Accessibility Statement on our website.
An animal activity licence application form (Part A) [PDF, 291 KB] can be downloaded, printed and sent to us along with an application form for animal boarding (Part C) [PDF, 519Kb]
Both forms are required for the application.
All documents supporting this application must be supplied within three working days, otherwise the application may be deemed incomplete and be rejected. The application process will not commence until all information has been received.
Home Boarding Arrangers / Franchise Operators
You may add a new host family to an existing home boarding licence using the Home Boarding add Host to Licence application form[PDF, 275Kb].
If you are a new applicant, you may apply for a grant licence for the arrangement of home boarding using the Part A and C of the above form.
Timescale
We aim to process applications within 10 weeks, however this may take longer if further information is required or if it proves difficult to make the arrangements for the inspection.
Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) England Regulations 2018
The Government introduced a significant change with the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) England Regulations 2018. Visit the Canine and Feline Sector Group website for guidance documents to assist businesses in meeting the new requirements set out under those Regulations which came into effect on 1 October 2018.