Animal Activities Licensing, boarding & day care

SI 2018/486 · Local authority licensing, England

The statutory license a boarding kennel, home boarder or dog day care in England must hold, carrying a public star rating.

01 What It Is

The same Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 that license dog breeding also license commercial boarding: boarding kennels, dog home boarding and dog day care. Anyone offering these as a business in England must hold a license from their local authority, and running such a service without one is an offense.

02 What It Covers

Operators are licensed and inspected against minimum standards for the activity, covering housing, supervision, hygiene, exercise and record-keeping, with day care, which does not keep dogs overnight, treated as its own category. As with breeding, a baseline of standards must be met for any license, and a set of higher standards sits above it for operators who choose to aim higher.

03 How It Is Checked

Each licensed business is inspected and given a star rating from one to five, set by combining its welfare standards with a risk assessment of its compliance history; the rating determines how long the license runs. A business can appeal its rating within a short window, and pay for a re-inspection if it improves. The rating is public, so an owner can check it before leaving a dog.

04 Why It Matters

Leaving a dog in someone else’s care is an act of trust an owner cannot easily verify. The licensing regime gives commercial boarding a statutory floor, an inspection behind it, and a public rating an owner can read, which turns “licensed” from a claim into something checkable before the kennel gate.

Common Questions

Is it mandatory?

Yes. Anyone offering boarding kennels, dog home boarding or dog day care as a business in England must hold a license from their local authority, and doing so without one is an offense.

Which law is it?

The same Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 that license dog breeding.

What does it cover?

Housing, supervision, hygiene, exercise and record-keeping, with day care, which does not keep dogs overnight, treated as its own category. A baseline must be met, with higher standards above it.

What does the star rating mean?

Each licensed business is inspected and given a one-to-five star rating, combining its welfare standards with a risk assessment of its compliance history, which sets how long the license runs. The rating is public.

Who does it apply to?

Commercial boarding, home boarding and day-care operators in England.

Why does it matter?

Leaving a dog in someone’s care is trust an owner cannot easily verify. The regime gives boarding a statutory floor, an inspection behind it, and a public rating to read before the kennel gate.