Apply for a licence to board dogs or cats

Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, if you run a business which provides accommodation to other people's cats or dogs, you must have a licence. This applies whether you run it from a commercial property or your own home.

Boarding licences are split into three categories:

• Commercial boarding - a kennel or a cattery.
• Doggy day care - where you look after them during the day in a commercial property and they do not stay overnight.
• Home boarding - where they stay overnight in your home.

How much a licence costs

You'll also need to pay any vet bills for all of these licences.

What you need to submit with your application

Commercial boarding licences

• A plan of the premises - this doesn't need to be to scale, but should show how it's laid out. It also needs to show dimensions for the animal accommodation, sleeping and exercise areas.
• A copy of relevant insurance policies.
• A preventative healthcare plan signed by the business' vet.
• A copy of the training policy and training certificates held by any staff.
• A copy of the cleaning procedures.
• A copy of the immature animals policy (for cats or dogs under a year old).
• A copy of the separating or grouping of animals policy.
• A copy of the feeding policy.
• A copy of the biosecurity/disease control and prevention policy.
• A copy of the transport policy.
• A copy of the monitoring and ensuring health policy.
• A copy of the isolation policy.
• A copy of the death and escape policy.
• A copy of the emergency policy.
• A copy of the repair and maintenance programme.
• A copy of the enrichment plan.
• If the business is a kennel, a copy of the document used to record individual enrichment plans.
• If the business is a kennel, a copy of the difficult dogs policy.
• If the business is a kennel, you can also include a copy of the noise management plan, but this is optional.
• A copy of the registration or booking form and any other consent forms used.
• If the business is a multi-occupancy cattery, a copy of the document used to record daily behaviour, with particular focus on signs of stress or aggression.
• If it's not a multi-occupancy cattery, you can still submit a copy of the document used to record daily behaviour, but this is optional.

To see what needs to be in the documents, you should check:

•  the cattery supporting documents guidance, and
• the kennels supporting documents guidance.

Doggy day care licences

• A plan of the premises - this doesn't need to be to scale, but should show how it's laid out. It also needs to include the dimensions for accommodation and exercise areas.
• A copy of relevant insurance policies.
• A preventative healthcare plan signed by the business' vet.
• A copy of the training policy and training certificates held by any staff.
• A copy of the cleaning procedures.
• A copy of the immature animals policy (for dogs under a year old).
• A copy of the separating or grouping of animals policy.
• A copy of the feeding policy.
• A copy of the biosecurity/disease control and prevention policy.
• A copy of the transport policy.
• A copy of the monitoring and ensuring health policy.
• A copy of the isolation policy.
• A copy of the death and escape policy.
• A copy of the emergency policy.
• A copy of the repair and maintenance programme.
• A copy of the enrichment plan.
• A copy of the introduction of new dogs policy.
• A copy of the registration or booking form and any other consent forms used.
• A copy of the structured training programme, which must specifically address behaviour in a day care environment.

To see what needs to be in the documents, you should check the doggy day care supporting documents guidance.

Home boarding licences

• A plan of the premises - this doesn't need to be to scale, but should show how it's laid out. It also needs to include the dimensions for designated rooms.
• A copy of relevant insurance policies.
• A preventative healthcare plan signed by the business' vet.
• A copy of the training policy and training certificates held by any staff.
• A copy of the cleaning procedures.
• A copy of the immature animals policy (for dogs under a year old).
• A copy of the separating or grouping of animals policy.
• A copy of the feeding policy.
• A copy of the biosecurity/disease control and prevention policy.
• A copy of the transport policy.
• A copy of the monitoring and ensuring health policy.
• A copy of the isolation policy.
• A copy of the death and escape policy.
• A copy of the emergency policy.
• A copy of the repair and maintenance programme.
• A copy of the enrichment plan.
• A copy of the introduction of new dogs policy.
• A copy of the registration or booking form and any other consent forms used.
• A copy of the document used to record overnight trial stays.
• A copy of the document used to record individual exercise plans for the dogs.

To see what needs to be in the documents, you should check the home boarding supporting documents guidance.

How to apply for a licence

You must check the documents list to make sure you submit the right evidence.

Apply for an animal boarding licence

You need to email your application form and the documents to envhealth@canterbury.gov.uk.

Once you've submitted your application we'll send you an invoice to pay. However, you can choose to pay by:

• Calling 01227 862 427 to pay over the phone or
• Sending a cheque made payable to Canterbury City Council

See details of licensed animal boarding businesses