Do you need a licence to look after dogs for money?

Which rules this guide covers

This guide covers England first. It then has a section each for Wales and Scotland, where the licensing rules differ. It does not cover Northern Ireland, so ask your council there.

In England, a council licence is the main requirement for anyone who looks after other people's dogs or cats for money. That includes looking after dogs in your own home and running dog day care. Grooming and dog walking sit outside the licensing scheme.

Boarding and day care in England

You need an animal activity licence from your council if you provide accommodation for other people's cats or dogs as a business. This covers kennels, catteries, home boarding and dog day care. It also covers arranging the accommodation, so an agency or app that places dogs with hosts is caught. Day care is daytime only, so no dog stays overnight.

The council decides whether you are running a business. It looks at whether you sell or trade with a view to a profit, or earn a commission or fee. Looking after a friend's dog for nothing is outside the test.

The trading allowance does not settle the question

Income below the HMRC trading allowance means no licence under Defra's guidance, but a council can still treat low-income care as a business. Ask before you start.

Check planning and home insurance first

If you plan to take dogs into your own home, ask your council's planning team before you apply for the licence. GOV.UK says you may need permission if you expect lots of customers or deliveries. GOV.UK also warns that home insurance may not cover business risks, including customers visiting your premises.

Work through these steps in order:

Star ratings and inspections

The star rating comes from Defra statutory guidance for councils, not from the Regulations. Councils must have regard to that guidance. As a new applicant with no compliance history, you start as high risk. That affects both your star rating and how long your first licence lasts.

What happens if you operate without a licence

Councils enforce the licensing rules. Running a licensable activity without a licence is a criminal offence. A court can also stop you from holding a licence or keeping animals.

Grooming and dog walking in England

Neither grooming nor dog walking is a licensable activity under the 2018 Regulations. Defra published its Post-Implementation Review of the Regulations on 19 December 2024 and kept them as they are. That review does not commit the government to licensing walkers or groomers. The Regulations remain in force unchanged. No licensing of walkers or groomers has been announced.

You still owe every animal in your care a duty of care under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, even for a few hours.

Dog limits and park permits for walkers

No national law caps the number of dogs you can walk. Each council in England and Wales can set its own limit in a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO). Search your council's website for its PSPOs in every area where you walk, because the limit can differ from one park to the next.

Park owners can add their own rules on top of a PSPO. A landowner licence is a permit from the owner and not a statutory licence. The Royal Parks charity is one example.

Insurance, vehicles and waste

No licence condition in England requires public liability insurance for boarding, day care, grooming or dog walking. You may still need it, because a landowner licence can require it and your council may ask for evidence when you apply.

If you carry dogs in a vehicle, Highway Code rule 57 tells you to make sure dogs are suitably restrained. This stops them distracting you while you drive, and stops them hurting you or themselves if you stop quickly.

Defra's statutory guidance for day care and home boarding says dogs must be restrained in transport with a dog crate, transport harness or dog guard. Councils must have regard to it. A day care licence also requires journeys to be planned to minimise the time dogs spend in the vehicle.

Pick up after every dog, because a PSPO can require it. No national rule tells a business where to put dog waste, so ask your council about trade waste before you collect it in bulk.

Pet shops and breeders

Selling animals as pets, breeding dogs and hiring out horses need the same kind of council licence. Keeping or training animals for exhibition needs one too, with no star rating. The pet shop section of the retail licensing guide has the detail on selling animals as pets.

Wales

England's eight-activity scheme and star ratings do not apply in Wales. The Welsh 2021 Regulations license only the sale of animals as pets, and dog breeding has separate Welsh regulations. If you board animals, including in your own home, you need an annual licence from your council under the Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963. PSPOs do apply in Wales, so check your council's dog limits.

Scotland

The Scottish 2021 Regulations cover pet selling, rehoming, animal welfare establishments and breeding. They do not cover boarding, grooming or dog walking. Boarding kennels and catteries need an annual council licence under the Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963. The Act does not define day care, so ask your council whether it applies to you.

PSPOs do not apply in Scotland. Dog fouling there is an offence under the Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003.

Plan your next step

Work out which of your planned services is a licensable activity. What you do first depends on your plan:

• if you will board dogs or run day care in England, ask your council's planning team and licensing team before you buy equipment or advertise
• if you will only groom or walk dogs, check each council's PSPO and any park permit for the places you work
• if you will employ anyone, arrange employers' liability insurance before their first day
• if you earn income from the business, check whether you need to register for Self Assessment

Your council is the right first call. Its licensing team issues animal activity licences and publishes the application form and fees. Ask the same team how it treats day care and grooming parlours. For PSPOs, the council's community safety or anti-social behaviour team can point you to the order for each park.