Animal boarding establishment

Any individual can apply for a licence if they can demonstrate that they are:

• a fit and proper person;
• not disqualified from holding a licence (in accordance with Regulation 11 and Schedule 8).  The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 [external link]
• complete the Application for Boarding Application form [pdf document]

You will need to submit the application fee at the same time as your application. For details of fees, please see our licensing fees  page of our website.

A plan and any required procedures/policies must be submitted with the application form.

Once your licence has been granted, you will have to submit a licence fee before the licence is issued to you.

If you are applying for more than one licensable activity at a time, then there is an additional application fee to be paid on application.

Tacit consent does not apply. It is in the public interest that we must process your application before it can be granted. If you have not heard from us within a reasonable period, please get in touch by calling 01325 405888 or email [email protected]

We aim to process your application within 10 weeks of receiving a complete application.  If this target is not met, then the application is not automatically granted.  This means that you can’t start running an animal boarding establishment until a licence has been issued.

Once we have received your application, we will contact you to arrange an inspection.

During an inspection, we will check that you comply with the standard conditions and the conditions for each activity you have applied for:

You will need to meet the requirements of all the minimum standards.

The premises will be risk rated.

The conditions require you to keep and maintain documents and records.

There are also further optional conditions for higher standards.  The higher standards are shown in the activity specific conditions.

In order to achieve the higher standard, you will have to demonstrate that you meet the required higher standards and at least 50% of the optional higher standards.

The risk rating, along with the inspection form, helps us to determine the star rating of the premises. This sets out how long the licence lasts for.

The risk rating cover areas such as:

• history of compliance
• welfare standards, such as provision of enrichment equipment
• management standards, including having a process to recording and acting on customer feedback.

All new business which does not have compliance history with a Local Authority, or a member of a UKAS accredited scheme will be rated as high risk.

The licence can last for 1, 2 or 3 years depending on the outcome of the risk rating and the inspection.

Licences granted for the first time will only last for 1 year (if the standard conditions are met) or 2 years (if the standard and higher standards are met).

• The licence with the star rating and conditions.
• Details of how the business has been rated, including a list of the higher standards the business is failing to meet.
• A copy of the risk management assessment table.
• In addition to conditions, the licence is subject to the Guidance produced by DEFRA which can be found at www.gov.uk/government/publications/animal-activities-licensing-guidance-for-local-authorities [external link]
• Details of the appeals process and timescales.

If you are unhappy with the star rating given to your business, you have 21 days from the date the star rating is awarded to lodge an appeal (this includes weekends and bank holidays).

This process is relevant where you wish to dispute the star rating given as not reflecting the animal welfare standards and risk level of your business at the time of the inspection.  

This process is not relevant where you have made improvements to your business and wish to be reassessed. In this situation, you should apply for re-inspection and a reinspection fee will apply.

Where you wish to lodge an appeal against the star rating given to your business, it is advisable, in the first instance, to discuss this with the Inspecting Officer. This does not form part of the appeals process but provides the opportunity to discuss how the rating was worked out.

If you remain unhappy, or prior to this discussion, you should submit your appeal in writing (including by email) to [email protected]. The request should:

• outline the case for appeal
• indicate what the business has done to improve the level of compliance or welfare since the inspection - this should refer to actions recommended by the local authority
• include supporting evidence, if appropriate

The appeal will be considered by the Licensing Manager. A decision will be issued within 21 days from the date the local authority receives the appeal. Where a revisit is required as part of the appeal process, a revisit fee will be payable (unless the appeal results in a higher rating being awarded).

If you disagree with the outcome of the appeal a challenge may be made by means of a judicial review. You may also wish to make a complaint using the corporate complaints procedure (including taking the matter to the Local Government Ombudsman where appropriate).

Where a rating of 1 to 4 has been given, and accepted by you and you have subsequently made the required improvements to address non-compliance identified during the local authority's inspection, you may apply for a re-rating inspection. You will need to complete the re-inspection form [pdf document].  There is a fee for a reinspection visit, and it should be noted that a reinspection could lead to a lower rating being awarded rather than an increase in rating.

Where a reinspection is requested, it will be carried out within 3 months of the request, unless there is insufficient evidence of the required improvements being made, in which case the local authority may refuse to reinspect the business.

Reinspection requests should be made in writing to [email protected]. The request should:

• outline the case for a reinspection
• indicate what the business has done to improve the level of compliance or welfare since the inspection - this should refer to actions recommended by the local authority
• include supporting evidence, if appropriate

Where a business is unhappy with the outcome of a reinspection it can make a complaint following the local authority complaints procedure.

Any person aggrieved by a refusal to be granted a licence may appeal to a First Tier Tribunal [external link] within 28 days beginning with the day following the date of the decision.  For more information about the appeal process, and the form you'll need to complete, see General Regulatory Chamber's Notice of appeal form and guidance. [external link]

If you wish to vary your licence, please complete the attached variation application form [pdf document] and submit to the Licensing Department along with the fee and any supporting documents.

On receipt of an application, an Officer will be in contact to arrange an inspection.  A full inspection of the whole premises will be carried out to ensure compliance with the conditions and guidance.  The premises will be re-rated which can lead to a lower or higher rating being awarded.

After the inspection, a decision will be made as to whether a licence will be granted or not.

A reminder letter will be sent out three months before the expiry of your licence.  As it may take up to 10 weeks to process your application, you are advised to submit your renewal application in plenty of time.

You will not be permitted to trade once your licence has expired if the renewal application hasn’t been determined.

An arranger licence is required by a business or company who arranges the boarding of animals with host families i.e. home boarding of dogs.  An application must be made to each Local Authority that the business or company has host facilities located in.

The arranger’s licence (franchise holder) will be “star rated”, this will be dependent on the lowest rated licensable host families linked to the business/company. This will also determine the length of the licence.

Some host families may be licensable and need a licence in their own right.  Other host families will fall out of scope therefore they will rely on the licence of the arranger to provide boarding in their home.  Each host family will be assessed to determine if they meet the business requirement therefore need to be licensed.

To apply, the arranger must complete the general animal activity application form and provide any supporting documentation. Fees are displayed at our licensing fees page .  On receipt of the application, an Officer will arrange an inspection of the arranger’s premises and any host families that do not need to be licensed to ensure that the conditions and guidance can be met.  If the conditions can be met, the arranger and host families will be star rated, and a licence issued.

Any host family meeting the business requirement will need to apply for a licence by completing the general animal activity application form.  An officer will inspect the premises to determine if a licence can be issued, the star rating and the length of the licence.

Arrangers and all host families will be subject to at least one unannounced inspection during the duration of their licence and further inspections/visits should complaints be received.

To add a new host family on to an existing licence, please contact the Licensing Authority with full details of the proposed host.  An Officer will decide if they need their own licence.  If the host family is outside of scope, then on receipt of a variation application form [pdf document], an inspection will be carried out to ensure compliance and if approved an amended licence will be issued.  A fee is payable.