Inspectors check whether your daycare meets the minimum welfare standards set out in the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 — and how well you meet them determines your star rating. Knowing exactly what they look for lets you prepare properly.
Who carries out the inspection?
Your local council sends either a council officer trained in animal welfare, a vet, or both. Some councils contract inspections out to private vets. You will usually be given advance notice, though councils can inspect unannounced at any time.
What are they legally required to assess?
The 2018 Regulations specify five welfare needs that every licensed daycare must meet:
- A suitable environment — space, temperature, ventilation, lighting, cleanliness
- A suitable diet — access to fresh water, appropriate feeding if dogs are present at mealtimes
- The ability to exhibit normal behaviour — dogs must be able to socialise, exercise, and rest
- Housing with, or apart from, other animals — appropriate grouping and separation where needed
- Protection from pain, suffering, injury and disease — emergency protocols, vaccination requirements, handling of sick or injured dogs
What do they check in practice?
Your physical space. Inspectors measure or estimate floor space per dog, check fencing heights and security, assess whether the environment is clean and maintained. They'll look at where dogs rest and whether there's separation for dogs that need it.
Your paperwork. This is where many daycares fall short. Inspectors expect to see:
- Current vaccination records for every dog on site
- Emergency contact details for every owner
- A register of dogs present on the day of inspection (and historically)
- Your written emergency and evacuation plan
- Any incident records
- Staff training records if you have employees
Your staff ratios. There is no fixed statutory ratio, but inspectors use the statutory guidance which suggests 1 handler per 6 dogs as a starting point for sociable dogs in appropriate groups.
Your admission procedures. How do you assess new dogs? What questions do you ask owners? Do you run trial sessions? Inspectors want to see that you're making considered decisions about which dogs are suitable.
What are the most common reasons daycares get low ratings?
- Incomplete or missing paperwork (vaccination records especially)
- No written emergency plan
- Inadequate separation between dogs of different sizes or temperaments
- Overcrowding relative to usable floor space
- No evidence of induction or assessment process for new dogs
None of these are hard to fix in advance. The paperwork ones in particular are almost entirely an admin problem — daycares that keep good records consistently score higher.
Genera's records section keeps vaccination expiry dates, owner emergency contacts, and daily attendance logs in one place — which means if an inspector asks for them, you're not digging through folders.