Dog daycare licence application checklist (England)
The inspection is easier when every document is ready before the inspector arrives. This checklist is taken line by line from the Defra statutory guidance for dog day care, with the numbers that are checked on the day. Copy it and tick it off.
Dog daycare licence application checklist
Before you apply
[ ] Application form for your council, and the fee (see the fee table for your council) [ ] A list of every premises you use for the business [ ] Public liability insurance in place [ ] Planning permission or a check that you do not need it
People
[ ] Licence holder holds a relevant qualification (for example Ofqual Level 2), or can show progress within 12 months and completion within 2 years, or has relevant experience [ ] Written training policy for all staff, including the licence holder, reviewed every year [ ] Training record for every member of staff, with evidence of completion [ ] Enough staff for no more than 10 dogs per person (8 per person for the higher standard) [ ] A key holder who lives within about 30 minutes of the premises
Written procedures
[ ] Feeding [ ] Cleaning [ ] Transport [ ] Preventing and controlling disease [ ] Daily health and welfare checks [ ] Death or escape of a dog, including storing a body [ ] Care of dogs if the licence is suspended or revoked, or in an emergency [ ] Dogs under one year old, kept separate unless the owner consents in writing [ ] Introducing a new dog to a group [ ] Enrichment programme agreed with each owner
Emergencies
[ ] Written emergency plan, acceptable to the council, known to everyone on site, covering fire, heating or ventilation failure and moving dogs if the premises cannot be used [ ] Policy for extreme heat, cold and abnormal weather [ ] Emergency drills tested at least once a year [ ] Isolation space, or evidence that off-site isolation is ready (for example a letter from a vet practice) [ ] Registered vet named
Records for every dog
[ ] Dates attended [ ] Name, age, sex, neutered or not, microchip number, breed or description [ ] Owner and emergency contact details [ ] Normal vet and insurance details [ ] Medical and behavioural history, including parasite treatment and any exercise limits [ ] Diet [ ] Vaccination record: distemper, infectious canine hepatitis, parvovirus and leptospirosis, primary course finished at least 2 weeks before the first day (or a recent titre certificate) [ ] Dates of last worming and flea treatment, and any current treatment [ ] Pre-admission screening record [ ] Signed consents: shared feeding, crate use, under-ones mixing, special diets [ ] Records kept for at least 3 years, backed up if electronic
The premises on the day
[ ] At least 6 square metres per dog, inside and outside counted together [ ] Sleeping areas kept between 10°C and 26°C [ ] Sleeping space at least twice the space a dog needs to lie flat [ ] At least as many water bowls, feeding, resting and enrichment items as dogs in each area [ ] At least 2 secure barriers between any dog and an exit [ ] Fencing mesh no larger than 50 × 50 mm square (or 75 × 50 mm chain link), wire at least 2 mm thick [ ] Crates used for no more than 1 hour in any 8 [ ] Faeces removed at least twice a day; waste bins emptied daily [ ] Bowls cleaned daily and disinfected at least weekly [ ] No more than 6 dogs walked at once
For four or five stars
[ ] Written plan for two walks a day per dog of at least 20 minutes each (or two sessions in a secure open area) [ ] Written alternative enrichment plan for dogs that cannot exercise on vet advice [ ] All required higher standards met, and at least half of the optional ones, such as one full-time member of staff per 8 dogs, a full-time member of staff with an Ofqual Level 3 qualification, a structured training programme, and documented human interaction through the day
After the licence is granted
[ ] Licence displayed in a public area such as reception [ ] Licence holder's name and licence number on your website
Why it is written this way
Where this comes from
Every line is from the Defra statutory guidance for dog day care, which councils must follow when they inspect. Your council may ask for extra documents with the application form, so check its own page too.
A new business can get four stars at most
A new applicant without a year of compliance history is automatically rated higher risk, so the first licence is four stars at most even if every higher standard is met. Meeting them now still matters: it sets you up for five stars at renewal.
Records are what takes time
Most of the policies are written once. The records for every dog are kept every day and checked on unannounced visits. Keeping them in your booking system rather than on paper means they are complete, backed up and easy to show an inspector.
Questions owners ask
QWhat documents do I need for a dog daycare licence?
QHow much space does a dog daycare need per dog?
QWhat qualification do I need to run a dog daycare?
Sources
Duncan
Founder of Genera and owner of Duncan's Dog Co
Duncan has run Duncan's Dog Co, a licensed dog daycare in Surrey, since 2011. Genera is the software he built to run it, shaped by what actually works day to day, not theory.
More free reference pages
Where Genera comes in
Genera keeps the records your licence asks for against every booking: vaccinations, consents, vets and emergency contacts, ready for an inspector.