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What does a five-star licence cost a dog daycare?

Five stars is the top licence rating a dog daycare in England can hold. Getting it means a tighter staff ratio, and that costs money every day you open. Put in your own numbers to see how much, and what the longer licence gives back.

DDuncanPublished 12 October 2026Figures checked
Five stars costs you£31,572 a year
1

Your daycare

£
2

Your team

£

National Living Wage is £12.71 from April 2026.

%
3

Your licence

£

Find yours in the fee table: generasoftware.com/research/dog-daycare-licence-fees

What five stars costs you

£31,572

a year in extra wages to go from one member of staff per ten dogs to one per eight: 1 more on the floor.

Staff at one to ten3
Staff at one to eight4
Extra cost per dog per day£4.38

Or keep the same staff

3 staff can take 24 dogs at one to eight, so you would turn away 6 a day: £46,080 a year in turnover.

What five stars gives back

£900

licence fees saved over three years, where the fee is the same for any length

1 not 3

unannounced inspections in three years

The licence saving is £900 against £94,715 of extra wages over the same three years. Five stars pays when you already run close to the higher standards, or when it lets you charge more.

The rules behind the sum

Staff ratio and licence length by standard (Defra guidance)
Required standardHigher standard
Dogs per member of staff10 or fewer8 or fewer
Star rating available1 to 3 stars4 or 5 stars
Licence length1 or 2 years2 or 3 years
Unannounced visitsAt least 1 a licenceAt least 1 a licence

With the defaults, 30 dogs a day needs three staff at one to ten and four at one to eight. The fourth person costs £31,572 a year in wages and employer costs at the 2026 National Living Wage. Keep three staff instead and you can take 24 dogs, not 30: six dogs a day at £32, or £46,080 a year in turnover given up.

That is the trap. The daycare doing it properly either pays more or earns less, then has to charge more than the one that does not, and customers comparing on price cannot see the difference. Check how your council rates daycares near you in the star ratings by council and what your licence costs in the fee table.

Questions owners ask

QWhat staff ratio does a five-star dog daycare need?
The higher standard in the Defra dog day care guidance is at least one full-time member of staff for every eight dogs. The required standard is one for every ten. Meeting the higher standards is the only way to a four or five star rating.
QHow long does a five-star dog daycare licence last?
Three years, with at least one unannounced inspection in that time. Three and four stars give a two-year licence, and one or two stars a one-year licence.
QCan a new dog daycare get five stars?
Not on its first licence. A new applicant without a year of compliance history is automatically rated higher risk, which caps the first licence at four stars even if every higher standard is met.

Sources

  1. Dog day care licensing: statutory guidance for local authorities (Defra)Staff ratios at the required and higher standards.
  2. Animal activity licensing process: statutory guidance for local authorities (Defra)The scoring matrix, licence lengths and unannounced visits.
  3. National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates (GOV.UK)£12.71 an hour from 1 April 2026.
D

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 is the booking and invoicing software Duncan built to run his own five-star daycare. It holds you to the daily numbers on your licence and keeps every dog's vaccination dates where an inspector can see them.

See it for daycaresPricing