The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 Schedule 3 covers selling animals as pets.

You may need a licence if you sell animals as pets, or keep animals to be sold or resold as pets, as a commercial business. This can include selling animals from a shop, selling online, importing, distributing and selling animals, or buying animals with the intention of selling them on.

Dog breeding is licensed separately. Businesses selling puppies and kittens must also consider the restrictions introduced by Lucy’s Law.

Before you apply

Before making an application, please read the statutory guidance and prepare the policies, procedures, accommodation information and records relevant to the species you intend to sell.

• read the selling animals as pets statutory guidance
• consider using our checklist for selling animals as pets to self audit that you have all required policies or procedures
• prepare written procedures for animal care, cleaning, disease control, transport, emergencies and monitoring.
• prepare details of animal accommodation, including plans, measurements and maximum stocking densities where relevant.
• make sure veterinary registration evidence and healthcare arrangements are available.
• make sure medication, training and staff competence records are available for inspection.
• check that online adverts or websites display required licence holder and licence information once licensed.

Apply for a licence

Use our animal welfare licence application form to apply. The application does not currently have a save draft function, so you should have the information and documents you need ready before starting the application.

We aim to determine new licence applications within 10 weeks of receiving a complete application. Some applications may take longer where further information is needed or where an inspection is difficult to arrange. Existing licence holders should apply to renew at least 10 weeks before the current licence expires.

Apply for Animal Welfare Licence

Inspection

Pet sales premises will be inspected as part of the application and renewal process. The inspection will consider whether the premises, accommodation, staffing, procedures, records and animal care arrangements meet the relevant welfare standards and licence conditions. Species-specific accommodation and husbandry requirements should be checked before inspection.

Please bear in mind that we will star rate your premises on the day of the inspection, those items furnished to the council after the inspection and not available on the premises during the inspection will NOT be taken into account for star rating purposes.

Guidance and useful information

Checklists, templates and records

Pet sales documents

• Checklist for selling animals as pets
• Species accommodation plans and measurements
• Maximum stocking density calculations where relevant
• Veterinary registration evidence
• Species-specific husbandry procedures
• Supplier/source records and animal sale records

Standard documents required by most licence holders

• Preventative healthcare plan template and guidance notes
• Medication record
• Training policy and staff training record
• Isolation facilities template letter to be completed by veterinary practice
• Nominated veterinary practice form

Key pet sales rules to highlight

• selling animals as pets requires a licence where carried out as a commercial business
• the activity can include selling animals in a shop, selling online, importing, distributing and selling animals, or buying animals with the intention of selling them on
• dog breeding is licensed separately
• licence holders must keep required records available for inspection and retain them for at least 3 years from creation
• a copy of the licence must be displayed at the premises and the licence holder’s name and licence number must be displayed on any website used for the licensed activity
• animals must be kept in suitable accommodation with appropriate space, temperature, ventilation, lighting, stocking density, enrichment, hygiene and species-specific husbandry
• staff must be competent and trained to care for the species being sold
• the business must have effective procedures for preventing and controlling disease, including isolation arrangements where needed

Lucy’s Law

Changes to the animal activities licensing regime made it illegal from 6 April 2020 to sell puppies and kittens through pet shops and other commercial third-party dealers. Puppies and kittens under six months old may only be sold as pets if they have been bred by the licence holder.

Zoonoses and infection control

Zoonoses are infections that can pass between animals and humans. Exhibition businesses should consider zoonoses as part of their infection control procedures. We suggest that you examine the list on the Zoonoses - HSE page and consider all those infections relevant to your business. Particular care should be taken where multiple species are exhibited or where animals have direct contact with members of the public.

Fees, star ratings and licence duration

Fees are payable for the grant and renewal of a licence, variations, inspections and other matters where applicable. Pet sales licences are subject to the animal activity star rating system. Licences may be issued for one, two or three years depending on the star rating and risk assessment. New applicants are generally issued with a one-year licence initially because there is no compliance history available.

If you are unsure whether you need a licence

If you are unsure whether your pet sales activity requires a licence, please contact the Licensing team before you apply. We can advise on whether the activity appears to fall within the licensing regime and whether another licence category, such as dog breeding, is more appropriate.