Dog breeding licence

How to apply for a dog breeding licence, and information about conditions

Who should apply

You'll need a licence if you:

• breed three or more litters of puppies in a 12 months period
• are breeding dogs and advertising a business of selling dogs

Please note:

Even if you have just the one litter of puppies, either planned or by accident and plan to sell them, consequently advertising them for sale on a website platform you are required to have a licence to do so if your total income will be over £1000.

We may request your advert to be withdrawn from these selling platforms if you are unlicensed and unless sufficient documented proof is received of your expenses proving you will not have an income of £1000, you will be required to apply for a licence.

Exemptions

You won't need a licence if:

• you're keeping dogs under the Animal Health Act 1981
• you're breeding assistance dogs (three or more litters in 12 months) and you can prove that no dogs were sold (as puppies or adults)

Apply for a licence

What happens next?

We will visit you to check your premises is suitable to breed dogs.

We'll then determine your application, and if successful, we'll award a star rating between one and five. An additional fee will then be payable, depending on the length of the licence (one to three years). To find out more, please see our fee document.

Planning requirements

Even if we've issued a licence, you may still need planning permission for dog day care. For further information, please see our planning pages.

Neighbourhood nuisance issues

We have a duty to investigate complaints of nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Even if you’ve had a licence or planning permission granted, if we find your premises to have issues like excessive noise, and odour, this could result in formal action being taken. For further advice, please contact csnn@west-norfolk.gov.uk

Conditions

Mandatory conditions will apply to your licence, and there are some additional conditions in the guidance documents. You can find these at the bottom of the page.

Licence renewals

You'll need to renew your licence at least 10 weeks before it expires. We'll send you a renewal form when it's time for you to renew. Being late with your renewal may mean a break in licensable activity.

You may require a vet inspection for renewals. If so, you'll need to pay the vet's fee.

Further information

For further information, please contact us. Our contact details are below