Dog breeding licence

If you mate dogs with the intention to sell puppies or earn a fee, commission or profit from the sale, you may need a dog breeding licence.

You must have a licence if you do any of the following:

• breed 3 or more litters of puppies in any 12-month period, unless you can prove that none of the puppies have been sold as puppies or adults.
• breed dogs and advertise a business of selling dogs.

Businesses need a licence regardless of the number of litters produced. This applies to both registered businesses and individuals – individuals can also be classed as a business depending on the extent of their activities.

The cost of a licence is £368 plus vet charges for the first inspection. We will only ask you to pay the fee once we are satisfied we have all the required documentation.

Dog breeding rules

• No bitch is mated under 12 months of age
• No bitch gives birth to more than one litter of puppies in a 12-month period.
• No bitch gives birth to more than 6 litters of puppies in total
• No bitch is mated if she has had 2 litters delivered by caesarean section
• Each puppy must be microchipped and registered before selling
• Dogs that have required surgery for exaggerated conformation that has caused adverse welfare or requires lifelong medication must not be bred from
• Appropriate isolation in self-contained facilities must be available for the care of sick, injured or potentially infectious animals. If the isolation facility is at another location, such as a local veterinary practice, you must provide evidence that this is ready to use (for example, a letter from the practice).

Licence conditions

When you apply you will be prompted to upload your procedures or provide information to prove that you can meet the licence conditions. This includes:

• Ofqual level 2 higher, or clear evidence of knowledge and experience
• Written training policy for all staff
• Diet plans
  • Procedure for managing the diet of pregnant bitches
  • A plan or record of the type, quantity and frequency each dog receives
  • Procedure for feeding weaning puppies
• Enrichment plan
• Policy for monitoring the introduction of new dogs coming into the environment
• Cleaning procedures
• Feeding regimes procedure
• Transportation procedure (if applicable)
• The prevention and control of the spread of disease procedure (vaccinations against canine parvovirus, canine distemper, infectious canine hepatitis (adenovirus), leptospirosis and other relevant diseases
• Monitoring and ensuring the health and welfare of all the animal’s procedure
• The death or escape of an animal procedure
• Emergency procedures including but not limited to fire and extreme weather
• Veterinarian details
• Records of any vet visits and records in the absence of faeces/urine
• Puppy socialisation procedure
• Procedure for dealing with dogs that show abnormal behaviour
• Breeding information:
  • Date and time of birth of each puppy
  • The sex, colour and weight of each puppy
  • Placenta passed and number of puppies in litter
  • Any other significant events
• Puppy sale records including microchip number, date of sale and age of puppy at sale
• Breeding dog information:
  • Name, sex, microchip and database details
  • Date of birth and postal address of where it normally resides
  • Breed, type and description
  • Dates of any matings (successful or not)
  • Details of biological parents and any vet treatments and date or cause of death, if applicable.
• Breeding bitches information:
  • Number of matings and age at time of each mating
  • Number of litters and dates on which it has given birth
  • Number of caesarean sections, if any
• Preventative healthcare plan agreed with appointed veterinarian

This list is not exhaustive and extra documents may be required - read the government’s dog breeding  conditions in full for details of all documented procedures.

How to apply

Apply online

Read our privacy notice which tells you how we use your data.

What happens next?

We will review your application within 21 days. If you have not provided your procedures or proof that you can meet the licence conditions with your online application, we will ask you to send these to us.

When we are satisfied we have all the required information we will contact you to pay the licence fee in full.

Once you have paid, we will arrange for an inspector to visit your premises to check that you meet the conditions of the licence. A veterinary surgeon will also be present.

Following this inspection and if all the minimum standards are met, we will issue your licence. This will tell you how long your licence will last and what your star rating is, based on the government criteria. We aim to issue the licence within 10 weeks of receiving the application.

Appeals

If we have made a decision to refuse, vary, suspend or revoke a licence, you can appeal to the General Regulatory Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal.

Star ratings

After inspection, each premise will receive a star rating between 1 and 5, with 5 being the highest rating. To achieve the best possible rating, you will need to have covered all the standard conditions, including all required consents, policies and procedures.

To meet the highest rating, certain higher standards must be met.

Higher standards (required)

• One staff member should not be responsible for more than 10 adult dogs.
• All dogs must be checked at least once at an appropriate interval during the out of hours period (6pm to 8pm) by CCTV or in person. When there are litters, they must be checked in person.
• The licence holder must keep a record of all checks made during both normal hours and out of hours, including the date and time of each check.
• The design and layout of the facility must give the dogs a choice of areas.
• Dogs must be fed twice a day. Each dog must have a feeding plan that balances feeding with food enrichment such as use of scatter feeders. Inspector must see the enrichment tools and plan for each dog.
• A minimum of a week’s supply of the puppies’ current diet must be included when they go to their new home.
• There must be a clear plan setting out 2 forms of exercise per dog each working day for a maximum of 20 minutes each. There must be an alternative form of enrichment planned for dogs which cannot be exercised for veterinary reasons.
• The breeder will ensure all breeding stock or puppies are recorded in the UK with a registration organisation, which must record parent or lineage including coefficient inbreeding and record of health screening test results.
• All bitches must be at least 18 months old before they are used for mating. Kennel Club ABS is 1 year unless there is a breed specific requirement.
• A bitch must not be mated if she is 8 years or older.
• A bitch must not give birth to more than four litters in total.
• A bitch must not be bred from if they have had one caesarean. Kennel Club ABS is 2 caesareans.
• Licence holders must test all breeding stock for hereditary diseases using the accepted and scientifically validated health screening schemes relevant to their breed or type. They must carefully evaluate all test results and follow and breeding advice issued under each scheme prior to breeding.
• No mating must take place if the test results indicate that it is likely to produce health or welfare problems in the offspring or negatively affect the relevant breeding strategy, or both.
• Surgery to correct exaggerated conformation must be reported to the registration organisation.
• A vet must check each puppy before sale. Proof of the check must be held and made available to the buyer.
• A puppy contract must be in place, and include undertakings and warranties around health, vaccinations and socialisation carried out by the seller prior to sale. It must make clear the responsibilities of the buyer relative to the dog. This must give both parties confidence that a transaction has taken place in good faith.

Higher standards (optional) 

• A competent person must be on site at all times.
• Each business must have a full-time, permanent member of staff with an appropriate Ofqual regulated Level 3 qualification.
• Ventilation must be a managed fixed or portable air system to maintain temperatures in all weathers. This can be an air conditioning unit or removable fan installed safely away from animals.
• Businesses must have a noise management plan in place that’s proven to reduce noise for the dogs. Measures can include:
  • Physical barriers
  • Sound absorbing materials
  • Positive reinforcement training to keep barking down
  • Kennel design to prevent noise generation with demonstration of effectiveness
• The breeder must give all details of the sire and bitch to the buyer including:
  • Date of birth
  • Microchip number
  • Registration body, if applicable
  • Details of any inherited diseases that the breed is prone to
  • Any screening tests
• The licence holder must make sure that the microchipping database is amended with the puppy buyer’s details.
• No bitch must be intentionally mated when the Coefficient of Inbreeding (CoI) of the puppies would exceed the breed average or 12.5% (if no breed average exists as measured from a minimum 5 generation pedigree)

Licence variation

To vary your licence please email Environmental.Health@liverpool.gov.uk with your proposals. We will then contact you to pay the licence variation fee. 

On receipt of payment, we will review your proposals and arrange a site visit if this is required, depending on the variation.

If you need further information, please contact us.