Animal boarding licence
You need a licence to board cats or dogs, including:
- providing dog day care
- home boarding for dogs
- running boarding kennels
- running a boarding cattery.
How to apply
To apply for an animal boarding licence or home boarding and day care licence, complete our online form and pay the correct fee.
You are strongly advised to read the guidance notes relevant to your business:
Fees
There are 2 parts to the fee:
Part A - a fee for processing your application, including any appropriate checks.
Home boarding of dogs and day care for dogs
| Number of dogs | Fees |
|---|---|
|
1 to 5 dogs |
£240 plus vet fees where appropriate |
|
6 plus dogs |
£320 plus vet fees where appropriate |
Boarding in kennels for dogs and boarding for cats
| Number of pens or kennels | Fees |
|---|---|
|
1 to 15 pens / kennels |
£240 plus vet fees where appropriate |
|
16 to 30 pens / kennels |
£320 plus vet fees where appropriate |
|
31 plus pens / kennels |
£370 plus vet fees where appropriate |
Part B - an additional fee, if you’re successful in being granted a licence. This depends on the risk rating your establishment receives during its inspection.
Fees
The Part B fee will be:
- £240 if you receive a 1 or 2 star
- £370 if you receive a 3 or 4 star
- £530 if you receive a 5 star.
We offer a pre-application advice service if you need advice and guidance on applying for a licence. The fee for this service is £115. If pre-application advice leads to a licence application, the Part A application fee will be
To book a pre-application advice meeting please email animal.licensing@medway.gov.uk.
Apply and pay the fee
You'll need the following information to apply for a licence:
- your details, including your name and relationship to the business
- the applicants’ details (if different), including name, contact information and address
- emergency keyholder details
- veterinary practice details
- business and premises details, including operating procedures
- staff training details.
You'll also need to tell us about:
- waste and emergency response agreements
- isolation plans
- information about the prevention and control of infectious disease
- accommodation information
- public liability insurance and planning.
Apply for a cats and dogs commercial boarding licence
Apply for a home boarding or day care licence
After you apply
Your application will then be reviewed, and we’ll email a payment request form to you to complete online.
Once you have paid the Part A fee and we have received your supporting documentation and procedures, we'll contact you to arrange an inspection of the premises by one of our licensing officers and, if necessary, an independent vet.
After the inspection, if successful, you'll get a risk rating of either 1,2,3,4 or 5 stars. This will determine how long your licence will last for.
To complete your application and get your licence, you'll need to pay the hourly rate for the vet, where necessary, and your Part B fee. The licence details will also be published in Medway Council’s online Animal Licensing Register.
For more information, you can download our guidance notes.
Inspection reports
You can download and begin to complete the inspection report that will be used by our visiting officers. This will help to speed up the inspection.
Download the inspection report for:
Renewing a licence
If you already have an animal licence, you'll need to renew at least 10 weeks before your existing licence expires.
You can use our online forms to renew your licence.
Licenced premises
View licenced premises in Medway Council’s online Animal Licensing Register.