Animal welfare licences

You must apply for an animal welfare licence if you:

• sell animals as pets
• provide or arrange boarding for cats or dogs
• provide day care for dogs
• breed dogs
• hire out horses
• keep or train animals for exhibition

You must also comply with the:

• Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 – legislation.gov.uk
• licensing conditions

Where to send your application form

Please send you completed form to:

Environmental Health
Woking Borough Council
Civic Offices
Gloucester Square
Woking
GU21 6YL

Licence fees

We charge a licence fee for all licence applications.

Selling animals as pets

This licence covers selling animals in a shop or online. Pet animals include:

• fish
• amphibians
• reptiles
• birds
• mammals

Selling animals as pets application form

Catteries – providing or arranging boarding for cats

This licence is for any premises that provide or arrange overnight accommodation for other people's cats.

Providing or arranging boarding for cats application form

Kennels and home boarding – providing or arranging boarding for dogs

This licence is for any premises that provide or arrange overnight accommodation for other people's dogs in a commercial or residential setting.

Providing or arranging boarding for dogs application form

Day care for dogs

This licence is for any premises or home which provide accommodation for other people's dogs during the day.

Providing or arranging boarding for dogs application form

Breeding dogs

This licence is for breeding 3 or more litters of puppies in any 12 month period. This is with the intention to sell and/or breed dogs and advertising a business to sell dogs.

Breeding dogs application form

Hiring out horses

This licence is for any business which operates a riding school and/or hires out horses and/or ponies.

Hiring out horses application form

Keeping or training animals for exhibition

This licence is for any business which keeps animals for exhibition for educational or entertainment purposes to live or virtual audiences. This includes:

• mobile animal exhibits that visit schools
• weddings
• private parties
• fairs
• other events where an audience is present
• pony parties where the ponies are not ridden
• petting farms

Keeping or training animals for exhibition application form

Renewing your licence

The duration of your licence will be set by our Environmental Health team after they have inspected your premises. The maximum licence duration is 3 years, awarded to highly rated premises.

Before your licence expires, we will contact you with the relevant application forms and notification of fees.

For more information, go to licensing conditions.