Animal Licences and Permits

Overview

You require a licence if you operate any of the following businesses:

• Selling animals as pets
• Animal boarding establishment (dog kennel boarding, cat boarding, home boarding of dogs, commercial dog day care)
• Dog breeding establishment
• Horse Riding establishment
• Keeping or training animals for exhibition

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) have produced statutory guidance for all licensable activities that is available here.

Animal activities licensing: statutory guidance for local authorities - GOV.UK

All businesses within scope of these regulations are strongly encouraged to review the statutory guidance for their licensable activities in order to draft written procedures and achieve compliance with the licence conditions. Written procedures relating to the welfare of the animals being cared for must be submitted with the licence application. 

Fees

The fees are variable depending on the duration of the licence. Click below to open our Fees page

• Animal Welfare Licence Fees

Application forms

• Animal Licensing - Selling Animals as Pets - Application Form
• Animal Licensing - Hiring Out Horses - Application Form
• Animal Licensing - Keeping or Training Animals for Exhibition - Application Form
• Animal Licensing - Breeding and Sale of Dogs - Application Form
• Animal Licensing - Animal Boarding - Application Form
• Application for Variation to an Animal Activities Licence

Renewal of Licence

Once you have a licence granted for your business, the Licensing Authority will write and send to you a renewal pack at least before the expiry date of your current licence.

On receipt of the application pack you are required to apply to renew your existing licence and return the application at a minimum of 10 weeks prior to your expiry.

Checks will be carried out by our Health & Safety Team prior to your licence being renewed and therefore you are required to give as much notice as possible by completing the renewal form on receipt to enable these checks to be booked in with you and carried out prior to your licence being renewed.

You may email the application to general.licensing@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

The initial application fee shall be taken at the time of processing the application. The grant fee shall be taken at the time of the grant of licence.