Boarding animals licence

No person may keep a boarding establishment for animals without first obtaining a licence from the Council; this includes home boarding establishments.

Anyone looking after a dog or a cat in their own home, kennel or cattery, requires to be licensed even if the animal is not staying overnight. The licence requires a licensee to comply with certain conditions and guidance in order to keep the animals safe; this includes not mixing animals from different households. Day Care facilities have different conditions.

A home boarding licence will not be issued to anyone with children 5 years old or under living in the premises. A dog home boarding licence will not be granted to anyone with a resident cat. A cat home boarding licence will not be granted to anyone with a resident dog.

All licensed kennels and catteries will have their licence on display and home boarders should show their licence if requested. Pet owners should ask to see the licence before leaving their pet with anyone, if they are unable or unwilling to show their licence, it may mean that the premises are unlicensed.

Please contact Perth and Kinross Council Animal Welfare Team if in any doubt; alternatively check the current list of licensed premises in Perth and Kinross below.

Current list of licensed premises

Licenced boarding kennels and catteries

Licenced dog day care Premises

Licenced home boarding premises             

Applying for a licence

Application for a licence must be made to the Council and a licence may be issued if the applicant is not disqualified under any of the following Acts:

• Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963
• Pet Animals Act 1951
• Protection of Animals (Amendment) Act 1954
• Protection of Animals (Cruelty to Dogs) (Scotland) Act 1934
• Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999

To make an application to keep a boarding establishment for animals, download an application from the options listed below and return to the Animal Welfare Team, Housing and Communities, Perth and Kinross Council, Pullar House, 35 Kinnoull Street, Perth, PH1 5GD. You must include the application fee at the same time the application is made. The fee from 1 April 2026 is £252.

• Animal boarding application form (Word) (Word doc, 207 KB)
• Home boarding application form (Word) (Word doc, 207 KB)
• Dog home boarding conditions (Word doc, 217 KB)

Where a licence is granted, that licence and any subsequent licence will expire on the 31 December of the year to which the licence relates and must be renewed before that date if the premises are to continue as an animal boarding establishment.

Council duties

Before being granted a licence the applicant must be able to demonstrate to the Council's Licensing Inspector:

• that the animals will at all times be kept in accommodation suitable in respect of construction, size of quarters, number of occupants, exercising facilities, temperatures, lighting, ventilation and cleanliness
• that animals will be adequately supplied with suitable food, drink and bedding materials, adequately exercised, and (so far as is necessary) visited at suitable intervals
• that all reasonable precautions will be taken to prevent and control the spread of infectious or contagious diseases, including the provision of adequate isolation facilities
• that appropriate measures will be taken to protect the animals in case of fire or other emergency, including the provision of suitable fire fighting equipment
• that a register containing a description of any animal received into the establishment, the date of arrival and departure, and the name and address of the owner will be kept, and that the register will be available for inspection at all times by a Licensing inspector or by a Veterinary Surgeon or Veterinary Practitioner authorised by the Council

A licence may be refused or withheld on other grounds if those grounds are such that conditions were not suitable for the boarding of animals.

Each licence issued is subject to standard conditions that are imposed on all animal boarding establishments licensed by the Council.

In addition to the standard conditions, a licence may also contain special conditions that are only applicable to your premises.

Your right of appeal

Any person aggrieved by a refusal to be granted a licence or by any conditions to which a licence is subject may appeal to the Sheriff Court who may give such directions regarding the licence or its conditions as it thinks proper.

Offences and penalties

The following offences and penalties apply to the keeping of animal boarding establishment.

• anybody found guilty of keeping an animal boarding establishment without a licence may be subject to a fine not exceeding £500 or to three months imprisonment or both
• anybody found guilty of failing to comply with the conditions of their licences may be subject to a fine not exceeding £500 or to three months imprisonment or both
• anybody found guilty of obstructing or delaying an Inspector, or authorised Veterinary Surgeon or Veterinary Practitioner in the exercising of their powers of entry may be fined up to a maximum of £500

If found guilty under this Act, the defendant's licence may be cancelled and they may be disqualified from keeping an animal boarding establishment for such length of time the Court thinks fit.