Animal licences

Animal Welfare Licensing Regulations 2018

Application forms

At present, DEFRA has not published the applications on thegov.uk (opens new window) website. Therefore please select the appropriate application and ideally submit a saved completed copy with scanned supporting documents to environmentalprotect@chichester.gov.uk, alternatively post to:

Environmental Protection Manager, Chichester District Council, East Pallant House, 1 East Pallant, Chichester, PO19 1TY.

Apply for a licence to provide or arrange for the provision of boarding for cats or dogs

Apply for a licence to breed dogs

Breeding and sale of dogs application form part 2 (Word doc, 57 KB)

Apply for a licence to hire out horses

Only horses that are listed on your licence can be used for riding. Please use this form below if you need to add horses during the term of your licence.

Schedule of horses inspected

Apply for a licence to keep or train animals for exhibition

Apply for a licence to sell animals as pets

To pay a fee

Chichester District Council has set the fees that will be charged for licences under the new regulations for the financial year 2025-26 in the table. You can pay a fee by:

Visiting our Pay an Animal Welfare application fee webpage.

BACs transfer.
- Account Name: Chichester District Council,
  Bank: Natwest,
  Account Number: 26121263,
  Sort code: 60-05-24.
Debit card. Please contact our Customer Service Team on 01243 534734.

Please use the Licenced Premises address as your reference. Please note the licence fees change from 1 April 2025. Fees are reviewed annually in line with the Government guidance for setting licence fees, to ensure they cover the costs of operating the licensing function. An administration fee of £25 will be deducted from Licence Application refunds when an applicant makes the decision to no longer proceed with the application. Changes are subject to approval by the Cabinet and the General Licensing Committee.

Fees
Licence Type	Numbers	Licence Fee
Selling animals as pets	N/A	530.00
Franchise Animal Boarding	Home placements	590.00
Home boarding of dogs	1-6	410.00
Dog day care	1-6 (home)	410.00
	1-6	530.00
	7-25	550.00
	26-75	575.00
	76+	595.00
Kennel or Cattery Boarding - dogs or cats	1-6	530.00
	7-25	550.00
	26-75	570.00
	76+	590.00
Hire of horses/donkeys (Vet Inspection is mandatory)	1	535.00
	2-10	630.00
	11-20	695.00
	21+	745.00
New dog breeding establishment (Vet Inspection is mandatory)	1-6 Litters	600.00
	7-11 Litters	750.00
	12+ Litters	915.00
Renewal dog breeding establishment	1-6 Litters	600.00
	7-11 Litters	750.00
	12+ Litters	915.00
Animals for exhibition [3 year licence]	1-5	530.00
Animals for exhibition [3 year licence]	6+ or 3+ species	565.00

Fees for each Licence type
Licence Type	Licence Fee
More than one licensable activity at inspection	-150.00
Appeals requests	200.00
Re-inspection for re-rating requests	190.00
Variation to licence (No Visit Required)	50.00
Variation to licence (Visit Required)	190.00
Processing Dangerous Wild Animal (DWA) application (Vets fees charged separately)	275.00
Add horse to Licence	32.50
Annual Horse Inspection Admin Fee	32.50
Vets fees (where required)	Recharge the licensee of the cost to Authority

Current Animal Licence Register

Current Animal Licence Register (Word doc, 45 KB)

Guidance - what you need to apply for a licence

The Statutory Guidance for each of the licensable animal activities listed below sets out what local authority inspectors will cover at an inspection:

Boarding dogs in kennels
Boarding for cats
Breeding dogs
Day care for dogs
Exhibition of animals
Hiring out horses
Home boarding for dogs
Selling animals as pets
Licensing of dog boarding franchises

Guidance for local authorities on animal activities licensing (opens new window)

Inspections and Star Rating

All premises will be inspected before the licence is granted. The inspector will be looking to make sure the applicant has the following:

a specialist knowledge in the species they are caring for and a clear understanding of its needs and welfare - i.e. mental and physical health, feeding, and knowledge of environmental enrichment.
Comprehensive records that contain all the information required by the conditions that apply to their particular activities.
An understanding of risks involved in caring for the animal, including an extensive risk assessment and written policies and procedures that are reviewed regularly. These documents should be available for the Inspector to examine.
Training procedures in place to make sure staff know what is expected of them, and clear evidence of good supervision of staff.

The inspection findings will be fed into the following scoring matrix which determines both the licence duration (either 1, 2 or 3 years), but also a star rating which will be given to a business. If the applicant is not happy with the decision, they can make improvements to address highlighted issues, submit an appeal, or ask for re-inspection.

Inspection scoring matrix

Welfare standards
Risk	Minor failings	Minimum standards	Higher standards
Low risk	1 Star (1 year licence)	3 Star (2 year licence)	5 Star (3 year licence)
Higher risk	1 Star (1 year licence)	2 Star (1 year licence)	4 Star (2 year licence)

Premises with lower star ratings

A premises with a lower star rating is not necessarily a premises to avoid as there are other factors that have to be considered, such as the length of time the licence holder has been operating. New businesses will be assessed as slightly higher risk simply because there is no history of good practice that can be considered.

Premises with higher star ratings

A premises with a higher star rating indicates that the licence holder has achieved a set of higher standards that are specific to their type of activity. These are defined in the relevant guidance documents.