Apply for a licence for breeding dogs
You will need a licence if you do either or both of the following:
- Breeding three or more litters of puppies in any 12-month period.
- Breeding dogs and advertising a business of selling dogs.
Exemptions are listed in the regulations and guidance is available.
Each licence is subject to a set of mandatory general conditions and a set of mandatory specific conditions which are listed in the regulations and guidance.
Premises can be awarded 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 stars.
Licences can be granted for one, two or three years.
The length of licence issued and the number of stars awarded will be dependent on the outcome of a risk assessment and also the number of additional required higher standards and optional higher standards that are met. This will be assessed during an inspection by Melton Borough Council’s appointed Officer. Premises licensed for this activity will require an inspection by an appointed veterinarian on first application in the company of Melton Borough Council's appointed Officer.
The licence specific; required higher standards; and optional higher standards; are listed in the Defra guidance documents.
How to apply for a licence
You must submit to us the following:
- A completed application form (the application form is available to download from the downloads panel below.)
- Plan (opens in a new tab) – an overhead view of the premises with dimensions, labelling sleeping and run areas including entrances, fire exits, fire extinguishers or first aid boxes (if applicable). This can be a sketch/line drawing and does not need to be to scale.
- The application fee
You will need to ensure you have the necessary authorisation under the Planning Acts to operate your business. Please contact the planning team or visit pages on planning permissions for further advice. You can also seek advice from Environmental Health.
Contact details
Licensing Team: licensing@melton.gov.uk
Planning Team: developmentcontrol@melton.gov.uk