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Do you need a licence, insurance or a DBS check to pet sit in the UK?

The rules are genuinely confusing and most of what is written about them is wrong. Here is what actually applies, and when.

The short version

If you care for animals in the owner's home, you almost certainly do not need an animal activities licence. If you take animals into your own home or premises for payment, you almost certainly do.

That single distinction accounts for most of the confusion in this area.

When a licence is required

Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, these are licensable activities:

• Boarding dogs or cats in kennels or a cattery
• Home boarding — taking dogs into your own home overnight
• Dog day care — taking dogs into your premises during the day
• Breeding dogs (above the relevant threshold)
• Selling animals as pets
• Hiring out horses
• Keeping or training animals for exhibition

House sitting, pet sitting and dog walking carried out in the owner's home are not on that list. If you stay at a client's house and look after their dog there, the boarding regime does not apply to you.

Where people get caught out is drift. A dog walker who starts keeping two dogs at their own house between walks has begun day care, and that is licensable. If you are unsure which side of the line you are on, your local authority's licensing team will tell you, and asking is free.

Scotland and Wales operate under separate instruments — Scotland has its own 2021 regulations, and Welsh reform has been in progress. Do not assume the English position applies; check with the relevant authority.

Insurance

There is no legal requirement to hold insurance to pet sit, but working without it is a poor idea and most serious clients and platforms expect it.

The cover that matters:

• Public liability — the dog you are walking causes a road accident, or you damage a client's property. This is the big one.
• Care, custody and control — covers the animal itself while it is in your charge. Standard public liability often excludes this, which is exactly the gap you need filled.
• Key cover — you hold client keys; losing them can mean paying for locks.

Specialist pet-sitting policies bundle these and start at a few pounds a month. Read what the care, custody and control section actually covers, because that is where policies differ most.

Insurance is a regulated area and this is general information, not advice on any specific policy. Check the policy wording and, if the stakes are high, speak to a broker.

DBS checks

There is no legal requirement for a DBS check to work with animals — the regime exists for work with children and vulnerable adults.

It is still worth having. You are being given keys to people's homes, and a basic DBS certificate is a cheap, verifiable answer to the trust question. A basic check costs £21.50 and anyone can apply for their own; you do not need an employer to do it for you.

Some platforms verify identity or run their own checks. Those are not the same as a DBS certificate, and it is worth being clear with clients about which you actually hold.

Practical order of operations

1. Work out whether animals will ever be at your premises. If yes, contact your council's licensing team before you start trading.
2. Get public liability cover including care, custody and control.
3. Get a basic DBS certificate and mention it in your profile.
4. Write down what you will do in an emergency — vet details, owner contacts, who pays — and agree it with the owner in advance.

The last one has no legal force and matters more than people expect.

Last reviewed 1 August 2026.