Most people who start a dog boarding business already love dogs and have been asked by a friend or neighbour to look after theirs. The dogs are the easy part. The rest is licensing, planning, insurance, pricing and getting bookings to come in without the phone ringing all day. This guide takes those in the order you'll need them, for the UK and the US.
Step 1: choose your model
"Dog boarding" covers three quite different businesses.
Home boarding
Dogs stay in your house as part of the family. Start-up costs are low, but the number of dogs you can take is limited by your home and your licence, and you live with the business around the clock.
Kennels
Purpose-built accommodation, usually on a rural or semi-rural site. You can take far more dogs, but you need land, buildings, planning permission and staff.
Doggy daycare
Dogs come for the day and go home at night. Income is steadier because regulars book every week, but you need space for groups to play, and daycare is licensed separately from boarding.
Plenty of businesses combine these, typically daycare with some boarding. If you're deciding between them, we compared the numbers in daycare vs boarding: which is more profitable.
Step 2: check licensing before you spend anything
In the UK, boarding other people's dogs as a business needs a licence.
- England: your council licenses kennels, home boarding and day care under the 2018 Animal Activities Licensing regulations, with star ratings and licences of one to three years.
- Scotland and Wales: councils license boarding under the Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963, including home boarding.
- Northern Ireland: boarding establishments are licensed by DAERA.
- Republic of Ireland: there's no specific boarding licence, but planning permission and general welfare law apply.
The conditions shape everything else: how many dogs you can take, how much space each needs, staff ratios and the records you keep. Read them before you buy kennels or convert a room. Our UK and Ireland licensing guide covers each country, with costs and the conditions inspectors check most.
In the US there's no national licence. Requirements are set by states, counties and cities: some states license boarding kennels, and most areas need a general business licence and zoning approval. Start with your city or county business licensing office and your state's department of agriculture.
Step 3: planning permission or zoning
A licence isn't planning permission. In the UK you need planning permission if your business is a "material change of use", for example if your home stops being mainly a home, visitors or traffic increase noticeably, or there's noise at unreasonable hours. Purpose-built kennels need full planning permission. Small-scale home boarding is often fine, but there's no national threshold, so ask your local planning authority early. In the US, check zoning: many residential zones restrict how many dogs you can keep and whether you can run a business from home.
Talk to your neighbours too. Barking is the most common source of complaints, and complaints are what bring the council round.
Step 4: insurance
You'll want cover for the dogs in your care (often called care, custody and control cover), public liability, and employer's liability if you take on staff. Specialist pet business insurers offer packages for kennels, home boarders and daycares. Ask how vet fees for a boarded dog are covered, what happens if a dog escapes, and whether walking dogs off site is included.
Step 5: work out your prices
Price from your costs and your local market, not from what feels comfortable. Work out what a night costs you to deliver (staff, food, heating, cleaning, insurance, your own time), then look at what other licensed businesses nearby charge. Decide how you'll handle:
- peak pricing for Christmas, Easter and the summer holidays
- discounts for a second dog from the same household
- late collection and extra services such as medication or bathing
- deposits, which you should take for every booking
Our guide to setting boarding rates goes into the detail.
Step 6: is it profitable?
Boarding profit depends mostly on occupancy. You'll be full in August and over Christmas and much quieter in January and February. Do your sums at a realistic average occupancy across the year, not at peak. As a simple example: if you have 10 places at £35 a night and average 50% occupancy, that's about £64,000 of revenue a year (10 × 365 × 0.5 × £35) before costs. At 70% it's about £89,000. Small changes in occupancy matter more than small changes in price.
Daycare is a common way to fill the quiet months, because regulars come in every week regardless of holidays.
Step 7: write your policies
Write these before your first booking, not after your first problem:
- Vaccinations: what you require and when certificates must be provided. See our vaccination policy guide.
- Cancellations and deposits: notice periods and what's refundable. See writing a cancellation policy.
- A waiver and terms and conditions, covering emergency vet treatment and consent to share accommodation or play in groups.
- Which dogs you'll accept: entire males, bitches in season, reactive dogs, puppies.
Licensed businesses in England also need a written emergency plan and procedures for feeding, cleaning and disease control.
Step 8: set up bookings and records
Decide how bookings will come in before you advertise. A paper diary works for a few clients, but you'll quickly want clients to book and pay a deposit online, vaccination certificates uploaded before arrival, and the animal register your licence requires kept up to date without extra typing. Setting this up properly from the start is much easier than moving later. If you're comparing systems, our roundup of kennel management software and our article on free options will help.
Step 9: get your first customers
- Set up a Google Business Profile with clear photos, your opening hours, your licence and your star rating.
- Ask your first customers for reviews straight after their dog goes home. Our Google reviews guide has wording that works.
- Introduce yourself to local vets, groomers, dog walkers and trainers. They get asked for recommendations all the time.
- Offer a trial stay or a meet-and-greet, so nervous owners and dogs can see the place first.
- Put your booking link everywhere: website, Facebook, Instagram and your email signature.
Step 10: plan for staff
You can start on your own, but licence conditions set maximum ratios, for example one person to 10 dogs for home boarding and day care in England, and one to 25 in kennels. Plan when you'll need help, especially for holidays and sickness. We've written about hiring and training kennel staff for when you get there.
Where KennelBooker fits
KennelBooker is built for exactly this: online bookings with deposits from your website and Facebook page, vaccination tracking with alerts, digital waivers and questionnaires, peak pricing applied automatically, and the records a licensed business needs. Boarding, daycare, grooming and training are all in every plan, so you don't change systems as you add services. Plans start at $49.99 a month, there's no contract, and the 14-day trial needs no card.
Frequently asked questions
Can I run a dog boarding business from home?
Yes, many people do. In England it's licensed as home boarding, and the conditions include a designated room for each dog or household, direct access to a private and secure garden, two secure barriers between any dog and an exit, and a maximum number of dogs set on your licence. Wales also requires a licence for boarding at home. Check planning rules with your council too.
How profitable is a dog boarding business?
It depends mostly on occupancy, your nightly rate and your staffing costs. Boarding is seasonal, with full weeks at Christmas and in the summer and quieter months in between, so work out your numbers at realistic average occupancy rather than at peak. Adding daycare can smooth out the quiet months.
How much does a dog boarding licence cost?
In England, councils set their own fees. 2026 examples range from about £260 for home boarding at Test Valley to £700 or more at some councils, and over £1,000 where vet inspection fees are added. Our UK licence guide has more examples.
Do I need qualifications to start dog boarding?
The England licensing guidance expects licence holders and staff to be competent, with training records kept for staff. Check what your council looks for before you apply.
What is the most profitable dog business to start?
There isn't one answer. Daycare can produce steady weekly income from regulars, boarding earns more per dog but swings with the seasons, and grooming needs less space but more skilled labour. Many successful businesses combine two or more. We compared daycare and boarding in detail in a separate article.