Advertising and selling rules for licensed pet sellers in England

The specific conditions for selling animals as pets include a set of rules about how animals are advertised, who you can sell to and what you must hand over with the animal. They apply to shop sales, online listings and social media posts alike. This guide sets them out condition by condition.

Every advert must show

Schedule 3, paragraph 2(3) requires any advertisement for the sale of an animal to include:

1. the licence holder’s licence number
2. the name of the local authority that issued the licence
3. a recognisable photograph of the animal being advertised
4. the animal’s age (not required for fish)
5. the animal’s country of residence
6. the animal’s country of origin

This applies to a card in the window, a listing on a classifieds site and a post on social media. The general conditions add that your licence holder’s name and licence number must appear on any website used for the business. Adverts for animals you don’t have yet, generic “we stock” posts and listings without a photo of the actual animal all fall short.

Animals that can’t be sold

Paragraph 5 says the following must not be sold, or sold for resale, as pets:

• unweaned mammals, or mammals weaned too early
• non-mammals that can’t feed themselves
• puppies, kittens, ferrets and rabbits under eight weeks old
• puppies and kittens not bred by the licence holder (since 6 April 2020)

For this purpose a kitten is a cat under six months old. A dog sale must be completed in the purchaser’s presence at the licensed premises, which rules out delivering a puppy or meeting in a car park.

Separately, an animal that is undergoing medical treatment must be clearly marked and not sold, and an animal with a condition likely to affect its quality of life can’t be moved or offered for sale until it has recovered.

What buyers must be told and given

Paragraph 3 covers the advice and information side of a sale. You must:

• sell only equipment and accessories suitable for the animal they’re sold with
• give prospective owners information on feeding, housing, handling, husbandry, the species’ life expectancy, suitable accessories and veterinary care
• display care reference materials for every animal on sale and provide them to prospective owners
• ensure you and your staff are trained to advise buyers about the animals you sell
• tell the purchaser the animal’s species and country of origin and, where known, its age, sex and veterinary record

Keeping a copy of the care sheet for each species, and recording on the sales record that it was given, is the simplest way to evidence this.

Transport home

Animals must be handed to buyers in containers suitable for the species and the expected length of the journey (paragraph 6). The same paragraph requires reasonable efforts to ensure animals you receive from suppliers were transported suitably.

Dangerous wild animals and the public

Animals listed in the Schedule to the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 must be kept in secure, lockable enclosures suitable for the species. Where the public can see or handle animals, signage must discourage disturbance, and housing must minimise stress from other animals and from customers.

Putting it into practice

• Keep a standard advert template per species with the licence number and council pre-filled, and a reminder to add the photo, age and countries.
• Add the licence number to your website footer and your social media profile.
• Record the date of birth or arrival for every animal in the register so the eight-week and weaning rules can be checked at the till.
• Mark treatment and not-for-sale animals in the register and on the enclosure.
• Make the care sheet and advice part of the sales record, with a tick and a signature.

PetCompli’s animal ledger carries the arrival date, age and supplier for each animal, flags animals under treatment so they can’t be sold, and records the advice given with each sale. Book a demo

This guide explains the law and statutory guidance in plain English for licensed pet businesses. It isn't legal advice: check the current legislation and your own licence conditions, and ask your local authority's licensing team if you're unsure. Last reviewed 14 October 2026.