Several licence conditions can only be met with a written document. Inspectors ask for them by name, and “we do it, we just haven’t written it down” is a common reason for falling short of the minimum standard. This guide lists the documents the general conditions require of every licensed pet seller in England, what each should contain, and how to keep them useful rather than ornamental.
The documents the regulations name
| Document | Required by | What it must cover |
|---|---|---|
| Staff training policy | Schedule 2, para 4(4) | How staff are trained to recognise normal behaviour, signs of pain and illness, and to care for the animals you keep |
| Written procedures | Schedule 2, para 9(1) | Feeding regimes, cleaning regimes, transportation, prevention and control of disease, monitoring and ensuring health, death or escape of an animal, care of animals if the licence is suspended or revoked, and during an emergency |
| Emergency plan | Schedule 2, para 10 | Fire; failure of heating, ventilation, aeration or filtration; evacuation measures; an emergency contact list including the fire service and police; a key holder who can attend |
| Cleaning procedures | Schedule 2, para 5(3) | What is cleaned, how, how often and with what |
Staff must know the procedures (para 9(2)), so each document should be short enough to read in a tea break and specific enough to follow. A procedure nobody has read is a gap, not evidence.
1. Staff training policy
- Who needs what training: the licence holder, managers and every person caring for animals.
- Induction content: species kept, daily checks, signs of illness and distress, handling, cleaning and biosecurity, what to do in an emergency, and how to advise customers (Schedule 3 requires staff to be trained to advise buyers).
- Refresher training and how often.
- How training is recorded (see the records you must keep).
- Who signs off that someone is competent to work unsupervised.
2. Feeding procedure
Per species or group: what is fed, how much, how often, how new food is introduced, how intake is monitored and what’s recorded, how food is stored and prepared hygienically, and how fresh water is provided and checked.
3. Cleaning procedure
Daily spot cleaning, full cleans, disinfection between occupants, which products are used and why they’re safe for each species, filter and equipment maintenance for aquatics, and how it’s recorded. Link it to the cleaning schedule template.
4. Transport procedure
How animals arrive (what you ask suppliers for, how you check animals on arrival, how you record it) and how they leave with customers (suitable containers for the species and journey length, as Schedule 3 requires). Include what you do with an animal that arrives unwell.
5. Disease prevention and control
Quarantine or settling-in arrangements for new arrivals, hand hygiene and barrier measures, isolation facilities and when they’re used, how disease is prevented from spreading between enclosures, waste disposal, and which vet you’re registered with and when to call them.
6. Health monitoring
The daily check: who does it, what they look for by species, how often vulnerable animals are checked, what’s recorded, and the trigger points for isolating an animal or seeking veterinary advice. The regulations require veterinary advice to be sought and followed when signs of problems appear, so say how that happens.
7. Death or escape of an animal
What staff do immediately, how it’s recorded in the register, how a body is dealt with, when a vet is informed, and for escapes how the building is secured and who is told.
8. Care of animals if the licence is suspended or revoked
The regulations ask you to plan for what happens to the animals if you can no longer trade. Typically this names who would care for them, where, and how they’d be rehomed or returned to suppliers.
9. Emergency plan
Must be acceptable to the local authority and known to staff. Cover fire, loss of heating, ventilation, aeration or filtration (what equipment you rely on, what the alarms are, what the fallback is), evacuation of animals (what goes where, in what), the emergency phone list with the fire service and police, and the designated key holder who can reach the premises within a reasonable time. Doors and gates must be lockable.
Keeping policies alive
- Date and version every document. Record who approved it and when it’s next due for review.
- Keep the old versions. If a procedure changed after an incident, you should be able to show what applied at the time.
- Link policies to the animals they cover. A reptile shop and a small-animal section need different feeding and cleaning procedures; one generic document rarely meets the standard.
- Make them site-specific where premises differ. The emergency plan in particular has to match the building.
- Review when something changes, not just once a year: new species, new enclosures, new staff roles, a new vet.
PetCompli stores each policy with its version history and approval, links it to the animal categories and sites it covers, and reminds you when a review is due.
Frequently asked questions
Do pet shop policies have to be written down?
Several do. Schedule 2 requires a written staff training policy, written procedures covering feeding, cleaning, transport, disease control, health monitoring, death or escape and care during suspension, and a written emergency plan acceptable to the local authority.
How often should pet shop policies be reviewed?
The regulations don't set a review period, but inspectors expect documents to be current and to reflect what actually happens on site. An annual review, plus a review whenever something changes (new species, new layout, new staff roles), is the usual approach.
Sources
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.