Animal welfare is devolved in the United Kingdom, so England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own breeding law. The four systems share a lot — a council-issued license above a threshold of litters, puppies sold from eight weeks, microchips before sale — but the details differ, and the nation where your dogs live is the one whose rules apply.
The most important first
- In England, Scotland and Wales you need a license from your local council if you breed three or more litters in a 12-month period; England also licenses anyone breeding dogs and advertising a business of selling them, and Wales and Northern Ireland count breeding bitches as well as litters.
- England and Scotland set breeding limits in law for licensed breeders: no mating under 12 months, no more than one litter in 12 months or six in total, and no mating after two cesarean litters. Scotland also stops breeding at eight years, and after one cesarean caused by conformation.
- Across the UK, licensed breeders may not sell a puppy under eight weeks, and every dog must be microchipped and registered by eight weeks of age.
- Licensed sellers in England, Scotland and Wales may not sell puppies they did not breed themselves, and in England and Scotland a licensed breeder’s advertisements must show the license number.
- Northern Ireland also requires every dog to hold an annual dog license, and a puppy must be licensed before a new owner takes possession.
Last updated: November 8, 2026
Rules last checked: November 8, 2026
We checked this page against the official sources listed below on the date above. Rules can change after that date, and no single page can cover every situation, so something that matters to you may have been amended since, or may not be covered here at all. Before you rely on it, check these as well:
- Your nation and council: licensing is run by local and district councils, which set fees and inspect, and may publish their own guidance on how they apply the conditions.
- Wales: the detailed breeding conditions in Wales are applied by your council; ask for the current version before you apply.
- Advertising: advertising rules for licensed breeders and sellers are in the licensing conditions; check the version that applies in your nation.
- Imports and exports: taking a puppy abroad or bringing in a breeding dog needs the destination’s own requirements as well — see export and international sales.
- Business obligations: a breeding business has registration and tax obligations of its own.
Check the current rules at the source before each breeding year and before any sale that is new to you, such as a first litter or a first buyer in another state or country. Ask the authority in writing when the answer matters, and keep a dated note of what you checked and what you were told.
Last updated: November 8, 2026
England
Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, you need a license from your local council if you breed three or more litters in any 12-month period and sell any of the puppies, or if you breed dogs and advertise a business of selling dogs.
Schedule 6 sets the conditions for licensed breeders. A bitch may not be mated if she is under 12 months old, give birth to more than one litter in 12 months or more than six in total, or be mated after two litters delivered by cesarean section. English law sets no upper age. A puppy may not be sold or permanently separated from its mother before eight weeks, except for the health or welfare of the puppy, its littermates or the mother, and it may be shown to a buyer only together with its biological mother. Each puppy must be microchipped and registered to the license holder before it is sold.
Advertisements must include the license number, the council that issued it, a recognizable photo of the dog and its age. A licensed breeder may advertise only dogs bred by them, from the premises where the dog was born and reared. Since April 6, 2020, under the change known as Lucy’s Law, the conditions for licensed pet sellers in Schedule 3 also bar selling puppies they did not breed themselves. The wider rules on limits are compared in litter limits and age rules.
Scotland
The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 require a license for breeding three or more litters of puppies in any 12-month period, and count selling or supplying those dogs as part of the breeding activity. The conditions in Schedule 6 are stricter than England’s on age and cesareans: a licensed breeder must not mate a bitch under 12 months or aged eight or more, must not let her have more than one litter in 12 months or six in her lifetime, and must not mate her after two cesarean litters, or after one if the cesarean was needed because of her or her puppies’ conformation.
The sale rules match England’s: no puppy sold or permanently separated from its mother under eight weeks, puppies shown only with their biological mother, microchip and registration to the license holder before sale, and the license number, issuing council, a recognizable photo and the dog’s age in every advertisement. Licensed sellers may not sell puppies they did not breed.
Wales
Under the Animal Welfare (Breeding of Dogs) (Wales) Regulations 2014, you need a license if you keep three or more breeding bitches and, in any 12-month period, breed three or more litters, advertise or supply puppies from three or more litters, or advertise a business of breeding or selling puppies. The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Wales) Regulations 2021 cover selling animals as pets: a licensed seller may not sell puppies under eight weeks, or puppies not bred by the license holder at the premises.
The detailed conditions for licensed breeders in Wales are set by the 2014 regulations and applied by your council. Ask your council for the current conditions before you apply.
Northern Ireland
Under the Welfare of Animals (Dog Breeding Establishments and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013, you need a license from your district council if you keep three or more breeding bitches and, in any 12 months, breed, advertise or supply three or more litters, or advertise a business of breeding or selling puppies. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs says hobby breeders with one or two breeding bitches do not need one.
The license conditions in Schedule 4 differ from Great Britain’s. A breeding bitch may not be mated until she is over 12 months old, give birth to more than three litters in any three years, be bred on consecutive heats, or have more than six litters in total, and may not be mated after eight years old unless a veterinarian certifies her first. The breeder must keep ownership and possession of each puppy until it is at least eight weeks old, microchip every puppy before eight weeks and be its first registered owner, and give the new owner the details needed to update the microchip database.
Every dog in Northern Ireland must also hold a dog license from the council, renewed every 12 months, and must be microchipped before the license is issued. According to NI Direct, taking possession of a dog before it is licensed is an offense, and so is giving or selling it.
Microchips in every nation
Across the UK, all dogs must be microchipped and registered on a government-approved database by the time they are eight weeks old, and the owner must keep the details up to date. Licensed breeders in England and Scotland must register each puppy to themselves before sale; record the chip numbers in your kennel records and hand the transfer details to each buyer.
Taking a puppy abroad
Since Brexit, a dog leaving England, Scotland or Wales for the EU needs an animal health certificate from a veterinarian, a microchip fitted before or at the rabies vaccination, a rabies vaccination given from 12 weeks of age and a wait of at least 21 days after it. A pet passport issued to a resident of Great Britain cannot be used; residents of Northern Ireland can use an EU pet passport. The owner signs a declaration that the dog will not be sold or rehomed while abroad, so selling a puppy to a buyer abroad falls under the separate export rules for live animals. See exporting puppies and international sales and the European Union page for the EU side.
What the kennel clubs say
The Royal Kennel Club will not register a litter if the dam was under one year old at mating, had reached eight years at whelping, has already had four litters, or has already had two litters delivered by cesarean section. Exceptions for an older dam or a fifth litter need an application before mating, with veterinary evidence. It also does not register puppies from father–daughter, mother–son or brother–sister matings, unless there are exceptional circumstances and permission was given.
These are registration rules: they decide whether puppies can be registered, and apply on top of the law in each nation.
Source: The Royal Kennel Club, Form 1: litter registration. National kennel clubs may set stricter rules.
Last updated: November 8, 2026
Rules change, so always check with your own kennel club.
Not confirmed, but worth noting
- Breeding limits in Wales. We could not confirm in the Welsh regulations whether licensed breeders in Wales face limits on mating age, litters per year or cesareans like those in England and Scotland. Ask your council.
- What counts as a “puppy” under Lucy’s Law. The ban on selling puppies you did not breed is often described as covering dogs under six months; we did not confirm that age in the text we read.
We could not confirm these points in the official text on the date checked, so treat them as questions to put to your authority, not as rules.
Last updated: November 8, 2026
In practice
A breeder in Scotland with three bitches plans her third litter of the year and realizes it will take her over the licensing threshold. Before the mating she applies to her council, checks each bitch against the Scottish limits — including the upper age of eight and the rule on cesareans caused by conformation — adds the license number, council name, a photo and the puppies’ age to her advertisement template, and books microchipping so every puppy is registered to her before it goes home at eight weeks or later.
(Illustrative, composite scenario.)
Work on it
A few minutes here will teach you more than re-reading the article.
Ask yourself
- Which nation’s rules apply to my dogs, and how many litters and breeding bitches will I have in the next 12 months?
- Does every advertisement I publish meet the rules in my nation?
- If I sell a puppy abroad, do I know which rules apply?
Find out & check
- Call your council’s licensing team and ask for the current breeding conditions and how they count litters and breeding bitches.
Do one thing
- Make a 12-month plan of planned litters per bitch and check it against your nation’s licensing threshold and breeding limits.
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Sources & further reading
- legislation.gov.uk — The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, Schedules 3 and 6 (latest revised version). legislation.gov.uk
- legislation.gov.uk — The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021, Schedules 1, 3 and 6. legislation.gov.uk
- legislation.gov.uk — The Animal Welfare (Breeding of Dogs) (Wales) Regulations 2014, regulation 5. legislation.gov.uk
- legislation.gov.uk — The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Wales) Regulations 2021, Schedule 3. legislation.gov.uk
- legislation.gov.uk — The Welfare of Animals (Dog Breeding Establishments and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013, Schedule 4. legislation.gov.uk
- Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs — Council licensing of dog breeding establishments. daera-ni.gov.uk
- NI Direct — Dog licensing and microchipping. nidirect.gov.uk
- GOV.UK — Get your dog or cat microchipped. gov.uk
- GOV.UK — Taking your pet dog, cat or ferret abroad. gov.uk
- The Royal Kennel Club — Form 1: Application for registration of a litter. thekennelclub.org.uk
Where evidence is limited, recommendations rest on established practice and expert judgment, and may be updated as knowledge develops. This is general information, not legal or financial advice: requirements differ between jurisdictions and change over time — confirm the current rules with the authority named here and have your own situation reviewed by a qualified professional where you breed.
Next steps
- Read next: Breeding and selling puppies in the European Union.
- Related: Litter limits and age rules · Pre-breeding regulatory checklist: what to confirm before you breed.
- Return to the area hub: Becoming a responsible breeder.