Breeding and selling puppies in India

The most important first

• No one may breed dogs, or keep dogs for breeding, without a certificate of registration from the State Animal Welfare Board. The certificate is valid for two years and must be renewed.
• A female may not be bred before 18 months, may not be mated after age eight, may have no more than one litter a year and no more than five in her lifetime.
• Puppies under eight weeks may not be sold, and every puppy sold must be microchipped and healthy, with inoculation and deworming details given to the buyer in writing.
• Breeders must keep records in the prescribed forms for at least eight years.
• Pet shops need their own registration under the Pet Shop Rules, 2018.

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 state: registration, inspections and fees are handled by your State Animal Welfare Board and animal husbandry department; ask how they apply the rules where you breed.
• Amendments: the 2017 rules can be amended; check the current text with the Animal Welfare Board of India.
• Imports: import rules for dogs are set at national level and can change; confirm them with the authorities before planning an import.
• Exports: sending a puppy abroad needs the destination’s own requirements — 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

Not confirmed, but worth noting

• Import rules. The government announced restrictions on importing dogs for commercial and breeding purposes in 2016; we could not confirm their current status in an official source.
• The KCI’s own registration rules. We could not open the KCI’s rule documents, so we do not state its limits here.
• Advertising. We did not find a requirement in the 2017 rules to show the registration number in advertisements; check with your State Board.

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 Maharashtra with three breeding females applies to the State Animal Welfare Board for registration before her next planned litter, and puts the renewal date two years ahead in her calendar. She checks each female against Schedule II: the youngest turns 18 months in March, and the oldest, at seven, has had four litters, so she plans one last litter. For every puppy she books the microchip and inoculations before the earliest sale date at eight weeks, and prints the inoculation and deworming dates for each buyer.

(Illustrative, composite scenario.)

Work on it

A few minutes here will teach you more than re-reading the article.

Ask yourself

• Do I hold a current certificate of registration from my State Animal Welfare Board, and when does it expire?
• Does each of my females fit the age and litter limits in Schedule II?
• Does every buyer get the microchip number and written inoculation and deworming details?

Find out & check

• Ask your State Animal Welfare Board how it handles applications and inspections, and which forms it expects for your records.

Do one thing

• Make a one-page record for each female with her date of birth, litter dates and number of litters, and check it before every planned mating.