Form 1 - Litter registration

Benefits

Registering your puppies with us has many benefits, including: 

• Individual registration documents issued for each registered puppy
• Able to create a FREE Puppy Pack
• The ability to sell your Kennel Club registered puppies through our Find a Puppy service, which performs over 300,000 searches per month
• Free five-week pet insurance for your puppy buyers
• Your registration will remain on The Kennel Club's breed database as a permanent historical record of the breed
• Opportunity to purchase an official Kennel Club pedigree, taking pride in your breeding
• Access to an unparalleled source of information, experience and advice on dog welfare, health, breeding and dog/puppy training

Terms and conditions

• You must own and be the registered owner of the dam at the date of birth of the puppies
• Both the dam and sire must be registered on The Kennel Club Breed Register
• Subject to The Kennel Club's B Regulations and the Breeding and Sale of Dogs Act
• Dam must be over 1 year of age at date of mating
• Dam must be under 8 years at time of birth unless special dispensation has been granted prior to the mating

Delivery

• Once litter has been approved, documents will be dispatched for each of the puppies, usually within 15 working days of receipt of the application
• Any associated products or services will be sent separately
• Please ensure all information is accurately completed, as queries with your application may cause delay
• Once approved, we are unable to cancel the litter (please refer to cancellation policy). Amendments may be considered but will be subject to further charges

Frequently asked questions

How long does the application take?

We aim to deliver within 28 days. However, please note that failure to fully complete the application form and/or include the correct payment will result in delaying the registration process and the application form may have to be sent back to you.

Who can register a litter?

The application must be submitted by the breeder, who is the person(s) who owned the dam at the date of birth of the puppies.

Can any pedigree puppy be registered with The Kennel Club?

Both mother (dam) and father (sire) of the litter must be registered with The Kennel Club. Ownership details of both parents must be correct at time of mating for the stud dog and date of birth for the dam.

Can I register my crossbreed litter?

This application is for the registration of a litter on The Kennel Club Breed Register. However, you can apply to register your crossbreed puppies on the Activity Register.

Do the puppies need to be microchipped?

Whilst it is a legal requirement for the breeder to microchip their puppies before they are 8 weeks old, The Kennel Club will still accept a litter application if the puppies have not yet been microchipped.

Can I make amendments once I have submitted my application?

Amendments may be considered once the litter has been registered, but will be subject to further charges.

I'm finding it difficult to identify my puppy's colour, what should I do?

When you register your puppies with The Kennel Club you must specify their colour. Each puppy is likely to be either a breed standard colour or a non-breed standard colour. You can find out more about what these are and check the lists of these colours on our Breeds A-Z.

If you can’t find your dog’s colour on either of these lists then you can find out what you should do on our ‘other’ colours page.

I did not request to advertise my litter at the time of submitting my application. Is it now too late?

The Find a Puppy advert can be activated after the initial litter application is made. You can request this service and make payment over the phone. 

What are endorsements?

Currently The Kennel Club permits the use of two endorsements on registrations: progeny not eligible for registration and export pedigree not allowed. Neither of these endorsements prevents the dog from being bred from nor sent abroad, but does prevent any litters being registered with The Kennel Club and the dog from being registered by an overseas kennel club.

Key timelines of registering to when puppy leaves.

Whilst there is no time limit for registering your litter with The Kennel Club, to ensure your puppies’ paperwork is available when the puppies go to their new homes, allow at least 14 days for the registration to be approved and for delivery of the paperwork. Puppies registered after 12 months of age will be subject to the late registration fee of £80 per puppy.

Do you accept any matings?

At present the matings we do not accept are:

• father and daughter
• mother and son
• brother and sister

What are the rules regarding naming of puppies?

There are several rules to follow regarding the naming of puppies:

• A name must consist of more than one word but not exceed 24 letters (including a kennel name)
• A name which conflicts with an approved current kennel name granted to another person will not be accepted
• A registered name cannot be repeated within a breed
• The surname of the applicant is not acceptable
• A word cannot be repeated when naming puppies
• If a kennel name is to be used when registering a litter, the kennel name must appear as the first word in the name
• Numbers in figures and initials are not acceptable and abbreviations may be disallowed
• Canine terms are not permissible e.g. 'dog', 'bitch', 'kennel', 'champion', 'Crufts' and specific names of breeds

We have used an overseas sire. Can we register the litter?

You will need to provide us with a certified copy of the Three Generation Pedigree issued by the overseas kennel club. This will need to confirm the pedigree details and the current registered ownership. We require this to be submitted with the litter application. There is a fee to record the sire. If the dog in question has already been recorded, we require no fee or pedigree to be sent, unless, the ownership has changed.

When will The Kennel Club not accept an application?

The Kennel Club Board will not accept an application to register a litter when:

• The dam has already whelped four litters save in exceptional circumstances and only provided the application is made prior to the mating and with veterinary evidence as to the suitability of the bitch involved in the proposed whelping and permission has been received, or
• The dam has already reached the age of 8 years at the date of whelping save in exceptional circumstances and only provided application is made prior to the mating, and the proposed dam has previously whelped at least one other registered litter and permission has been received. Any such application must be supported by veterinary evidence as to the suitability of the bitch involved in the proposed whelping, or
• The dam was under one year old at the time of mating, or
• The offspring are the result of any mating between father and daughter, mother and son or brother and sister, save in exceptional circumstances or for scientifically proven welfare reasons and permission has been received, or
• The dam has already had two litters delivered by caesarean section, save for scientifically proven welfare reasons and this only provided the application is made prior to the mating

What should I do if I have used two sires?

If a bitch is served by more than one dog of the same breed as herself in the same heat, the identity of the correct sire each puppy in the litter must be established via DNA testing in order to register the resulting progeny. For further information about our DNA testing services, please visit our Parentage Verfication product.