How to start a dog grooming business in the UK

Do you need a licence?

In England, no. Dog grooming is not one of the activities covered by the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018. Those regulations license selling pets, boarding cats and dogs (including home boarding and dog day care), hiring out horses, dog breeding and keeping animals for exhibition. Councils such as Cumberland list dog grooming among the activities that do not need a licence, and the Pet Industry Federation says the same.

There is one catch. If you keep dogs for long periods during the day, your council may treat you as a day care business, and dog day care does need a licence. Defra’s 2024 review of the regulations records councils’ concerns about “grooming parlours which retain the dog for long periods of the day”. The industry grooming guidelines promoted by the Pet Industry Federation say not to keep a pet longer than 3 hours unless you hold a day care licence.

Wales licenses pet selling under its 2021 regulations, not grooming. In Scotland, the Scottish Government described grooming as unregulated in its 2023 consultation, and 82% of responses supported licensing groomers. Check the current position before you start if you are in Scotland.

Qualifications and training

No qualification is legally required. You will still want one. Salons that rent out grooming tables usually ask for a practical qualification, the industry guidelines recommend at least a Level 2, and owners trust a groomer who can show one.

The two main routes are City & Guilds and iPET Network.

Adults aged 19 or over in England can apply for an Advanced Learner Loan to pay for a Level 3 course. The iPET Network Level 3 Certificate in Dog Grooming and Introduction to Styling is assessed by portfolio, needs no prior qualification and is approved for Advanced Learner Loans until 31 July 2027. Training providers set their own prices for it.

Registering with HMRC

Most groomers start as sole traders. If your gross trading income goes over the £1,000 trading allowance in a tax year, you must register for Self Assessment. The deadline is 5 October after the end of the tax year in which you started, and HMRC can charge a penalty if you register late. Your return and any tax are then due by 31 January.

• The Personal Allowance is £12,570, and basic rate tax is 20% on income between £12,571 and £50,270 (2026 to 2027).
• You must register for VAT if your turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000.
• Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies if your turnover is over £50,000 from April 2026, over £30,000 from April 2027 and over £20,000 from April 2028.
• Setting up a limited company instead costs £100 online at Companies House.

If you groom from home, you can claim a proportion of household bills or use HMRC’s flat-rate simplified expenses.

Home salon, mobile van or rented table

Grooming from home

You do not automatically need planning permission. The Planning Portal’s test is whether there is a “material change of use”. You will probably need permission if your home is no longer mainly a private home, if there is a marked rise in traffic or people calling, or if the noise or smell causes a nuisance. You can apply for a Certificate of Lawful Use if you want certainty. GOV.UK also warns that you may need permission from your mortgage lender or landlord, that your home insurance may not cover the business, and that business rates may apply to the part of the home you use.

A mobile grooming van

UK converters publish prices from about £8,500 plus VAT for a conversion that plugs into the customer’s power, up to £12,750 to £14,900 including VAT for a self-contained setup with its own water heating. Startup cost guides put van plus conversion at £15,000 to £48,000. Waste water must go to the foul sewer, never a surface water drain, and you need motor insurance that covers business use.

Renting a table in someone else’s salon

This is the cheapest way to start. Published examples range from £40 to £70 a day, or a share of turnover such as 35%.

If you take on premises, check small business rate relief. In England, a single property with a rateable value of £12,000 or less pays no business rates. Apply through your council.

Insurance

• Public liability: not a legal requirement for a sole trader, but every customer and salon will expect it.
• Care, custody and control: covers the dog you are working on, such as vet bills after a clipper nick. Published limits range from £5,000 to £25,000 per dog.
• Employers’ liability: a legal requirement as soon as you employ anyone outside your close family, with at least £5 million of cover. The fine for going without is up to £2,500 for every day.
• Equipment cover for clippers, dryers and tables, especially in a van.

Insurers advertise grooming policies from about £5 a month. One startup cost guide estimates £200 to £400 a year for a typical package.

Startup costs

These are published estimates from startup cost and grooming software companies, not independent surveys, so treat them as a guide.

Add a Level 3 course if you need training (about £3,400 to £4,800), insurance and booking software. A website on our Founders’ Offer is £200 to build and £20 a month.

What to charge

Two booking platforms publish UK averages from real bookings. Tuft looked at 15,029 bookings in February 2026. GroomSlot looked at 483 live price lists in September 2026.

Both report higher prices in London and the South East, by 15% to 40%. GroomSlot says mobile groomers usually charge £10 to £25 more. Most solo groomers handle 4 to 6 dogs a day. At five medium dogs a day, five days a week, that is roughly £1,250 to £1,375 a week before costs, so price for the hours a groom really takes, including the clean-up.

On demand: UK Pet Food’s 2026 survey estimates 15.5 million pet dogs in 41% of UK households. PDSA’s 2025 report, which measures differently, puts it at 11.1 million.

Health, safety and welfare

The Animal Welfare Act 2006 applies to anyone in charge of an animal, even temporarily, so it applies to you while a dog is on your table. You must take reasonable steps to meet its needs, including protecting it from pain, injury and distress.

For a grooming business, your local council enforces health and safety law, not the HSE. Write a risk assessment using the HSE’s five steps (it must be written down once you have five or more employees), maintain electrical equipment safely, and plan for noise from dryers and for hair and dust. HSE’s guidance on infections from animals also covers hand washing, and it notes a rise in Brucella canis cases in imported dogs.

Finding your first customers

Grooming is a local, repeat business. A happy customer books every 4 to 8 weeks for years, so the first 30 to 50 regulars matter most.

1. Set up your Google Business Profile. It puts you on Google Maps when someone searches “dog groomer near me”. Mobile groomers should hide their address and list the areas they cover. Google says a service area should not stretch beyond about 2 hours’ drive.
2. Ask every customer for a Google review. Send the link after each groom. Google does not allow you to ask only happy customers or to offer anything in return, so ask everyone.
3. Get a simple website. When we researched local businesses in Sussex this autumn, dog groomers were the trade most likely to have no website at all. Many had 50 to 90 five-star reviews and only an Instagram page. A site with your prices, area, photos and a booking button lets new owners choose you without messaging first.
4. Use booking software. UK options include Tuft (free plan, Pro from £29 a month billed annually), Savvy Pet (from £25 a month) and Fresha. US tools such as MoeGo and Pawfinity charge in dollars.
5. Tell the people who meet dog owners. Local vets, pet shops, dog walkers and trainers are useful referral partners, and local Facebook groups are where many owners ask for recommendations.