StarReady shows you precisely what your inspector will check, what your documents are missing, and what to fix to move up a star rating. Generate your full DEFRA document pack in 15 minutes and know your inspection readiness score before the inspector arrives.
Every licensed kennel and cattery in England must have a full set of written procedures tailored to their specific premises, activities and setup. Most are working from generic templates, out-of-date documents, or nothing at all.
Trade body templates are a starting point but inspectors need documents that reflect your actual premises, your isolation setup, your monitoring method and your specific activities. A Word doc with blanks left in is not compliance.
A 2-star rating means annual inspections and a 1-year licence. A 5-star rating means a 3-year licence. The difference between them is almost entirely documentation. That is a real cost difference every year.
DEFRA updates its statutory guidance regularly. Most operators do not know when a change affects their documents. Your pack goes stale without you realising until an inspector flags it at renewal.
Following a complaint or a licence condition breach, the council can inspect without notice at any time. If your documents are not current and accessible when they arrive, there is no grace period.
New applicants are capped at 4 stars on their first inspection. Most score lower. The reason is almost always documentation. Getting it right first time sets the foundation for every renewal that follows.
If you run your kennel or cattery on your own, there is no colleague to sense-check your documents before you submit them. One missed condition, one outdated procedure, and your star rating pays the price.
Without a system, every renewal means digging out last year's documents, trying to remember what changed, and hoping nothing has been updated by DEFRA since you last looked. Most operators spend days on something that should take an afternoon.
Dog owners search for licensed kennels and catteries. They see your star rating before they see anything else. A 2-star rating next to a competitor's 5-star is a real commercial disadvantage you carry every day until your next inspection.
Tell us about your premises, your activity type, your isolation setup, your monitoring method and your vet practice. Takes under 5 minutes.
StarReady generates all 10 DEFRA-required documents, tailored to your answers and built around the specific conditions your inspector will check.
Upload your licence certificate, insurance, DBS certificates and inspection reports. Your compliance folder gap analysis shows exactly what is still missing.
Your inspection readiness score out of 100 updates as you complete each section. Open StarReady, see your score, know if you are ready. That simple.
From your first document to your 5-star rating. Every tool you need to know where you stand, fix what is missing, and stay ready all year round.
Every document your inspector needs to see, generated in seconds and tailored to your specific premises, activities and setup.
All plansUpload and store your licence certificate, insurance documents, DBS certificates, training records and inspection reports. Everything in one place.
All plansA score out of 100 that reflects your documents, your compliance folder, your profile and your setup. Know if you are ready before the inspector arrives.
All plansSee exactly what stands between you and a 5-star rating. Content-level validation of your documents against every required and optional higher standard.
Pro and aboveLicence expiry countdown, renewal submission tracker and automated reminders at 12, 8 and 4 weeks before expiry. Never miss a renewal window.
All plansEvery document has a dedicated analysis panel showing the DEFRA condition it satisfies, what your inspector specifically checks for, and a content score out of 10.
Pro and aboveLog daily animal checks, feeding records, temperature and observations directly in StarReady. Builds a 30-day timestamped audit trail you can download as PDF and show your inspector.
All plansStarReady checks the DEFRA animal activities licensing guidance page daily. If anything changes, you get an email alert so you can update your documents before your next inspection.
All plansGenerate a read-only link to your full document pack. Send it directly to your council or inspector. No login required. Link expires after 30 days.
Pro and aboveStaff sign off that they have read specific documents. Builds a timestamped audit trail that inspectors like to see for multi-staff operations.
Pro and aboveWalk through every DEFRA condition before your real inspection. Pass, fail or mark not applicable. See your score and identify gaps before the inspector arrives.
Pro and aboveAsk anything about your DEFRA licence, your documents or what your inspector will check. Trained on LAIA 2018 statutory guidance and personalised to your premises.
Premium onlyA pre-application advice session with your council costs from around £100 plus VAT. A compliance consultant charges £400 per day. StarReady starts at £14 per month.
All plans include a 14-day free trial. Nothing charged until day 15. Cancel any time. No long-term contract.
Get your full DEFRA-compliant document pack, compliance folder and inspection readiness score in 15 minutes. Start your free trial today.
Card required. Nothing charged for 14 days. Cancel any time.