How to Open a Pet Shop in Singapore

Last checked against AVS (NParks) and URA pages: September 2026. Rules change, so confirm each point with AVS.

Decide what kind of pet shop you are opening

“Pet shop” covers very different businesses. Decide which one you are before you look at units, because the licences, layout and staffing all differ. If you want to serve food and drinks alongside animals, read how to open a cat or pet café instead.

• Supplies only. Food, treats, litter, toys, beds and accessories. This is mostly retail stock management.
• Live animals. Fish, small mammals, birds, or dogs and cats. AVS’s pet shop licence and animal-specific conditions apply.
• Grooming. Baths, trims and styling, often by appointment. AVS’s grooming standards apply.
• Boarding. Overnight stays while owners travel. This needs a separate AVS boarding licence.

The AVS pet shop licence is issued “to use a premise to keep or display pets for sale”. If you plan to sell supplies only, with no animals kept or displayed for sale, confirm with AVS whether you need a licence. Our guide to opening a retail shop covers the general business steps.

Premises: URA and HDB approvals

This is where pet shops differ from most retail. URA’s list of shop examples puts “pet shop” under uses that the shop category does not include, alongside laundries, petrol stations and bars. So a unit approved as a shop is not automatically approved for a pet shop.

AVS reflects this in its application steps. For a pet shop licence, you need a grant of written permission for the change in use of premises from URA’s Development Control Division. For HDB commercial premises, you also need a letter of approval or no objection from HDB. Check both before you sign a lease, or make the lease conditional on approval. Plan for animal housing, ventilation, wash areas and waste disposal in your layout from the start.

The AVS pet shop licence, step by step

AVS’s application guide sets out the process:

1. Complete the mandatory training. The applicant must attend and pass training on pet welfare and animal management run by an AVS-recognised provider. AVS names Temasek Polytechnic’s Temasek SkillsFuture Academy as the first provider. The certificate is currently valid for life.
2. Get approvals and prepare documents. URA written permission, HDB approval if applicable, and your ACRA documents. The applicant must be the sole proprietor, a partner or a director.
3. Submit on the GoBusiness Dashboard. Include your NRIC, MediSave payable statement, tenancy agreement or letter of intent, a layout plan, an animal management plan covering housing and healthcare, the sources of your animals, and your training certificate.
4. Pass the inspection. AVS inspects the premises before approval.

AVS lists a non-refundable application fee of $94.50 (including GST) and a licence fee of $126.00. It approves the licence within three working days once all documents are received, fees are paid and the premises pass inspection. AVS is clear that you must not display or sell animals before receiving the licence. Self-employed applicants should also be up to date with MediSave contributions, because AVS says applications may be delayed otherwise.

Licence conditions and selling dogs, cats and rabbits

AVS’s licensing conditions vary by animal type, with separate conditions for birds, chinchillas, dogs and cats, fancy fishes, small mammals and other pets. AVS advises reviewing the relevant conditions before designing or renovating the shop, because they may affect your layout and enclosures.

Selling dogs, cats and rabbits brings extra steps:

• Pet shops must assess whether customers are suitable owners before the sale, using the Pet Purchase Declaration (PPD) form.
• Dog and cat buyers complete the online PPD through AVS’s Pet Animal Licensing System (PALS) when ownership is transferred.
• From 1 November 2025, rabbit buyers complete an E-PPD using the Singpass app.
• Under AVS’s retail group pet licence rules, all cats and dogs intended for sale must be licensed under a retail group pet licence in PALS, and the shop must transfer the licence when an animal is sold.

Build these steps into your sales process so they happen at the counter, not afterwards.

Adding grooming services

Grooming brings customers back every few weeks and fills the shop on weekends. AVS’s Code of Animal Welfare for the pet industry, in effect since 1 October 2016, sets minimum standards for groomers. Among them:

• groomers must be properly trained in animal care, handling and breed-specific grooming;
• if an animal is injured or becomes unwell during grooming, the owner must be told and the animal given prompt veterinary attention where needed;
• animals for grooming must not be kept together with animals for sale;
• cats’ whiskers must not be trimmed; and
• care must be taken with blow-dryers to avoid heat stress and scalding.

The Code says failing to meet its minimum standards may be used as evidence in a prosecution under the Animals and Birds Act. Separate your grooming area from any sales enclosures on your layout plan.

Boarding: a separate licence

If you want to offer boarding, AVS’s pet boarding licence has its own process. It also requires the mandatory training, URA written permission and an inspection. Your layout must show cages, a quarantine area, an exercise area, food preparation and wash areas, ventilation and waste discharge. AVS lists an annual licence fee of $100, and no animals may be boarded before final approval.

Retail stock and records

For most pet shops, supplies are the steady earner. Food and litter are repeat purchases, so running out of a customer’s usual brand sends them elsewhere. Track stock by SKU, set reorder points for fast movers, and watch expiry dates on food and treats. Our guide to inventory management systems for retail explains SKUs, barcodes and stock takes.

If you keep animals, the Code of Animal Welfare requires records that keep each animal identifiable and traceable to its source. Records, including medical records, must be kept for at least 2 years or for as long as the animal is in the business’s care. Keep them in a system that survives staff changes.

Choosing a pet store POS

A pet store POS needs to handle retail and services in one place: product sales with barcodes, grooming appointments, repeat customers and loyalty. Our best retail POS comparison sets out options for small shops, and our guide to appointment booking systems covers grooming bookings.

ChaChaCha is a POS for Singapore businesses, powered by AppsPOS, and our retail POS page covers shops. From our facts list, ChaChaCha includes:

• PayNow, PayLah!, NETS, Visa/Mastercard and GrabPay, with split payments
• points and stamps, e-wallet or stored value, vouchers, birthday rewards and WhatsApp marketing
• a queue system with SMS notifications for walk-in grooming
• an online ordering page, and Lalamove for delivering your own online orders
• staff permissions, reports and Xero integration

For grooming appointment booking, pet profiles and expiry date tracking, ask us to confirm what fits your shop. Get it in writing from every vendor, including us.

Pet shop opening checklist

1. Decide whether you will sell supplies, animals, grooming, boarding or a mix.
2. Complete AVS’s mandatory pet welfare and animal management training.
3. Get URA written permission for the change of use, and HDB approval if applicable.
4. Read AVS’s licence conditions for each animal type before designing the layout.
5. Apply on GoBusiness, pass the inspection, and do not display animals until licensed.
6. Set up PPD and PALS steps for any dogs, cats or rabbits you sell.
7. Set up stock, bookings, POS and payments, and train staff before opening.