Pennsylvania licenses kennels rather than breeders. Learn the types of kennels before you start your research. Some sellers must have both USDA breeder or broker license and PA kennel licenses.
Types of Kennels
In Pennsylvania you can search for the following kennel types:
- Kennel: A facility where 26 or more dogs are kept, housed, harbored, boarded, sold, or transferred in a single calendar year)
- Commercial Kennel: Facilities that breed/whelp dogs and either transfer ownership of 60 or more dogs in a calendar year, engage in wholesale sales, or both
- Boarding Kennel: Any establishment that houses dogs for compensation (including doggy daycares).
- Dealer Kennel: A facility that sells or transfers dogs either as an owner or agent for a commission, or maintains/transfers dogs at wholesale for resale to another party.
- Out-of-State Dealer Kennel: Anyone residing outside the state who sells, offers for sale, or transfers a dog within Pennsylvania for a fee.
- Nonprofit Kennel: A specific type of licensed non-commercial kennel operated by a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
- Humane Society: Focuses on community education, animal cruelty investigation, and adoption programs.
- Key Difference between Nonprofit Kennel and Humane Society: A nonprofit kennel could be a physical shelter, foster home based, or breed specific kennel. A humane society is an organization that may operate a nonprofit kennel, conduct animal welfare programs, and, in some cases, investigate animal cruelty. While many humane societies operate nonprofit kennels, not all nonprofit kennels are humane societies.
- Municipal Holding Pen: A kennel operated by a local or state government for the temporary housing of stray, abandoned, or seized animals.
- Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: Any nonprofit or legally incorporated society (like the Pennsylvania SPCA) that operates a licensed physical facility capable of housing a minimum of 10 dogs, located off residential property, with the purpose of rescuing and preventing cruelty to animals.
- Service Dog Kennel: A nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that exclusively breeds, trains, and places service dogs to support people with disabilities, and is accredited by an international coalition of nonprofit member programs.
7 Easy Steps to Find Inspection Records
- Start your search here.
- Choose all or any of the search options to find the kennel.
- Type in the kennel license number (typically 5 digits).
- Is the kennel open or closed? If it’s closed, find out why they’re still selling dogs.
- Click ‘details’ to find the license number, status, last year license was issued and license class.
- Look for the last year that the kennel was licensed. And what type and class of kennel they operate. You can review kennel types and kennel class here.
- Download and read all of the reports to see if any type of violations have occurred.
Need help researching?
The goal of this site is to put all of the information in one place and make it free to the public but we know researching a puppy seller, breeder, rescue, or shelter takes time and sorting through public records, inspection reports, and licensing information can be overwhelming. Fetch the Facts offers consumer research services to help make the process easier. Whether you’re looking to support a responsible breeder or want to learn more about a rescue or shelter before adopting, we’re here to help.
Fetch the Facts does not promote or discourage a consumer’s choice to select a specific dog breed, but encourages informed and responsible decisions regardless of where a dog comes from. We believe that supporting responsible breeding practices, ethical rescues, and informed pet ownership can help improve animal welfare and reduce the number of dogs entering shelters over time.
If you are interested in this service please choose from one of the options below:
Puppy Trace Report
This report traces the puppy’s path from its current seller back to the breeder using publicly available records available under federal and applicable state laws. Depending on what information is publicly available, the report may include:
- The seller’s license number
- Seller inspection reports
- The breeder’s and/or broker’s license number
- Breeder and/or broker inspection reports
- Previous business names or aliases associated with the breeder, broker, or seller
- Copies of inspections or enforcement reports
- The transporter’s USDA registration number and any publicly available transporter violations or enforcement records.
This report is based solely on publicly available information and record availability may vary by state, agency and seller.
Not sure how many reports you need?
Review the examples below before submitting your request. Puppies from the same litter and seller can often be researched together, while puppies from different litters or sellers require separate research reports.
Shelter/Rescue Transparency Report
This report reviews a rescue or shelter using publicly available records and information available under federal, state, and local laws (when applicable). Depending on what information is publicly available, the report may include:
- The organization’s registered business or nonprofit name
- State charity or nonprofit registration information
- USDA and/or state license information (if applicable)
- Inspection reports and publicly available violations
- Previous business names, aliases, or affiliated organizations
- Consumer complaints
- Enforcement actions, or legal cases that are publicly documented
This report is based solely on publicly available information and record availability may vary by state, agency, and organization type.