Vaccine requirements for boarding and daycare

Read this first

This is general information, not veterinary advice. Requirements are set by each individual facility and vary widely, even between neighbours. Always confirm directly with your vet and with the facility before you book. Where a facility's policy differs from anything below, the facility's policy is the one that governs whether your pet is admitted.

Only rabies is required by law

In most of the United States, rabies is the only vaccine required by statute. Everything else — DHPP, bordetella, influenza, leptospirosis — is the facility's own admission policy, not a legal requirement.

A small number of jurisdictions go further. New York City, for example, sets a specific list in its Health Code and a six-month bordetella window. Most places do not.

Practical effect: two facilities on the same street can have genuinely different requirements, and both are correct.

Dogs

Vaccine	Covers	Typical interval	How often asked
Rabies	Rabies	1 or 3 years	Always
DHPP / DA2PP	Distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza, parvovirus	1 or 3 years	Always
Bordetella	Kennel cough	6 or 12 months — the facility decides	Always
Canine influenza	H3N2 / H3N8	2-dose series, then annual	Increasingly, in cities
Leptospirosis	Lepto	Annual	Common in urban areas

Cats

Vaccine	Covers	Typical interval	How often asked
Rabies	Rabies	1 or 3 years	Always
FVRCP	Rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, panleukopenia	1 or 3 years	Always
FeLV	Feline leukaemia	Annual	Where cats are housed together

Some facilities want a FeLV/FIV test result rather than the vaccine, and some want both. Worth asking which they mean, because a vaccination record will not satisfy a request for a test.

Ferrets

Rabies annually, and canine distemper using a ferret-approved product — canine formulations are not safe for ferrets. Both are usually required by any facility that accepts them, and many do not.

Rabbits

No vaccines are legally required in the United States. RHDV2 is available under a conditional licence and availability varies a great deal by state — some western facilities require it, most in the northeast do not ask.

If you have been reading UK or European guidance: myxomatosis and RHD combination vaccines are routine there and are not available in the US. A US facility cannot require what a US vet cannot supply.

What facilities do ask about instead: a recent health check, whether the rabbit is desexed if it will be housed near others, and whether it is part of a bonded pair that must not be separated.

Small mammals, birds and reptiles

No vaccines exist for guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, gerbils or chinchillas. Birds and reptiles have no routine vaccines either. In place of a vaccination record, expect:

A recent veterinary health check, often within six or twelve months
For birds, sometimes a health certificate and questions about psittacosis
For reptiles, a parasite screen
Detailed husbandry questions — temperature, lighting, humidity, feeding

The timing traps

These cause more refusals at drop-off than missing vaccines do.

01The bordetella mismatch

Many vets give a twelve-month bordetella product and print a twelve-month due date on the certificate. Plenty of facilities require it within six months — and in New York City that six-month window is written into the Health Code.

So a certificate can say "due next July" while your dog stops being eligible in January. Work from the date the vaccine was given, not the date printed as due.

02The waiting period

Most facilities require vaccines to have been given at least 48 hours to two weeks before arrival, so immunity develops and any reaction happens at home. A vaccination on the morning of drop-off usually does not count.

03A lapse restarts the clock

If a vaccine expires before it is renewed, some products require a fresh two-dose series. Your pet can be one shot behind and still be four weeks away from eligibility.

04Certificates that list boosters, not doses given

Some veterinary software prints only upcoming due dates for vaccines given at an earlier visit. The record then looks as though the vaccine was never administered. Ask your clinic for a full vaccination history rather than a summary.

05Puppies and kittens

Facilities usually require the complete series plus a waiting period, not just the doses given so far. Minimum ages of twelve to sixteen weeks are common.

Five questions worth asking when you call

How recent does bordetella need to be — six months or twelve?
How many days before arrival does a vaccine need to have been given?
Do you accept titer tests in place of a booster?
Do you need the original certificate, or is a photograph acceptable?
Is there anything you require that most people forget?

Ask for the answers in writing. Policies change, and staff sometimes differ on the detail.

Last reviewed August 2026 · Requirements change, and facility policy always governs. Confirm with your vet and with the facility before booking.

What vaccines will a boarding facility actually ask for?