Pet vaccination rules for boarding & grooming in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia rules we’ve verified

What facilities must do. The Standards of Care for Cats and Dogs Regulations apply to every custodian of a cat or dog — a boarding kennel or daycare while an animal is in its care included — and set minimum standards for food, water, shelter, space, tethering and handling. They set no vaccination requirement. [Standards of Care for Cats and Dogs Regulations, N.S. Reg. 182/2019 under the Animal Protection Act, S.N.S. 2018, c. 21 — verified September 2, 2026]

We found no province-wide rabies vaccination mandate for pets in Nova Scotia; licensing rules are municipal.

Citations checked against primary sources on September 2, 2026. Laws change — verify anything you rely on with the authority itself.

What facilities in Nova Scotia commonly require

Separately from any law, most grooming salons, daycares and boarding kennels set their own admission policy — usually stricter than any legal minimum, because one sick dog can close a playroom for a week. Typical policies ask for:

Dogs: current rabies, DA2PP/DHPP (distemper–parvo combination), and bordetella (kennel cough) — with bordetella most strictly enforced by boarding and daycare, where dogs share air. Some ask for leptospirosis or canine influenza after local outbreaks. Cats: current rabies and FVRCP.

Bring the certificate your veterinarian issued — the facility needs the re-immunization dateprinted on it, not just proof a shot happened. Whether a facility accepts a titer (antibody test) instead of a booster is that facility’s call, and many don’t for rabies.

Running a pet-care business in Nova Scotia?

Whatever your policy is, the hard part is keeping proof of it current for every pet without chasing paper.VaxCheck gives you a QR code for the counter: owners type their own dates and photograph the certificate, your staff checks once, owners get automatic reminders before anything expires, and check-in becomes a red / amber / green list. Set the exact vaccines and intervals your policy requires and it flags any pet missing one. Canadian shops get the Canada edition: Canadian terms and privacy notice, prices in Canadian dollars where offered, taxes at checkout.

Pet owner in Nova Scotia?

Keep every certificate in one place, get told before anything expires, and hand a copy to any groomer, daycare, kennel or sitter who asks — including one that has never heard of VaxCheck. They open a link, print what they need, and create nothing. Free, and there is no password to lose.

What a shop will ask you for, and how to have it ready · See your pet’s records