Pet vaccination rules for boarding & grooming in Illinois

Illinois rules we’ve verified

Vaccination mandate. Illinois requires every dog four months or older, and every companion cat four months or older, to be inoculated against rabies by a licensed veterinarian. [510 ILCS 5/8 — verified August 31, 2026]

What facilities must do. Illinois kennel operators may not accept a dog or cat for boarding or training unless it has been vaccinated for distemper and proof has been furnished to the operator, unless the owner’s veterinarian recommends an exemption in writing; any dog accepted must also comply with the rabies requirements of the Animal Control Act. Day care operators are a separate licence class not covered by this rule — but a business that both boards and runs day care must licence each operation separately. [8 Ill. Adm. Code § 25.120(b); licence classes under 225 ILCS 605/3(a) — verified August 31, 2026]

Record keeping. Kennel operators must keep boarding/training records for 12 months after the stay ends. [8 Ill. Adm. Code § 25.120(a) — verified August 31, 2026]

Citations checked against primary sources on August 31, 2026. Laws change — verify anything you rely on with the authority itself.

What facilities in Illinois commonly require

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

Dogs: current rabies, DHPP (distemper–parvo combination), and bordetella (kennel cough) — with bordetella most strictly enforced by boarding and daycare, where dogs share air. Some facilities also ask for leptospirosis or canine influenza in areas that have seen outbreaks. Cats: current rabies and FVRCP.

Bring the certificate your veterinarian issued — the facility needs the expiry date printed on it, not just proof a shot happened. Some owners carry titer (antibody test) results instead of a booster; whether a facility accepts titers is that facility’s call, and many don’t for rabies.

Running a pet-care business in Illinois?

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 verifies once, owners get automatic reminders before anything expires, and check-in becomes a red / amber / green list. You can set the exact vaccines your policy requires, and it flags any pet missing one.

Pet owner in Illinois?

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