Pet vaccination rules for boarding & grooming in Michigan

Michigan rules we’ve verified

Vaccination mandate. Michigan’s Dog Law requires dogs to be vaccinated against rabies and licensed by six months of age, and a separate statute requires ferrets over 12 weeks to be vaccinated by a veterinarian. Cats are not required to be vaccinated under Michigan state law. [MCL 287.262, 287.266 (dogs); MCL 287.892 (ferrets) — verified August 31, 2026]

Michigan’s Dog Law treats any place keeping three or more dogs for boarding, sale, breeding or training for pay as a “kennel”, and county treasurers issue the licences. A new kennel also needs an inspection certificate from the Michigan Department of Agriculture before the county will issue one (MCL 287.270).

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

What facilities in Michigan 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 Michigan?

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 Michigan?

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