The Virginia Comprehensive Animal Care Law (Va. Code § 3.2-6500 et seq) (Law), in relevant part, establishes the requirements and authorities pertaining to public and private animal shelters; boarding establishments, which are those places or establishments other than public or private animal shelters where companion animals not owned by the proprietor are cared for in exchange for a fee, and pet shops in the Commonwealth. The Law authorizes the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) to inspect all county or city public animal shelters and all private animal shelters and register and inspect all pet shops that sell dogs and cats. The Law also authorizes animal control officers to inspect boarding establishments upon receipt of a complaint.

Chapters 613 and 660 of the 2025 Acts of Assembly (HB 2313 and SB 1051, respectively) direct VDACS, in consultation with the State Veterinarian, to “convene a work group composed of relevant stakeholders to consider whether to propose a state license and other regulatory requirements for animal boarding establishments similar to the current licensing requirements for public and private animal shelters". The work group is required to submit its report to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources by December 1, 2026 (Appendix A).

VDACS, in consultation with the State Veterinarian, convened a work group composed of relevant stakeholders on September 11, 2025, and April 16, 2026. The work group considered potential state licensure and other regulatory requirements for boarding establishments and reached several points of consensus, including that increased oversight of boarding establishments would be beneficial to the Commonwealth, that the Commonwealth should provide minimum recommended standards (i.e., a model ordinance) to ensure consistency among all localities, and that the Commonwealth should allow for local animal control officer inspections of boarding establishments at least once annually.