Records to have ready when you sell a puppy

A puppy’s paperwork follows it for life. The new owner’s vet, a registry, and any future buyer will all ask for it, and it’s much easier to hand over complete and correct on day one than to rebuild later. This checklist covers what’s usually expected in the United States. State rules differ, so check yours.

Before the puppy goes home

• Its date of birth, and its age on sale day. About 27 states and Washington, D.C. set a minimum age for selling a puppy, most often eight weeks.
• Vaccination and deworming records, with the dates and the products given, so the new owner’s vet knows what’s next.
• A veterinary exam, with the vet’s notes. Many states also have pet purchaser protection laws, sometimes called puppy lemon laws. They generally give the buyer a short window, often seven to fourteen days, to have their own vet examine the puppy, and they can set out what the seller must tell the buyer at the time of sale.
• Microchip details, if the puppy is chipped: the chip number and how the new owner registers it in their name.
• A contract or bill of sale, including any health guarantee, spay or neuter terms, and whether the puppy is sold with breeding rights.

Registration papers

If the litter is registered with a kennel club, the new owner needs the paperwork to register the puppy individually. With the American Kennel Club, the breeder registers the litter first. The AKC then issues a dog registration application for each puppy, which the breeder signs over to the new owner, who completes it to register the dog. Other registries work in a similar way; follow your registry’s instructions.

What careful buyers ask for

• The parents’ health screening results: hip and elbow evaluations, eye exams, and DNA tests that matter for the breed, as the reports themselves. Our guide to reading a genetic test result explains the notation.
• The parents’ registration numbers and pedigree.
• Anything unusual from the litter’s first weeks, and what was done about it.

Make every document easy to trust

For each document, check that it names the right puppy, with a microchip or registration number where there is one, and that dates and names match across papers. Keep the originals, or clear scans of them. A result for the dam or sire should name that dog, not just the kennel.

Where AnimalTrace fits

AnimalTrace keeps each animal’s documents together on one record, each as it was issued, so the parents’ results and the puppy’s papers are ready to hand over. It’s free for up to 5 animals.

Sources

• Animal Legal & Historical Center, Michigan State University College of Law, State laws on the minimum age for selling puppies
• Animal Legal & Historical Center, Pet purchaser protection laws
• American Kennel Club, Litter registration questions