Bookings, deposits and client texts for a pet sitting business, with these forms ready to sign on your phone.
Pet Sitting Business: BookingBookings, deposits and client texts for a pet sitting business, with these forms ready to sign on your phone.
How to start a pet sitting business in Maine
Pet sitting and dog walking need no degree or state exam, but a few registrations come up in every state. Here is what Maine's own agencies say, checked October 7, 2026. Rules change, so follow each link before you file.
1. Register the business
LLCs file with the Secretary of State's Division of Corporations. Maine has no state-level filing for a sole proprietor's trade name. A sole proprietor using a trade name files with the clerk of the city or town where the business is located.
Source: Maine Secretary of State: Trade Name Protection
2. Sales tax on pet sitting
Not taxable
Maine Revenue Services' Business Guide to Sales and Use Tax (revised December 2025) says there is no tax on services in general, and names pet grooming as an example. Check with Maine Revenue Services if you also sell products.
Source: Maine Revenue Services: Business Guide to Sales and Use Tax
3. Licenses for boarding and pet care
Maine requires a state boarding kennel license ($125) from the Department of Agriculture. A boarding kennel is any place, including a home, where 3 or more companion animals are kept at one time for their owners for a fee (7 MRSA §3907). If you board pets in your home, check with the Animal Welfare Program.
Source: Maine Revised Statutes Title 7, §3932: Boarding kennels
4. Also worth checking
- Your city or county: a local business license, and home-business (zoning) rules if dogs stay overnight in your home.
- Insurance: ask an agent about liability coverage and bonding for pet sitters.
- Paperwork: a written service agreement, a veterinary release and a key agreement for every client.
Free forms for your first clients
Pet Sitting Contract TemplateThe agreement a client signs before the first booking: services, rates, deposit, cancellations, vet care, home access and behavior.Dog Walking Contract TemplateFor regular walks: schedule, leash and equipment, solo or group walks, bad weather, cancellations and payment.Pet Sitting Client FormEverything to collect from a new client before the first visit: contacts, feeding, medications, vet, behavior and routine.Veterinary Release Form for Pet SittersLets the sitter get a pet seen by a vet when the owner can't be reached, with a spending limit the owner sets.Key Release Form for Pet SittersHow keys and entry codes are handed over, stored, used and returned, and who pays if one is lost.Pet Sitting Meet-and-Greet ChecklistWhat to cover when meeting a new client and pet: the walk-through, health and safety, and the paperwork.Pet Sitting Invoice TemplateA one-page invoice: services by date, fees, the deposit received and the balance due.
This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.