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 New Jersey
Pet sitting and dog walking need no degree or state exam, but a few registrations come up in every state. Here is what New Jersey's own agencies say, checked October 7, 2026. Rules change, so follow each link before you file.
1. Register the business
A sole proprietor using a business name other than their own registers it at the county clerk's office. LLCs register with the state's Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, and can file an alternate name there.
Source: Business.NJ.gov, Business Names
2. Sales tax on pet sitting
Depends on the service
New Jersey lists pet sitting at the owner's home as exempt, but animal boarding at the seller's facility and animal grooming as taxable. A 2013 letter ruling also says boarding or day care at the sitter's own place is taxable.
Source: NJ Division of Taxation, Sales Tax Guide S&U-4
3. Licenses for boarding and pet care
Kennels need an annual license from the municipality, after a local health department inspection. State rules define a kennel as any place where the business of boarding dogs is carried on, including day care. Check with your town's health department if dogs stay in your home.
Source: NJ Department of Health, Guidelines for Municipal Licensure of Animal Facilities
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.