Build an inspection-ready records index: the register fields from the guidance, a keep-until date, a backup check and a list of your written procedures (England)

Inspections look at paperwork as well as the dogs. Bark Lane Daycare in Essex wrote in January 2026 that its inspection covered policies, procedures and record keeping and was thorough and detailed; Oakington Dog Day Care wrote in 2019 that its records were all available to its inspector. Defra’s statutory guidance for England says the licence holder must keep all such records for at least 3 years from the date each was created, that electronic records must be backed up, and that a register must be kept of all the dogs on the premises with set fields (dates, the dog’s details, the owner’s and emergency contacts, the vet and insurance, medical and behavioural history, diet, consent forms, recent vaccination, worming and flea treatment dates, and any current treatment). GOV.UK says your licence can be taken away if you stop or delay an inspection. An index that lists each kind of record, where it is kept, its keep-until date, when it was last backed up and who owns it means you can find anything quickly when the inspector asks. The AI lays out the index and a blank register header from field names you copy from the guidance. It never sees a register entry. You keep the records, and the inspector decides whether they meet the conditions.

An AI chat tool you already use

Steps

1. Read the records and register sections of Defra’s guidance for your activity (day care or boarding) and copy the field names word for word into your own document. Defra publishes separate guidance for kennel boarding and for home boarding: use the one for your activity, and ask your council if unsure. Do not ask an AI tool.
2. List every kind of record you keep (register, daily logs, staffing sheets, incident records, medication records, training records, written procedures) and where each one is.
3. Run the prompt below with its brackets left as they are, pasting in only the field names and your list of record types. You get back a records index and a blank register header.
4. Build both in your own system. Compare your register’s columns with the copied field names and add any that are missing, without moving any owner or dog data into the AI tool.
5. Each month, a named person checks the backup date, the keep-until dates and that each record in the index can be found, and initials the index.
6. Before an inspection, print the index and walk through it with the person who will meet the inspector.

The exact prompt

Write two blank layouts for [BUSINESS NAME], a licensed dog [DAY CARE OR BOARDING] business in England.
1. A records index table with columns: record type ([RECORD TYPES, AS LISTED BY THE LICENCE HOLDER]), what it covers ([DESCRIPTION]), where it is kept ([PLACE OR SYSTEM]), paper or electronic, keep until ([DATE RULE COPIED FROM THE GUIDANCE]), last backed up ([DATE]), owner ([ROLE]), checked this month (initials). One row per record type; leave every other cell empty.
2. A blank register header using exactly these field names, copied from the official guidance, as column headings and nothing else: [FIELD NAMES, PASTED WORD FOR WORD]. Leave every row empty.
Do not add, drop or rename any field, do not say what the law requires, and do not say whether any record is complete or compliant.
RULES FOR THIS CHAT: I will give you only my own business wording, headings, dates and rules that I have typed in, and text I have copied from official guidance or my licence. I will not give you, and you must not ask for, any dog owner’s name, address, phone number, email or emergency contact, any dog’s name, microchip number, medical, behaviour, vaccination, insurance or vet details, any staff name, or any payment detail. Use the blanks in square brackets exactly as I give them. Do not invent rules, ratios, times, treatments, procedures, ratings or facts about any dog, person, vet or council, and do not say what is enough, safe, required, compliant or legal. Do not give veterinary, welfare, safety, legal or licensing advice, do not say whether any dog is fit to attend or mix, and do not do any arithmetic. Where something is missing write [FOR THE LICENCE HOLDER TO COMPLETE]. Everything you write is a draft that a named person will check before it is used.