Stud Dog Contract — a Free UK Template

In short

The Royal Kennel Club does not set or enforce stud terms. It says the terms of a mating are outside its jurisdiction, and advises agreeing them in writing before the mating.
Below is a free agreement to print, fill in and sign before the mating — one copy each — with every clause explained first. It is general information, not legal advice.
The clauses most worth settling in advance are when the fee is due, what happens if she misses, and what “pick of the litter” means. Each one is a set of tick boxes, not an assumption.
The stud dog’s owner has a part in the Royal Kennel Club litter registration. The template has them promise to do it within a number of days you choose.
The health section records the results each owner has shown the other. It does not certify them — nobody signing it does, and neither do we.
Check both dogs for a “progeny not eligible for registration” endorsement before the mating. The Royal Kennel Club will not register a litter if either parent carries one.

Your browser’s own Print command works too — only the agreement prints.

A stud arrangement is an agreement between two people, and the Royal Kennel Club is clear that it is not a party to it. Its guidance says the terms and conditions of a mating do not fall within its jurisdiction, and advises that breeding terms and stud fees are agreed in writing between the owner of the dog and the owner of the bitch before the mating takes place. It recommends a detailed written stud dog contract, signed before the mating, to prevent confusion later.

That is what this page is for. First, each clause in a few lines: why it is there, the options people actually use, and what goes wrong when it is left blank. Then the agreement itself, laid out to print on A4 and fill in by hand. It is the full version of the short list at the end of stud fees explained, and it follows that guide throughout.

It is not a price guide. There is a blank where the fee goes and nothing else — we do not publish a typical figure, for the reasons given in that guide.

This is general information, not legal advice. A template cannot know your circumstances, and contract law is not the same in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Take proper advice from a solicitor before you sign if a large sum is involved, if either of you breeds as a business (consumer law can then apply to terms such as a non-refundable deposit), if either dog is co-owned or on loan for breeding, if frozen or imported semen is involved, if one of you lives outside the UK, or if a disagreement has already started.

How to use it

Read the clause notes below, then talk each clause through together — ideally before her season starts, not on the day.
Fill in every blank. Where a section does not apply, cross it through and both initial it, so nobody can say later that it was left open.
Both sign and date it before the mating. Every registered owner of either dog signs. Keep one signed copy each.
On the day, fill in the record of matings at the end and tick off the documents handed over.

The clauses, one at a time

1. The parties

Names and contact details for everyone who owns either dog. The Royal Kennel Club’s litter registration guidance says that if the stud dog is jointly owned, all of his owners should be aware of the mating, and a paper application is signed by all of them. So list every registered owner, and have each one sign.

Left blank: an agreement with one co-owner that the other co-owner never saw.

2. The dogs

Registered name, registration number, date of birth and microchip number for each dog, copied from the registration certificate rather than from memory or an advert. The Royal Kennel Club registers a litter on its Breed Register only when both parents are on the Breed Register, so each of you ticks that you have seen the other dog’s certificate. A registration number on its own does not settle which register a dog is on — see “KC registered” is not one thing.

Left blank: a mix-up over which dog was used, or a litter the Royal Kennel Club will not put on the Breed Register.

3. The health results each of you is relying on

Each owner lists the results for their own dog and hands over copies; the other owner ticks each copy they have actually seen. That records what was disclosed and relied on. It is not a certificate, and signing it does not make anyone vouch for a result they did not obtain themselves. The Royal Kennel Club’s Health Test Results Finder lets you look up the results it holds for a Breed Register dog by registered name or number, and health testing explained covers which tests to expect for your breed.

Left blank: “he’s fully health tested”, with nothing written down about which tests, or what the results were.

4. Registration and endorsements, checked before the mating

The Royal Kennel Club will not register a litter if either the dam or the sire carries a “progeny not eligible for registration” endorsement. It is shown on the dog’s registration certificate, and an owner can also check it in their Royal Kennel Club online account. Lifting one is normally for the person who placed it, not for either of you — see Royal Kennel Club endorsements explained. If one has been lifted, record the date the Royal Kennel Club confirmed it, not the date someone promised to do it.

The Royal Kennel Club also refuses some litters outright: if the bitch was under a year old at the mating, or — unless it has agreed an exception applied for before the mating — if she will be eight or older at whelping, has already whelped four litters, or has already had two litters by caesarean section. Nor, except in exceptional circumstances and with its permission, will it register a litter from father and daughter, mother and son, or brother and sister. The bitch’s owner confirms they have checked.

Left blank: discovering the problem when the litter application is refused, with puppies already on the ground.

5. The mating arrangements

When, how many matings, natural or AI, where, who handles the dogs, whether a progesterone test is needed before she travels, and whether she stays. Also what happens if a natural mating does not happen on the day. The bitch’s owner promises that no other dog mates her that season: if a bitch is mated by more than one dog of her breed in the same season, the Royal Kennel Club requires DNA testing to establish which dog sired each puppy before it will register them.

If AI is used, it is veterinary work — the Royal Kennel Club’s AI guidance says it must be carried out by a veterinary professional — and it has its own registration paperwork, including an AI form sent in with the litter application. Check the Royal Kennel Club’s current AI requirements before any collection.

Left blank: a wasted journey, and an argument about whether it counted as the mating that was paid for.

6. The fee, and exactly when it is payable

The amount, what it covers, and when it falls due. All of these are in use and none is the default: at the mating, on a pregnancy confirmed by scan, when live puppies are born, or in parts. The choice decides who carries the risk of a miss. If payment depends on a scan, say who books it and by when, and what happens if no scan is done — otherwise the fee can drift indefinitely. A deposit needs its own terms: refunded when, kept when. The fee pays for the service; neither of you is promising puppies.

Left blank: each of you assumes the other “usual” — which is where most stud disputes start.

7. Pick of the litter

If a puppy forms any part of the arrangement, define it completely: instead of the fee or as well as it; which pick, of which sex; chosen when and by whom; going home at what age, and registered, microchipped and vaccinated at whose cost; what happens if there is only one puppy, or none of the right sex; if the chosen puppy dies or turns out to have a problem before it leaves; and if the pick is never taken up.

One more question worth settling now: whether that puppy will carry a Royal Kennel Club endorsement. The breeder usually decides that when registering the litter, and does not have to endorse every puppy — so a stud owner who wants an unendorsed puppy should say so in writing.

Left blank: a litter of two, and two people who each remember a different deal.

8. If she does not conceive, or loses the litter

Many stud owners offer a free return mating. Many is not all, and “free return” needs defining: what counts as a miss (scanned empty, no live puppies, or fewer than a stated number); at her next season or within a set period; the same bitch or another; the same dog, and what happens if he has been sold, retired or has died in between; and whether a return that also misses earns another. Say who pays the costs of the return itself — travel, tests and boarding cost the same the second time.

Left blank: a stud owner who never offered a return, and a bitch owner who assumed one.

9. Costs

Travel, progesterone testing, boarding, vet bills, scans and AI are real money on top of the fee, and AI in particular (collection, storage, shipping and the insemination itself) is where an unexpected bill turns up. The template has a row for each, with boxes for who pays and room for a limit.

Left blank: an invoice nobody expected, sent after the puppies are born.

10. Royal Kennel Club litter registration

The litter is registered by its breeder — the owner of the bitch when she whelps — but the stud dog’s owner has a part in it. The Royal Kennel Club’s guidance says the stud dog owner should complete their details and sign the form; on a paper application all of the stud dog’s owners sign, and when a litter is registered online the person the stud dog lives with is notified by email or letter. The Royal Kennel Club’s own example wording for a stud contract has the stud owner undertake to sign and complete the paperwork confirming the date of the mating within seven days of a written request.

The template does the same, with a number of days you choose, and asks you to decide now whether that confirmation waits for the fee. Why that matters, for both sides, is in stud fees explained. The Royal Kennel Club also says the stud dog’s ownership details must be correct at the time of the mating, so if he has changed hands recently, check that the person signing is his recorded owner.

Left blank: a paid-for litter that cannot be registered until the stud owner gets round to it.

11. If a dog dies, is sold or cannot be used

Before the mating: what happens to a deposit, and whether another dog may be used instead — only with the bitch owner’s written agreement is the fair answer. After the mating: whether the promises about registration and a return mating still stand if either dog changes hands.

Left blank: a substitute dog nobody agreed to, or a new owner who knows nothing about a return mating.

12. If you disagree

Talk first. If that fails, set out in writing what you want and why, and allow a stated time for a reply. The Royal Kennel Club will not settle it — the terms of a mating are outside its jurisdiction. GOV.UK points out that mediation, where an impartial person helps both sides reach an agreement, could be quicker and cheaper than court. In England and Wales, money you are owed can be claimed through the county court, online or by post — what used to be called the small claims court. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own processes.

Left blank: nothing written down to show anyone, which is the one position nobody can help you from.

13. Signatures and copies

Every owner of each dog signs and dates it before the mating, and you keep one signed copy each. The Royal Kennel Club’s own stud contract guidance suggests exactly that: two copies, both completed and signed by both parties.

Breed Right is a directory. We are not a party to your agreement, we hold no deposits, and we do not check or enforce anything written in it. What we do check is narrow, and stated on every listing: Every stud dog on Breed Right is on the Royal Kennel Club Breed Register. The Royal Kennel Club also runs an Activity Register, which is open to any dog including crossbreeds — those dogs cannot be listed at stud here. If you are still choosing the dog, start with how to choose a stud dog.

This is general information about arrangements that are common in UK dog breeding, not legal advice. A stud agreement is a contract between two people; if a significant sum or a dispute is involved, take proper advice rather than relying on a web page.

The template

Print it, fill it in, sign it

Or use your browser’s Print command (Ctrl+P, or Cmd+P on a Mac). Only the agreement below prints, on A4.

Stud dog agreement

Between the owner(s) of the stud dog and the owner(s) of the bitch named below, for the mating described in section 5. Fill in or cross out every section before the mating. Where a section does not apply, cross it through and both initial it. Tick one box unless it says “tick all that apply”.

1. The parties

Stud dog owner(s) — every registered owner

Name(s)

Address

Phone

Bitch owner(s) — every registered owner

Name(s)

Address

Phone

2. The dogs

Copy these from each dog’s registration certificate.

Stud dog

Registered name

Royal Kennel Club reg. no.

Breed

Date of birth

Microchip no.

Colour

Breed Register certificate seen by the bitch owner

Bitch

Registered name

Royal Kennel Club reg. no.

Breed

Date of birth

Microchip no.

Colour

Breed Register certificate seen by the stud dog owner

3. Health results each owner is relying on

Each owner lists the results for their own dog and gives the other a copy; the other owner ticks each copy they have seen. This records what was disclosed and relied on. It is not a certificate: nobody signing this agreement vouches for a result they did not obtain themselves, and Breed Right has checked nothing here.

Stud dog — disclosed by the stud dog owner, relied on by the bitch owner
Test or scheme	Result	Date tested	Copy seen

Bitch — disclosed by the bitch owner, relied on by the stud dog owner
Test or scheme	Result	Date tested	Copy seen

4. Registration and endorsements — checked before the mating

Each owner has checked their own dog’s Royal Kennel Club registration (the certificate or their Royal Kennel Club online account) for a “progeny not eligible for registration” endorsement. The Royal Kennel Club will not register a litter if either parent carries one.

Stud dog

No such endorsement
One was lifted; the Royal Kennel Club confirmed on

Bitch

No such endorsement
One was lifted; the Royal Kennel Club confirmed on

The bitch owner has checked the Royal Kennel Club’s current restrictions on registering a litter from this mating (the bitch’s age at the mating and at whelping, her previous litters and any caesareans, and whether the dogs are parent and offspring or brother and sister):

None of them applies
One may apply — the bitch owner has asked the Royal Kennel Club and has its answer in writing, dated

The bitch is registered in the bitch owner’s name
The stud dog’s registered ownership is up to date with the Royal Kennel Club

5. The mating arrangements

First mating expected on or about

Number of matings this season

One
Up to , about days apart

Method

Natural mating
AI by a vet, with fresh chilled frozen semen
Natural first; AI by a vet if that does not happen, with the bitch owner’s agreement on the day

Where

Stud dog owner’s premises
Bitch owner’s premises
Vet practice / other:

The dogs will be handled by

Progesterone test before the bitch travels

Required
Not required

Boarding

None
The bitch stays up to nights. If she needs a vet while there, the stud dog owner may use:

If a natural mating does not happen on the day

Try again the next day
The booking ends; any deposit is dealt with as in section 6
Other:

The bitch owner will not let any other dog mate the bitch this season. If a bitch is mated by more than one dog of her breed in the same season, the Royal Kennel Club requires DNA testing to establish which dog sired each puppy before it will register them.

6. The stud fee, and exactly when it is payable

Stud fee: £
No cash fee — see section 7

The fee covers (tick all that apply)

One mating
All the matings in section 5
Boarding up to nights
Other:

The fee is payable

In full at the mating
When a pregnancy is confirmed by scan
When live puppies are born
In parts: £ on and £ on
Other:

If anything is payable on a scan: the bitch owner books a scan for no later than days after the last mating and tells the stud dog owner the result within days. If no scan is done by then, that payment becomes due anyway other:

Deposit: £paid on

The deposit is (tick all that apply)

Part of the fee, not in addition to it
Refunded if her season has not come by
Refunded if she is not ready on the day
Refunded if the stud dog owner cancels
Refunded if the bitch owner cancels
Not refundable

Paid by (bank transfer, cash…)Receipt given

The fee pays for the stud service. Neither owner promises that the mating will produce puppies.

7. Pick of the litter

No puppy is part of this agreement — cross through this section
A puppy is part of this agreement, as follows

The puppy is

Instead of a cash fee
As well as the fee in section 6
In part payment: the fee is reduced to £

Which pick

First pick of the whole litter
First pick of the dogs bitches
Second pick, after the bitch owner’s own choice
Other:

Chosen by the stud dog owner at weeks old. If they cannot attend, they choose from photos and video the choice passes to . The puppy goes home at weeks old.

Before it goes, the puppy is (tick all that apply) registered microchipped vaccinated wormed — at the cost of the bitch owner the stud dog owner

Royal Kennel Club endorsements on this puppy’s registration (usually placed by the breeder when registering the litter; the puppy’s new owner signs the Royal Kennel Club’s acknowledgement)

None
Progeny not eligible for registration
Export pedigree not allowed

If there is only one puppy, or none of the sex chosen above

A cash fee of £ instead
Other:

If the chosen puppy dies, or a health problem is found before it leaves

Next choice from the puppies left
A cash fee of £
Other:

If the stud dog owner has not taken the puppy by weeks old

It becomes a cash fee of £
The pick lapses
Other:

8. If she does not conceive, or loses the litter

No return mating is offered — cross through the rest of this section
A return mating is offered, as follows

It applies if (tick all that apply)

She is scanned not pregnant
No live puppies are born
Fewer than live puppies are born

How many and when

One return mating, at her next season
One return mating, at any season within months of the first mating
Other:

Which bitch, which dog

The same bitch only
Another bitch owned by the bitch owner, if the stud dog owner agrees in writing
The same stud dog only
Another dog owned by the stud dog owner, only if the bitch owner agrees in writing

If the stud dog is no longer available (died, sold, retired or infertile)

The fee is refunded in full
£ is refunded
No refund

Stud fee for the return: none £. Other costs of the return (travel, tests, boarding) are paid as in section 9.

If the return mating also misses: no further return one further return on these terms other:

9. Costs — who pays

Cost	Stud dog owner	Bitch owner	Limit or note
Travel for the mating
Progesterone and other pre-mating tests
Boarding
The bitch’s vet care
The stud dog’s vet care, any semen check
AI: collection, storage, shipping
AI: the insemination (vet)
Pregnancy scan
DNA parentage testing, if needed
Costs of a return mating
Other:

10. Royal Kennel Club litter registration

The stud dog owner will do whatever the Royal Kennel Club’s litter registration process asks of the stud dog’s owner — signing and completing the paperwork that confirms the mating, or responding to the Royal Kennel Club’s notice of an online application — within days of the bitch owner asking in writing, and will give any other information about the mating that the Royal Kennel Club asks for. Where AI is used, this includes the Royal Kennel Club’s AI paperwork.

The stud dog owner confirms the mating whether or not any money under this agreement is still owed; any unpaid sum is dealt with separately
The stud dog owner does their part once the fee due under section 6 has been paid (this only has effect where the process needs the stud owner to sign — for an online application the Royal Kennel Club only notifies them)

If the stud dog has more than one registered owner, each of them signs this agreement and does their part in the registration.

11. If a dog dies, is sold or cannot be used

Before the mating, if the stud dog dies, is sold or cannot be used

Any deposit is refunded in full
Another dog may be used only if the bitch owner agrees in writing

Before the mating, if the bitch dies, is sold or cannot be mated, the deposit is

Refunded
Kept
Other:

After the mating, if either dog is sold, the promises in sections 8 and 10

Still apply between the people who signed this
Other:

12. If we disagree

We will talk first. If that does not settle it, either of us will set out in writing what we want and why, and give the other days to reply. We will consider mediation before any court claim. Nothing in this agreement stops either of us taking legal advice.

13. Anything else we have agreed

14. Signatures

We have each read every page. Every section is filled in, or crossed through and initialled. We sign before the mating and keep one signed copy each.

Stud dog owner(s)

Signed

NameDate

Signed

NameDate

Bitch owner(s)

Signed

NameDate

Signed

NameDate

On the day: record of matings

Date	Time	Natural or AI	Stud dog owner’s initials	Bitch owner’s initials

Handed over on the day (tick all that apply)

Copy of the stud dog’s registration certificate
Copies of the stud dog’s health certificates listed in section 3
Copy of the bitch’s registration certificate
Copies of the bitch’s health certificates listed in section 3
A receipt for any payment made

Template from Breed Right — https://breedright.co.uk/guides/stud-contract-template. General information, not legal advice. Breed Right is not a party to this agreement, holds no money under it, and has not checked anything written in it.

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Sources

The Royal Kennel Club — Using your dog at stud — That the terms and conditions of a mating do not fall within the Royal Kennel Club’s jurisdiction; its advice to agree breeding terms and stud fees in writing, in a detailed written stud dog contract signed before the mating; that a stud dog should carry no endorsement precluding registration of his progeny; and its Health Test Results Finder, searchable by registered name or number.
The Royal Kennel Club — Guide to content of stud dog contract (second edition, 2014) — The Royal Kennel Club’s own example wording: the stud dog owner undertakes to sign and complete its documentation confirming the date of the mating within seven days of a written request; the stud dog owner gives no warranty that puppies will be born; two copies, both completed and signed by both parties. An older document, which the Royal Kennel Club presents as examples only and not as a substitute for legal advice.
The Royal Kennel Club — Registering your puppies — That the stud dog owner should complete their details and sign the form; that both parents must be on the Breed Register; that the stud dog’s ownership details must be correct at the time of mating; that the breeder is the owner of the dam when the puppies are born; the litters it will not register (the dam’s age, previous litters and caesareans, and matings between parent and offspring or brother and sister); that a litter is not registered if either parent carries a “progeny not eligible for registration” endorsement, which is shown on the certificate; and DNA testing where a bitch is mated by more than one dog in the same season.
The Royal Kennel Club — Litter registration (application) — That on an online application the person the stud dog lives with is notified by email or letter; that on a paper application all of the stud dog’s owners sign; and that where the sire is jointly owned all owners should be aware of the mating.
The Royal Kennel Club — Endorsements — The two endorsements; that the Royal Kennel Club checks for them before registering puppies; that an owner can check for one in their online account; that the person who placed one applies to remove it; and that a breeder can endorse individual puppies when registering them.
The Royal Kennel Club — Artificial insemination in dogs — That an AI litter is declared on the Royal Kennel Club’s AI form, sent with the litter application; that its regulations require the registered owner of the donor dog to sign the litter registration form; and that AI must be carried out by a veterinary professional. We restate no more than that: check the current requirements with the Royal Kennel Club before any collection.
The Royal Kennel Club — Registration rules and regulations — Regulations B12 (endorsements), B16 (multiple matings), B17 (artificial insemination), B18 (who the breeder is, including loans of a bitch for breeding) and B22c (litters it will not register).
GOV.UK — Make a court claim for money — That in England and Wales money owed can be claimed through the county court, online or by post (formerly called the small claims court); that mediation could be quicker and cheaper; and that Scotland and Northern Ireland have different processes.
Breed Right — how verification works — What our own check covers. We check the register by hand; we do not check, hold or enforce anybody’s stud terms, health results or endorsements.

Breed Right is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to The Royal Kennel Club or the British Veterinary Association. Where we could not source a claim we left it out rather than guessing.

Keep reading

Related guides

Breeding

Put it into practice

Every stud dog on Breed Right is on the Royal Kennel Club Breed Register and checked by our team before it goes live, and every health result you see has been checked by us.

Browse stud dogs Find a litter

A stud dog contract you can print and fill in

How to use it

The clauses, one at a time

1. The parties

2. The dogs

3. The health results each of you is relying on

4. Registration and endorsements, checked before the mating

5. The mating arrangements

6. The fee, and exactly when it is payable

7. Pick of the litter

8. If she does not conceive, or loses the litter

9. Costs

10. Royal Kennel Club litter registration

11. If a dog dies, is sold or cannot be used

12. If you disagree

13. Signatures and copies

Print it, fill it in, sign it

Stud dog agreement

1. The parties

2. The dogs

3. Health results each owner is relying on

4. Registration and endorsements — checked before the mating

5. The mating arrangements

6. The stud fee, and exactly when it is payable

7. Pick of the litter

8. If she does not conceive, or loses the litter

9. Costs — who pays

10. Royal Kennel Club litter registration

11. If a dog dies, is sold or cannot be used

12. If we disagree

13. Anything else we have agreed

14. Signatures

On the day: record of matings

Sources

Related guides

Stud fees explained

KC endorsements explained

How to choose a stud dog

Put it into practice