Skip to additional navigation Skip to content

Primate Licensing

Primate Keeper Licences

New regulations mean that from 6 April 2026, you will need a licence if you keep one or more primates.

A primate is an animal of any species other than human beings that belong to the primate order of mammals. This includes but is not limited to:

  • Marmosets
  • Tamarins
  • Squirrel Monkeys
  • Spider Monkeys
  • Capuchin Monkeys
  • Lemurs
  • Lorisids (also known as bush babies)

The regulations can be read here:  The Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2024

The only exemptions from the requirement to hold a licence under these regulations will be licensed zoos and medical / research facilities authorised under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

The regulations bring in a licensing scheme, setting strict rules to ensure that only those who can provide zoo-level welfare standards will be able to keep primates.

Existing private primate keepers can apply for a primate licence from April 2025 and, from 6 April 2026, all private primate keepers and people proposing to keep a primate will be required to hold a licence, valid for a maximum of three years, and undergo reassessment to renew their permission to keep their animals.

After 6 April 2026, a person who requires a primate licence and keeps a primate in England without one, will be committing an offence under section 13 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and will be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term of up to six months, an unlimited fine or both.

Am I eligible?

An application may not be made by an individual—

  • who is under the age of 18; or
  • who is disqualified from keeping primates.

Apply online 

This application is not available online at this time.

Contact our team to get an application form or request an assessment.

Fees

For information about fees, please visit the fees and charges section. (The fee is the same as a dangerous wild animal application) .

Please note:

  1. Where vets fees are not shown and a vet is required these will be invoiced after the inspection and will be specific to the application.

How will my application be evaluated?

Once a valid application is received, a licensing officer, accompanied by a vet, will arrange to inspect your premises. They will assess your premises against the conditions specified in the regulations.

We aim to to issue a decision within 10 weeks of receiving the application and confirming the form is duly made and the fee paid.

The process may sometimes take longer, for example if further information is required from the applicant or if it’s difficult to arrange the inspection.

Will Tacit authority apply?

No - tacit consent will not apply. It is in the public interest that we must process your application before it can be granted. If you have not heard from us within a reasonable period, please contact us using the contact details below.

Enforcement:

Local authorities are responsible for issuing licences, inspecting premises, and enforcing the regulations.

Guidance

The Secretary of State has published statutory guidance on primate keeper licences.  We are required to have regard to this guidance when carrying out our licensing functions under the regulations.

Links to the three parts of the guidance are available below:

Licensing process for keeping primates

Licence conditions for primate keepers (Schedule 1)

Callitrichids: licence conditions for keepers (Annex A)

 

Contact us

 

Animals