Keeping a compliant shelter record book (Bestandsbuch) under §11 of the German Animal Welfare Act

24 July 2026 · Taildesk LawRecord book§11 TierSchG

A record book (in German, Bestandsbuch) is the complete, traceable record of every animal a shelter takes in, cares for, and rehomes. Running a shelter in Germany requires a permit under §11 of the Animal Welfare Act (§11 TierSchG) — and that permit comes with a duty to document the animal population. In short: the record book is not optional. It is part of what the authority expects from a licensed shelter.

This guide explains, in plain language, what belongs in the record book, who must keep it, and how small associations stay on top of it without a paper binder full of loose notes. It is written for volunteers and small-association staff, not for lawyers.

What the record book is — and why §11 TierSchG matters

German animal-welfare law requires an official permit to run a shelter. This §11 TierSchG permit is normally issued by the local veterinary authority (Veterinäramt / official veterinarian). It makes sure that the people taking in and rehoming animals have the necessary expertise and suitable facilities.

Tied to that permit is a record-keeping duty: the operation must keep a book of the animals it receives and hands over. That is the record book, and it serves several purposes at once:

• Proof to the authority — during an inspection, it must be fully traceable which animals arrived when, and where they went.
• Animal welfare and health — knowing which vaccination, neutering, or treatment an animal has already had prevents both double-treatment and gaps in care.
• Traceability — if a question about an animal’s origin or whereabouts comes up later, the record book has the answer.

Who must keep it? Any institution that falls under the §11 permit requirement — the classic shelter, but also many animal-welfare associations that regularly take in and rehome animals. Whether your association is subject to the permit, and exactly how the records must be kept, is determined by your local veterinary authority. If in doubt, ask them directly: the specifics can differ from one federal state (Bundesland) and authority to the next.

Key takeaway: The record book is the proof that you know which animal was in your care, what happened to it, and where it went. Without that proof, the authority has no basis for trust.

The required fields

Which fields are required in detail is set by the responsible veterinary authority; some authorities even provide their own form or template. In practice, however, a core set of entries has become established that any well-kept record book almost always contains. It splits into two blocks: intake (what happens when the animal arrives) and outcome (what happens when it is rehomed or otherwise leaves).

For intake, this typically includes:

• Intake date — when the animal arrived at the shelter.
• Origin — where the animal came from: stray, surrender by a previous owner, seizure, litter, transfer from another shelter.
• Species, breed, sex, approximate age, plus a recognisable name or a running number.
• Identification — chip or tattoo number, where present.
• Health status on intake — visible issues, injuries, pregnancy.

For outcome, and on an ongoing basis during the stay:

• Veterinary measures — vaccinations, neutering/spaying, deworming, treatments.
• Whereabouts / departure date — adoption, return to the owner, transfer, death or euthanasia.
• New owner — name and contact details of the person taking the animal.

Template: what one record row can look like

The checklist below shows the usual fields and — more importantly — why they are required. Treat the columns as orientation, not as an officially exhaustive list: the binding version comes from your veterinary authority.

A single row might therefore read: No. 2026-041, taken in on 12 Mar 2026 as a stray, cat, female, approx. 3 years, chip 276…, undernourished on intake, neutered and vaccinated on 20 Mar, rehomed on 06 Apr 2026 to M. Berger, Musterstadt. One entry — one complete chapter of the animal’s life at the shelter.

From paper to structure: a record book without the chaos

Legally, the tool is secondary. A handwritten book, a spreadsheet, or software — whatever is complete, traceable and permanently legible is allowed. What counts is that nothing is missing, not the format.

In practice, though, the trouble starts precisely at completeness. When intake, a vet visit, and rehoming are noted on different days by different volunteers on different scraps of paper, gaps appear — and they surface at exactly the wrong moment, during an inspection. A loose spreadsheet on someone’s private laptop is permitted, but it never reminds anyone of anything: nobody is warned when the new owner is missing from an outcome entry.

There is also data protection to consider. The record book holds personal data — the names and contact details of previous and new owners. That information does not belong in an open shared binder on a kitchen table or in an unprotected spreadsheet emailed around, but in a store that only authorised people can reach. Thinking about GDPR from the start saves trouble later and protects exactly the people who entrusted an animal to your association or took one on.

Here a thought that goes beyond the book helps: if you already keep a structured animal file for every animal — intake, origin, chip, veterinary history, rehoming, new owner — you have essentially already written the record book. Those are exactly the fields the authority asks for. A good record system reverses the logic: you care for the animals and their data day to day, and the record book emerges as an ordered view of that data — not as a chore at year’s end.

This is where Taildesk comes in: software for shelters and associations in which the animal file is built up in a structured way from intake through to rehoming, so that the record-book fields come together as a by-product instead of ending up in a binder. Taildesk is EU-hosted and developed with GDPR in mind for small associations without an IT department; it is still in development, and pilot shelters use it free of charge. If these workflows are familiar from your own association and you would like to help shape the software, you will find the details on the partner page.

One more practical note on the side: keeping the record book clean also means being clear about who makes entries and when. When the team has fixed responsibilities and a reliable duty roster, it becomes far easier to make sure every intake and every departure is recorded promptly.

Common mistakes — and how to avoid them

Most findings during an inspection are not down to bad faith but to everyday pressure. These pitfalls come up again and again:

• Entering things after the fact. If you only collect entries at month’s end, you mix up dates or forget whole animals. Log every arrival and departure on the same day where possible.
• No closure on the outcome. An animal was rehomed long ago, but its row is left open — no departure date, no new owner. Those loose ends are exactly what an inspection spots first.
• Identification not recorded. The chip number is on the vaccination card but not in the record book. Without it, the animal can no longer be tied unambiguously to its file later on.
• Several parallel lists. One file for rehoming, a notebook in the quarantine room, notes on a phone — reconstructing one coherent picture from those rarely comes out gap-free.
• Only one person knows the system. If the record-keeper is unavailable, the team is left guessing. Records must be kept so that any authorised person can read and continue them.

The common thread through all of these is friction: the more effort an entry takes, the more likely it is to be skipped. Moving the recording to where the work with the animal already happens lowers that friction — and the record book stays complete almost on its own.

FAQ

Is a record book mandatory for a shelter in Germany?

Yes. Running a shelter requires a §11 TierSchG permit and keeping records of the animal population. The record book is the practical form of that record-keeping duty.

Is a spreadsheet enough as a record book?

In principle yes — as long as every required field is captured completely, traceably and in a permanently legible way. The law does not prescribe a particular tool; completeness is what matters. The drawback of a spreadsheet is not the legal position but the risk: a loose file reminds nobody of missing fields and is easy to overwrite or lose.

Who decides exactly which fields are required?

The responsible veterinary authority, as part of the §11 permit. The core entries (intake, origin, identification, veterinary measures, whereabouts, new owner) are largely established, but the exact form — and sometimes a prescribed template — can differ by authority and federal state. When in doubt, ask them directly.

How long must the record book be kept?

Records must be retained for a defined period and produced to the authority on request. The specific retention period is set bindingly by your veterinary authority — follow their instruction.

In short

The record book is not bureaucratic decoration; it is the thread running through the life of every animal in your care. Keep it complete, clarify the exact fields and retention periods with your veterinary authority, and make it as easy as possible for the team to log every arrival and departure right away. Then the next inspection is not a nail-biter but simply a look at an order you maintain anyway.

Note: This article provides general information for orientation and is not legal advice. For binding guidance on §11 TierSchG and the specific requirements for your record book, contact your responsible veterinary authority (Veterinäramt).