Starting a Wildlife Rehabilitation Facility: Enclosure Requirements and Setup Guide

Starting a wildlife rehabilitation facility from scratch requires more planning than most first-time applicants expect — particularly around enclosure construction, species-specific housing, and the facility inspection process. The most common and costly mistake is building enclosures before consulting the NWRA/IWRC Minimum Standards for Wildlife Rehabilitation, which is the baseline document used by state inspectors in almost every U.S. state.

Planning Your Facility Before Building

Before purchasing a single piece of hardware cloth, answer these questions: Which specific species do you plan to rehabilitate? What are the NWRA/IWRC minimum enclosure dimensions for each? Does your outdoor space allow for adequate predator protection? How will drainage work? Do you have a clean, climate-controlled indoor holding space for juveniles and recovery animals? The answers determine what you build — not the other way around. Starting construction before answering these questions leads to expensive rebuilds after your inspection identifies non-compliance.

For specific training requirements in your state, see the state guides directory. To determine which training you need based on your situation, use the permit pathway finder.