These policies have been adopted by the AKC Board of Directors, although they have not yet been incorporated into an official publication.
This reference will be updated as policies are adopted, revised and published.
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AKC Board Administration Policies
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- AKC Charter and Bylaws Article XII Complaints (August 2016 Board meeting)
- AKC Educational Requirements Policy and Recommendations (April 2024 Board meeting)
- AKC Gazette (June 1997 Board meeting)
- AKC Logo (February 2018 Board meeting)
- AKC Personal Conduct Policy (May 2024 Board meeting)
- Code of Sportsmanship (February 2006 Board meeting)
- Code of Sportsmanship Enforcement (August 2006 Board meeting)
- Delegate Committee Expense Reimbursement (October 1997 Board meeting; amended November 2023)
- Delegate Conflict of Interest (January 2007 Board meeting)
- Dog Show Point Schedule (May 1995 Board meeting)
- Edited Minutes (June 1998 Board meeting)
- Event Committee Discipline Report (November 1994 Board meeting)
- Event Committee Legal Expenses (May 1985 Board meeting)
- Financial Conflict of Interest/Full Disclosure (July 1997 Board meeting)
- Financial Reserves (December 1995 Board meeting)
- Formation of Local Specialty Clubs (April 2021 Board meeting)
- Good Standing (August 2011 Board meeting)
- Investment Policy (June 1997 Board meeting; amended February 2005)
- Judges Misconduct (July 1998 Board meeting; amended November 2018, February 2022, May 2022)
- Judges’ Temporary Referral Policy (November 2010 Board meeting)
- Judging Conflict of Interest (May 2006 Board meeting; amended January 2007)
- Licensing Superintendents (May 1995 Board meeting)
- Non-Budget Expenditures (July 1996 Board meeting)
- Officers’ Expense Reports (February 1998 Board meeting)
- Penalties: Mitigated and Aggravated (November 1994 Board meeting)
- Performance Audits (August 1996 Board meeting)
- Phone Participation (October 1996 Board meeting; Suspended April 2020 Special Board Meeting)
- Providing Information to AKC (May 1997 Board meeting)
- Publication in AKC Gazette (August 1996 Board meeting)
- Recorded Votes (July 1992 Board meeting)
- Support of Educational Activities (August 1997 Board meeting)
- Sweepstakes Guidelines (February 2018 Board meeting)
- Unauthorized Use of Club Funds (April 2009 Board meeting; amended in May 2024)
- Vendors List (September 1997 Board meeting)
- Veterinary Scholarships (January 1995 Board meeting)
- Web Site Linkage (June 2000 Board meeting)
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Club Policies
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- Adding Junior Membership to AKC Member Club Bylaws (November 2022 Board meeting)
- Approval of Scent Works Clubs (February 2017 Board meeting)
- Breed Club Seminars (January 1994 Board meeting)
- Breed Standard Format (July 1994 Board meeting)
- Breed Standard Moratorium (February 1994 Board meeting)
- Club Household Membership Requirements (April 2008 Board meeting; amended July 2017 & January 2021)
- Criteria for Accrediting New Specialty Local Conformation Clubs (May 2017 Board meeting)
- Eliminating Requirement for New Clubs to Hold a Fun Match (February 2018 Board meeting)
- Encouraging the Formation of Local Specialty Clubs (August 2018 Board meeting)
- Event Committee Legal Expenses (May 1985 Board meeting)
- Exploring Options for Existing Local Specialty Club Territories (November 2023 Board meeting)
- Foundation Stock Service Process and Procedures (April 2017 Board meeting)
- Member Club Application Requirements (February 1949 Board meeting, amended January 2021)
- Membership Based Criteria for the Formation of Performance Event Clubs (May 2016 Board meeting)
- Mentored Event Options for Conformation Clubs (January 2018 Board meeting; October 2019)
- New Conformation Club Approval Criteria (July 2011 Board meeting; amended November 2011, September 2012, November 2017 & January 2018)
- Non-AKC Events (March 2004 Delegates meeting; amended April 2018 & February 2019)
- Parent Club and Local Specialty Club Collaboration Efforts (August 2022 Board meeting)
- Rally Club Approval (October 2016 Board meeting)
- Sample Bylaws Study Committee Report (February 2021 Board meeting; amended August 2021)
- The Use of a Club’s Name for Show Purposes Cannot be Transferred (November 2020 Board meeting)
- Two Path Event Process for New Club Accreditation to License Status (July 2023 Board meeting)
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Conformation Judging Policies
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- Adjunct Approval (April 1994 Board meeting)
- AKC Board Household Judges (July 2000 Board meeting)
- Best in Show Approval (January 1996 Board meeting)
- Correspondence (January 1988 Board meeting)
- Delegate Judges (May 1993 Board meeting)
- Denials of Judging Reinstatement (February 2000 Board meeting)
- Disabled Handlers (March 1998 Board meeting)
- Fitness to Judge (February 2003 Board meeting)
- Integrity of Judges (June 1996 Board meeting)
- Judges Unable to Perform (May 2000 Board meeting)
- Judging Applications and Pending Discipline (August 2006 Board meeting)
- Judging Misconduct (July 1998 Board meeting; amended November 2018, February 2022, May 2022)
- Misrepresentation on Judging Applications (October 2000 Board meeting)
- Ramps (May 1997 Board meeting)
- Reinstatement/Reactivation of Judges (April 2001 Board meeting)
- Salesman or Solicitor (April 2000 Board meeting)
- Foreign Judges (July 2005 Board meeting; amended February 2006, August 2018, February 2022, October 2022)
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Dog Show Policies
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- All-Breed/Specialty Conflicts (September 2013 Board meeting; amended January 2016)
- Back-to-Back Shows (April 1999 Board meeting)
- Badges and Pins in the Ring (August 1968 Board meeting)
- Banners and Signs (July 2002 Board meeting; amended November 2021, April 2022)
- Catalog Sales (March 1995 Board meeting; amended October 2011, July 2013 & April 2018)
- Clusters and Back-to-Back Shows (September 1996 Board meeting; amended June 2014)
- Commercial Filming at Events Contractual Policy (April 2005 Board meeting; amended August 2016, November 2017 & October 2020)
- Concurrent Group & All-Breed Events (July 2017 Board Meeting; amended January 2019)
- Concurrent Specialty Shows (August 2011 Board meeting; amended October 2016 & November 2017)
- Distance a club may travel outside of its territory to hold an event (April 2009 Board meeting)
- Electronic Event Documentation (September 1996 Board meeting; amended January 2018)
- Evening Specialty Shows (December 2005 Board meeting; amended January 2018)
- Grooming Space (July 2012 Board meeting; amended December 2015)
- Invitational Shows (August 1999 Board meeting)
- Limited Number of Events Policy (April 2009 Board meeting; amended March 2015, July 2016, January 2017 & January 2018, August 2018, April 2020, May 2021, January 2023 & August 2023)
- Multiple All-Breed or Limited-Breeds Shows in One Day (January 2017 Board meeting; amended February, May, October 2018 & February 2019)
- Non-Regular Class Judging (April 1999 Board meeting)
- Photographing and Videotaping of AKC Events (August 2016 Board meeting)
- Publishing of Professional Handlers and Agents in Dog Show Catalogs (July 2024 Board meeting)
- Ribbons/Prizes In Honor Of (March 1995 Board meeting; amended November 2017)
- Same Day Specialty Shows (December 2005 Board meeting; amended November 2017)
- Scheduling Special Attraction Groups (November 2018 Board meeting)
- Show Conflict Distance Policy (February 2006 Board meeting; amended April 2009, February 2014, August 2018, February 2022, November 2023, May 2024, & January 2025)
- Show Hours (July 2019 Board meeting)
- Superintendent Entry Verification (August 2016 Board meeting)
- Surgical Procedures (October 1993 Board meeting)
- Telephone Entries (January 1982 Board meeting)
- Training Collars (July 2001 Board meeting; amended August 2019)
- Uniform Judges Book (August 2016 Board meeting)
- Using AKC Events and/or AKC Clubs or Specialty Attractions as a Qualifying Activity for an Event Held by a Third Party (January 2019 Board meeting)
- Veterinarians at Shows (January 2000 Board meeting)
- All-Breed/Specialty Conflicts (September 2013 Board meeting; amended January 2016)
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Performance Events
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- Companion and Performance Event Status for the FSS Breeds (February 2007 Board meeting)
- Schutzhund (July 2003 Board meeting)
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Registration Policies
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- American Field Irish Setters (October 1975 Board meeting)
- Auction Policy (July 2003 Board meeting)
- Buckskin Plotts (February 2006 Board meeting)
- Canadian Border Collies (June 1998 Board meeting)
- Care and Conditions of Dogs Policy (April 1996 original policy; April 2012 Board meeting; amended February 2014)
- Customer-Driven DNA Complaint Policy (May 2002 Board meeting)
- Dalmatians (Low Uric acid or LUA) (October 2011 Board meeting)
- Disclosure of Information (October 1983 Board meeting)
- DNA and Imported Frozen Semen (August 1996 Board meeting)
- DNA and Use of Fresh Extended and Frozen Semen (June 1998 Board meeting)
- DNA Certification Program (June 1998 Board meeting)
- DNA Compliance Audit Program (June 1998 Board meeting)
- DNA Investigations (June 1998 Board meeting)
- DNA Ownership (June 2000 Board meeting)
- DNA Parentage Verification (December 1999 Board meeting)
- Electronic Signature Policy (September 2013 Board meeting)
- Foreign Registries (September 1999 Board meeting)
- Foundation Stock Service (July 1995 Board meeting)
- Frequently Used Sires Program (January 2000 Board meeting)
- Guidelines For Opening or Closing the AKC Stud Book (October 2002 Board meeting)
- Hardship Policy (January 2012 Board meeting)
- Hardship Policy Concerning Innocent Third Parties Involved in Circumvention (August 2002 Board meeting)
- Hobby Breeder Definition (April 1993 Board meeting)
- ILP’s (May 1989 Board meeting)
- Imports With AKC Registered Sires and Dams (May 1997 Board meeting)
- Import Breeding Stock (July 2005 Board meeting)
- Judicial or Administrative Determination of Inappropriate Treatment (September 1990 Board meeting; amended in December 1993, November 2004 & May 2011, amended May 2024 )
- Litter Co-Owners (November 1997 Board meeting)
- Multiple Sires (May 2000 Board meeting; amended October 2022)
- Ownership of Imported Dogs (November 1996 Board meeting)
- Positive Identification (May 1996 Board meeting)
- Positive Identification for Recording OFA and CERF (May 1996 Board meeting)
- Positive Identification of Imported Dogs (May 1996 Board meeting)
- Registered Kennel Name (November 1997 Board meeting)
- Registration of Imports (June 1995 Board meeting; amended February 1997)
- Referral and Cancellation (July 1995 Board meeting, amended July 2023)
- Reproductive Semen Bank (February 2017 Board meeting)
- Supplemental Transfer Reproduction (September 1990 Board meeting)
- Suspension of Registration Privileges (October 1983 Board meeting)
- UKC Pedigrees (February 1996 Board meeting)