XL Bully insurance 2026: what you must have after 1 July

Since 1 July 2026 you no longer need third party public liability insurance to keep an exempted XL Bully in England and Wales. Everything else on the Certificate of Exemption still stands, and a supervision rule for children under 12 starts on 1 November 2026. XL Bully insurance is now your choice rather than a condition of keeping the dog, so this guide sets out what the certificate requires, what changes in November, and how breed exclusions work in pet policies.

Why third party liability insurance is no longer a condition

Defra updated its guidance on 1 July 2026. It now says owners “do not need third party public liability insurance” for banned breed dogs, including XL Bully dogs (GOV.UK, Prepare for the ban on XL Bully dogs, updated 1 July 2026).

The change followed the withdrawal of the cover most exempted owners were using. Dogs Trust removed third party public liability insurance from its Companion Club from 1 July 2026: members who renewed on or before 30 June 2026 kept the benefit for a further 12 months, and renewals from 1 July 2026 do not include it. PDSA said on 15 June 2026 that it welcomed the removal of the requirement, because owners had been at risk of falling out of compliance for reasons outside their control.

If your Companion Club membership ends and you cannot find a replacement policy, that no longer puts your certificate at risk.

Then vs now: what the certificate requires

One line changed on 1 July 2026 and one more changes on 1 November 2026. The rest have applied since the exemption scheme opened.

Condition	Until 30 June 2026	From 1 July 2026
Third party public liability insurance	Required for a valid certificate	Not required
Muzzle and lead in public	Required	Required
Lead held by someone at least 16	Required	Required
Secure keeping, no escape	Required	Required
Dog lives at the certificate address	Required	Required
Permanent neutering, evidence sent to Defra	Required, deadlines passed	Required
Children under 12 in private places	No rule	Supervision rule from 1 November 2026

Source: GOV.UK guidance, Prepare for the ban on XL Bully dogs, updated 1 July 2026. Applies to England and Wales.

The conditions that still apply to an exempted XL Bully

Muzzle and lead in public are the two an officer can check on the spot, and the lead has to be securely held by someone at least 16. The rest of the certificate is quieter and just as binding:

• keep the dog at the address on the certificate, with stays at another address capped at 30 days in a 12-month period
• keep it in conditions secure enough to stop it escaping
• tell Defra if you move permanently, or if the dog dies or is exported
• give access to read the microchip, and produce the Certificate of Exemption within 5 days, when the police or a council officer asks
• keep the dog permanently neutered, with the evidence already sent to Defra

The neutering deadlines passed in 2024 and 2025, and a missed deadline invalidates the exemption (GOV.UK, updated 1 July 2026). If you are not certain Defra holds your vet’s evidence, confirm that first.

What changes on 1 November 2026

From 1 November 2026 you must not leave a child under 12 in close contact with an XL Bully dog in a private place, such as a home or garden, without adult supervision (GOV.UK, updated 1 July 2026). It is the first condition that reaches inside the house, since the muzzle and lead rules only ever applied in public places.

The guidance does not define close contact. Our reading is that the rule targets leaving a young child and the dog alone together, so an adult in the room is the standard to work to from 1 November.

Do you still need any insurance?

Not to keep your certificate valid. Whether you buy anything now is a household decision, and it splits into two products owners regularly mix up.

Third party liability cover pays when your dog injures someone or damages their property. Some home contents policies include pet liability and some exclude dogs covered by the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, so read your own contents wording rather than assume either way, and ask your home insurer to confirm in writing.

Pet insurance is the other product. It pays your vet bills, not someone else’s claim, and nothing in the exemption scheme requires it; what pet insurance covers sets out the standard sections of a UK policy. If you keep a liability policy after 1 July 2026, keep it because you want the protection, not because the certificate needs it.

Pet insurance for an XL Bully: what to check in the wording

The breed or type question at quote stage matters more than anything else on the form. Answer it accurately. If the insurer later establishes that the dog is a type it does not cover, it can turn down the claim and cancel the policy, and your route of challenge is the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Then read the general exclusions. Look for a clause that names banned types or refers to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. If one is there, the premium is irrelevant, because the policy will not pay for this dog. Check how the wording handles hereditary and congenital conditions while you are in there, since those clauses decide what an insurer pays for anything a dog was born with; our guide to hereditary and congenital cover explains the standard wording.

This site does not publish a list of insurers that will take an XL Bully. The insurer decides at quote and underwriting stage, and we have not read every wording. One insurer we review does publish a dedicated page: Agria publishes an XL Bully insurance page, checked on 15 September 2026. Our Agria review covers how the rest of its cover reads.

What breaking a condition means

If you do not follow the requirements, the dog is no longer exempt from the ban, it can be taken by the police, and you can be prosecuted (GOV.UK, updated 1 July 2026).

Applications for a Certificate of Exemption have closed, and a new exemption can only be authorised by a court order, so you cannot replace the certificate you hold by filling in the form again. If you are facing a seizure or a court hearing, instruct a solicitor who handles this work.

Where the official rules are

The guidance for England and Wales is Prepare for the ban on XL Bully dogs on GOV.UK, last updated 1 July 2026. Every condition described above comes from that page.

Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own schemes. The Scottish Government’s XL Bully exemption page, updated 1 July 2026, also drops the insurance condition and sets the children under 12 rule for 1 November 2026, and DAERA announced both changes for Northern Ireland on 17 June 2026. Read your own nation’s guidance before you act on anything here.

Summary

Your certificate lost one condition on 1 July 2026 and gains one on 1 November 2026. The muzzle, the lead and the age of the person holding it, the secure keeping, the address and the neutering evidence all still apply, and from November a child under 12 should not be in close contact with the dog at home without an adult present.

Buying cover is now your choice. For vet fees, read the general exclusions before the price, then judge the policy the way you would for any dog: our 2026 pet insurance picks and the eight questions to ask before you buy both start from the wording.