Do dogs have to be on a lead? The law in England, Wales and Scotland

The short answer is no. Nowhere in England, Wales or Scotland is there a law that puts every dog on a lead whenever it is in public. The longer answer is a list of places where a lead is the law, and they are the places a walk tends to cross: a road, a park, open moor, and a field with sheep in it.

Where a lead is the law in England and Wales

On a road the council has designated. Section 27 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 makes it an offence to have a dog on a designated road without holding it on a lead. A road is designated by an order of the council for that area, so most roads are not. Dogs working sheep or cattle, and dogs used under proper control for sport, are exempt. It applies in Scotland too. Read 29 September 2026. Road Traffic Act 1988, section 27.

Wherever a council dog order says so. A council can make a Public Spaces Protection Order that puts dogs on leads in a cemetery, a town centre or a park, or on a lead when an officer asks, or keeps them out of a play area altogether. Breaking one can mean a fixed penalty of up to £100, or a fine of up to £1,000 if it goes to court. Read 29 September 2026. Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, section 67 and section 68. Each council's orders are different, which is why we read them one council at a time. Yorkshire's are in Dogs on leads in Yorkshire.

On open access land, from 1 March to 31 July, and near livestock all year. Open access land is the moor, heath, down and registered common you may wander across away from a path. There your dog must be on a fixed lead of no more than two metres during those months, whether or not there are animals about, and near livestock at any time of year. The seasonal part does not apply on the coast. A landowner can also close access land to dogs, for lambing or on a grouse moor. The rules and the reasons for the dates are in ground-nesting birds.

The numbers

Where	When	Law or advice
A road the council has designated	All year	Law
A place a council dog order names	As the order says	Law
A field or enclosure with sheep in it	All year	Law, in practice
Open access land near livestock	All year	Law
All open access land	1 March to 31 July	Law
A footpath, bridleway or pavement	All year	Advice
Moor, forest, grassland and shore, Scotland	Usually April to July	Advice

In a field with sheep in it, in practice. The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 counts a dog "at large", meaning off the lead and not under close control, in a field or enclosure with sheep in it as worrying livestock, whether or not it goes near them. Since 18 March 2026 incidents on roads and paths count too. So on a footpath through a sheep field the lead is the only sure way to stay inside the law. The detail is in Dogs near sheep and cattle.

Where it is not the law

A public footpath or bridleway. No law puts a dog on a lead on a right of way as such. The Countryside Code asks you to "always keep your dog on a lead or in sight", to be confident it will come back when called, and to "make sure your dog does not stray from the path". Read 29 September 2026, from the version last updated 26 May 2023. The Countryside Code.

The pavement. Unless the road is designated, a lead on the pavement is advice. Rule 56 of the Highway Code says: "Keep it on a short lead when walking on the pavement, road or path shared with cyclists or horse riders." It carries no legal reference, which in the Highway Code means it is a should rather than a must. Read 29 September 2026, from the version last updated 22 October 2025. The Highway Code, rules about animals.

A park, unless something says otherwise. A park has no lead rule of its own. It has one when a council order or the park's byelaws say so, and a sign at the gate is usually how you find out.

Dartmoor

Dartmoor is asked about by name, so here it is. Its open access land follows the rule above: a fixed lead of two metres or less from 1 March to 31 July, and near livestock all year. The National Park Authority's byelaws for the commons ask for your dog to be under close control and on a lead when a ranger directs it, and the Authority is revising those byelaws. Its own advice goes further than the law and asks for a lead near livestock, through the nesting season, and on warm days when adders are out. Read 29 September 2026. Dartmoor National Park, visiting with your dog and Dartmoor byelaws.

Scotland

Scotland starts from a general right of access, and the right belongs to a walker whose dog is under proper control. There is no general lead law, and public spaces protection orders are an English and Welsh law, not a Scottish one. A lead is still the law on a road the council has designated, and a council can serve a dog control notice on one particular dog that requires it to be on a lead in public. Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010, section 2.

The Scottish Outdoor Access Code asks for more than the law. "During the breeding season (usually April-July) keep your dog on a short lead or close at heel in areas such as moorland, forests, grasslands, loch shores and the sea shore." And in a field of farm animals, a short lead or close at heel, as far from them as you can. Read 29 September 2026, from the version updated 14 July 2025. Scottish Outdoor Access Code, dog walking. The rest is in Dog walking in Scotland.

What the app checks for you

Where we have read a council's dog orders, a walk that crosses a place one of them names says so, and says what the order asks. Where we have not read them yet, the walk says that too, rather than letting the silence read as no rule. A walk that crosses a protected bird site says, from March to July, that leads are on. A walk that passes grazing fields says livestock is possible. And we do not offer a walk that leaves the path across access land a landowner has closed to dogs.

What the app cannot see is a sign on a gate that went up last week, which is why every one of those lines is a reason to look, not a reason to stop looking.