AKC registration proves parentage. In the AKC's own words, a registration certificate identifies the dog as the offspring of a known sire and dam, born on a known date. The AKC does not license or endorse anyone selling dogs. Registration says nothing about health, temperament or the conditions the dog was raised in, and it is available to any breeder who can show on paper that both parents were the breed.
The AKC's Breeder of Merit and Bred with H.E.A.R.T. programs are a step up: breeders certify that they health-screen their breeding stock as the breed's parent club recommends. Certify is the word. It is self-declared, so still ask to see the results.
These get mixed up on purpose. Health testing means the parents were screened for the conditions that run in the breed before they were bred: hip and elbow X-rays, an eye exam by a veterinary ophthalmologist, a heart exam by a cardiologist, DNA tests for known mutations. Which tests depends on the breed, and the breed's parent club publishes the list. A vet check means a vet looked at the puppy at eight weeks. That is a required document for a puppy sold across state lines, and it tells you nothing about the parents or about inherited disease.
So the question is not "has the puppy been to a vet." It is "show me the parents' health test results." The breed page for your breed lists the conditions to ask about.
The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals runs the public database of hip, elbow, eye, heart, patella, thyroid and DNA results. Search by the dog's registered name or number. Two things to know. Normal results are public by default; abnormal ones appear only if the owner chose to release them, so a dog with nothing listed may have been tested and failed. And a CHIC number means the dog had every test its parent club requires and made the results public. It does not mean the results were normal. Read them.
The USDA's Animal Care Public Search Tool lists licensed breeders and dealers with their inspection reports and the number of non-compliant items found. Not every breeder needs a license. Anyone with four or fewer breeding females who sells only their own puppies, in person, is exempt, and so is any sale where you, the seller and the dog are in the same room. A license is required for wholesale, and for any sale where the buyer does not see the animal first: online, shipped, sight unseen.
That gives you a simple test. A small breeder with no license is normal. A breeder shipping puppies around the country with no license is breaking the law. And a license is a floor, not a mark of quality: the ASPCA describes the standards as minimal and poorly enforced, and there are no USDA-approved breeders, only licensed ones. The inspection report is the useful part.
Around 27 states and the District of Columbia set a minimum age for selling a puppy, and all but three of them say eight weeks. Federal rules bar shipping a puppy or kitten under eight weeks. The AVMA calls eight to ten weeks the ideal age to go home. A breeder offering a six-week-old puppy is either breaking the law or does not know it, and neither is a good sign.
Go to where the puppies were born and raised, and see the mother with them. Both the ASPCA and Humane World for Animals say the same thing: if the breeder will not let you visit, will not show you the mother, shows you one puppy at a time, or offers to meet you somewhere more convenient, walk away. Responsible breeders have nothing to hide. A waiting list is a good sign, not a bad one.
A responsible breeder wants one. Expect a spay or neuter requirement, often enforced through limited registration, which allows every AKC activity except conformation showing. Expect a clause that the dog comes back to the breeder if you ever cannot keep it, at any age. Expect a health guarantee, either against genetic defects up to a stated age or against named conditions. And know that the AKC itself will only enforce one thing in any contract: withholding the papers until the dog is paid for or neutered.
The CFA and TICA breeder lists carry no health-testing requirement. The CFA's own disclaimer says it makes no representations about the breeding or business practices of anyone listed and recommends the same caution you would use in any important business matter. So the work is yours.
Ask for the parents' results on two things. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the most common heart disease of cats and more common in Maine Coons, Ragdolls, British Shorthairs, Sphynx, Bengals and Persians among others: the parents should have an echocardiogram, and for Maine Coons and Ragdolls a DNA test for the MYBPC3 mutation, though a clear DNA test does not rule the disease out. And polycystic kidney disease in Persians and their relatives, where a DNA test exists and more than 37% of Persians carry the gene. The CFA's own red flags are large non-refundable deposits, kittens allowed to leave very young, and a breeder who will not do a video call or a visit.
The Kennel Club's Assured Breeder Scheme closed at the end of 2024. In its place is a Health Standard listing the good-practice and best-practice tests for each breed, and the Find a Puppy service now lets you filter for litters where both parents were tested. The Health Test Results Finder shows every recorded result for any registered dog. In England, Lucy's Law means a puppy or kitten under six months can only be bought from the breeder or a rescue, never a third party, and the mother has to be present. Licensed breeders must display their license number, and no puppy or kitten may be sold under eight weeks.
Read the breed page, health section first, and run the true cost calculator. Nearly eight in ten owners underestimate what the next fifteen years will cost.
Adopting instead of buying? The same kind of check for a shelter or rescue: How do I check a shelter or rescue before I adopt?