How to switch vets in the UK

People switch vets for ordinary reasons: they move house, prices creep up, a trusted clinician leaves, or the practice is sold and the service changes. Whatever the reason, the mechanics are simpler than most owners expect — there’s no contract, no notice period and no obligation to explain.

Step 1: Choose the new practice deliberately

This is the one moment you get to compare the market, so use it:

• See every practice near you, with ownership shown — including whether the “different” practice down the road is actually part of the same group as the one you’re leaving.
• Check the out-of-hours arrangement: does the practice cover its own emergencies or outsource them, and to whom? Out-of-hours cover is what matters most in an emergency.
• Ask for the consultation fee and vaccination prices up front — and whether they publish a price list. Under the CMA reforms, practices must publish price lists in stages from December 2026.
• If cost is the pressure, check whether you’re eligible for a non-profit clinic such as the PDSA, and compare independent practices nearby — on average they’re cheaper.

Step 2: Register — the new practice does the rest

Registering usually takes ten minutes online or at the desk. Give the new practice your previous vet’s details and consent to request your pet’s clinical history; the practices handle the transfer between themselves. The RCVS Code of Professional Conduct treats passing on relevant clinical records as part of a proper handover of care, so this is routine — not a favour.

Before your first appointment, check the history has arrived — especially for pets with ongoing conditions.

Step 3: Tie up the loose ends

• Settle any outstanding balance with the old practice.
• Repeat prescriptions: ask the new vet to take over ongoing medication. They’ll usually want to examine the animal before prescribing — a professional requirement, not upselling. While you’re at it, ask about written prescriptions — for long-term medication, buying from a pharmacy often costs much less.
• Health plans: if you pay monthly for a wellness plan, check the cancellation terms — these are subscriptions, and some tie you in for the remainder of a “plan year”. This is a contract with the practice, separate from being registered.
• Insurance: nothing to cancel, but keep records complete (see the FAQ below on continuity).

Switching mid-treatment

You can change vets during ongoing treatment — the new practice takes over care once it has the history. But weigh continuity: for a complex, active case the vet who has followed it has context no file transfer fully captures. If the relationship has broken down mid-treatment, say so plainly to the new practice so they can request the full case notes, including imaging and lab results, not just the summary history.

If the problem is a complaint, not a preference

Switching doesn’t resolve a dispute. Complain to the practice first — in writing, to the practice manager. If that fails, the free Veterinary Client Mediation Service handles consumer disputes, and serious professional-conduct concerns go to the RCVS. The government has also proposed an independent veterinary ombudsman with binding powers — see what’s changing under the reforms.