Table of Contents
What Is a New Client Form?
A new client form (or new patient intake form) is the paperwork a veterinary clinic collects before a first appointment — owner contact information and treatment consent, the patient's signalment, and a history section covering diet, prior conditions, current medications, and vaccine history.
It does two jobs at once: it protects the practice by documenting informed consent and financial-policy agreement, and it gives the veterinary team enough background to walk into the exam room already knowing what matters for that patient — instead of reconstructing history during the appointment.
A complete intake form saves time at every future visit, too. Diet, allergies, and behavior notes collected once at intake carry forward through the chart rather than getting re-asked every appointment. The template below covers a standard first-visit intake, plus a separate addendum for practices that also offer boarding or grooming.
Required Elements of a New Client Form
1Owner Contact & Consent
- • Full contact info and preferred contact method
- • Emergency contact if primary is unreachable
- • Treatment authorization and financial policy acknowledgment
- • Communication and photo-use consent
2Patient Signalment
- • Species, breed, sex/reproductive status
- • Date of birth or age, color/markings
- • Microchip number and current weight
- • Patient name as it will appear in records
3History
- • Diet, brand, and feeding amount
- • Prior conditions, surgeries, and known allergies
- • Current medications and supplements
- • Vaccine history and previous clinic for records transfer
4Add-On Services
- • Boarding/grooming authorization and emergency contact
- • Feeding and medication instructions during stay
- • Belongings checklist
- • Emergency-care spending authorization
Copyable Intake Form Templates
Copy the standard intake form into your document or PIMS, or print it for the front desk. If your practice also offers boarding or grooming, pair it with the add-on addendum below.
New Client & Patient Intake Form
Owner consent, signalment, and history
OWNER / CLIENT INFORMATION
Full name: ___________ Preferred contact: [ ] Phone [ ] Email [ ] Text
Address / phone / email: ___________________________________
Emergency contact: ___________ Phone: ___________
CONSENT & POLICIES
[ ] Authorize exam/treatment [ ] Understand estimates are estimates
[ ] Agree to financial policy [ ] Consent to communications [ ] Photo-use consent
Owner signature: ___________ Date: ___________
PATIENT SIGNALMENT
Patient: ___________ Species: ___________ Breed: ___________
Sex/Repro: [ ] MI [ ] MN [ ] FI [ ] FS DOB/Age: ___ Microchip #: ___
HISTORY
Diet: ___________ Prior conditions/surgeries: ___________
Current meds/supplements: ___________ Allergies: ___________
Vaccine history: ___________ Previous vet/clinic: ___________
Educational reference only — adapt fields to your practice's consent language and state disclosure requirements.
Boarding & Grooming Add-On Addendum
For practices offering overnight or drop-off services
EMERGENCY / PICKUP AUTHORIZATION
Emergency contact during stay: ___________ Phone: ___________
Authorized pickup persons: ___________________________
FEEDING & CARE
Food: [ ] Owner [ ] Facility Amount/frequency: ___________
Medications during stay: drug ___ dose ___ route ___ frequency ___
BELONGINGS CHECKLIST
[ ] Leash/collar [ ] Bed [ ] Toys [ ] Food [ ] Medications [ ] Other
CONSENT
[ ] Authorize boarding/grooming and incidental care
[ ] Authorize emergency treatment up to $______
Owner signature: ___________ Date: ___________
Educational reference only — adapt to your facility's liability language and local licensing requirements.
Front-Desk Best Practices
- Collect the form before the first exam so the veterinary team can review history before walking into the room.
- Confirm microchip number against the scanner reading, not just what the owner reports — chips and paperwork can mismatch.
- Flag allergies and behavior notes prominently in the chart, not just on the intake form, so every future visit sees them.
- Request records transfer authorization at intake if the patient had a prior veterinarian — don't wait for a records request later.
- Re-confirm financial policy consent is on file before add-on services like boarding are booked, not after drop-off.
- Review and refresh contact info and consent annually — phone numbers and emergency contacts change.
Practice-Type Variants
Multi-Pet Household
Use one owner-information block and repeat the patient-signalment section per pet, so consent and financial policy acknowledgment only needs to be signed once per visit rather than per animal.
Referral / Records Transfer
Add fields for the referring veterinarian's name and clinic, reason for referral, and a signed records-release authorization so the prior clinic can transfer history without a separate follow-up call.
Telehealth-First Practices
Add a digital-consent block confirming the owner understands the limitations of a virtual exam and agrees to an in-person visit if the veterinary team determines one is needed.
Exotic & Avian Species
Replace the general history section with species-specific husbandry questions — enclosure/habitat setup, UVB lighting, diet composition, and cage-mates — since general canine/feline history fields don't capture what matters for exotic patients.
Frequently Asked Questions
What information should a new client form for a vet clinic collect?
At minimum: owner contact information and emergency contact, treatment and financial-policy consent, the patient's signalment (species, breed, sex/reproductive status, age, weight), and a history section covering diet, prior conditions, current medications, allergies, and vaccine history. Add a records-transfer field if the patient had a previous veterinarian.
Why does the intake form need a separate consent section?
A signed consent section documents that the owner authorized examination and treatment, understood the financial policy, and agreed to how the clinic will contact them — this protects both the client relationship and the practice if a billing or communication dispute comes up later.
Should I collect vaccine history even if the pet is brand new to my clinic?
Yes — even a partial or owner-reported vaccine history (or a note that records are being transferred from a prior clinic) helps the veterinary team avoid unnecessary re-vaccination and flags when a puppy or kitten's core series is incomplete.
How is a boarding/grooming intake addendum different from the standard new client form?
The standard form covers ownership, consent, and medical history. The boarding/grooming addendum adds operational details specific to an overnight or drop-off stay — emergency pickup authorization, feeding and medication instructions, a belongings checklist, and a spending limit for emergency veterinary care if the owner can't be reached.
Do multi-pet households need to fill out a separate form for each animal?
Not necessarily — many practices use one owner-information and consent block per visit, then repeat only the patient-signalment and history section for each additional pet, which reduces duplicate paperwork while still capturing what's unique to each animal.
Is a photo-use consent line necessary on a veterinary intake form?
It's common practice to include one, primarily to authorize using a patient photo for medical-record identification (helpful when patients share a name or look similar) — some practices also use a separate, optional consent line if photos may be used for marketing, which should be distinct from the identification-use consent.
How often should client contact information be updated?
Reviewing and confirming contact information and emergency contacts at least annually — or at every visit for high-turnover front desks — helps ensure the clinic can actually reach an owner if urgent findings come up during a visit or a boarding stay.
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Related Resources
Veterinary Physical Exam Form Template
Systems-based exam checklist for the first visit.
Puppy Vaccination Schedule Template
Core and non-core vaccine schedule for new puppy and kitten clients.
Veterinary SOAP Note Template
Document the first visit once intake is complete.
Veterinary Discharge Instructions Template
Plain-language take-home instructions for new clients.