How to keep, and prove, your dog’s vaccination records
Short answer
The proof of your dog’s vaccinations is the certificate or record your vet issues, signed or stamped by the clinic. Keep the originals together, ask your clinic for a copy whenever you need one, and write down each vaccine with the date given and the next due date. Your own notes or app entries are your copy, not the official record.
General information, not veterinary advice. For anything about your pet’s health, talk to your vet.
Boarding kennels, daycare, groomers, trainers, a new vet and border checks may all ask for vaccination records, usually at short notice. A little order now saves a frantic search later.
Which paper is the proof
When someone asks you to prove your dog is vaccinated, they mean a document from a vet: a vaccination certificate, a booklet or passport with the clinic’s stamp and the vaccine sticker, or a printed record from the clinic’s system. For rabies, many places issue a separate certificate, and local law may decide what it must contain.
A photo of that document is handy, but some places will want to see the original or a copy sent by the clinic. A note in an app or on paper that you wrote yourself helps you remember dates; it is not an official record.
The AVMA notes that reputable boarding, daycare, grooming and training services require up-to-date vaccinations, and that many local laws require certain vaccines even for indoor pets.
Where records live
| Where | What it is good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Your clinic’s system | The most complete record; they can print or send a copy | Each clinic only has what it gave or was sent |
| Booklet, card or passport | The paper people ask to see; stickers show the vaccine batch | Easy to lose; keep it with your pet’s other papers |
| Your phone | Dates and photos you can find in a minute | Your copy only; backups depend on how you store it |
The safest set is all three: the clinic’s record, the paper original at home and a copy on your phone.
Getting copies from your clinic
Clinics can usually print or email a vaccination history. Ask at the end of each visit for an updated copy, rather than when a kennel needs it tomorrow. If your dog was vaccinated at several places, a shelter, a breeder’s vet, a mobile clinic, ask each one for its part, and give your current vet the full set so their file is complete.
Keep the next due date, not just the last one
A record answers “was it given?”. The question you will be asked next is “is it still valid?”. Each vaccine has its own interval: WSAVA notes that most non-core vaccines last about a year, while many core vaccines for adult dogs need repeating no more often than every 3 years. Your vet writes the next due date for each one. Copy it next to the vaccine, and set a reminder a week or so before.
If a date has already passed, call your vet. The AVMA says it is not too late for an adult pet who is overdue; your vet will suggest a catch-up plan.
When you change vets or travel
- Moving clinics: ask the old clinic to send the full history to the new one, and bring your own copy to the first visit.
- Boarding or daycare: check what they need and how far ahead; some want records sent by the clinic.
- Travel abroad: rules come from the destination country and can include a microchip, rabies vaccination at a set interval and an official certificate. Check the official rules early; some steps take months.
- Leaving your dog with someone: the AVMA suggests giving them the vaccination history, including proof of rabies vaccination.
A printable record
The printable vaccination record has a table for each vaccine, the date given, the next due date and the clinic, with a box for the sticker. It says on the sheet that it is your own record, not an official certificate.
Free printable: Vaccination record
Vaccines, medicines, weight and visits on one page.
How to keep track in Keepie
- 1
Add each vaccination with its next due date
In Health, add the vaccine name, the date given, the next due date and the vet. Turn on a reminder: on the day, 1 day before or 1 week before.
- 2
Photograph the certificate
Add it to Documents as a Vaccination document (PDF or photo). Documents are stored on this phone only and are not backed up, so keep the original. Free keeps up to 10 documents per pet.
How Health works - 3
Share the summary with a new vet
The vet summary lists every vaccination with its next due date. Share it as a PDF, or show it on your phone.
Sources
Questions about your pet’s health? Talk to your vet. Keepie and this guide do not replace them.
