Your pet's digital vaccination record: how it works

The vaccination card has one real talent: being unfindable the moment the clinic asks for it. A digital vaccination record fixes that — it’s always with you (on your phone), it reminds you on its own, and you can share it without handing it over.

Here’s how to set one up and actually use it day to day.

What a digital vaccination record should do

Not every app that says “records” really keeps one. What matters:

• Due dates, not just dates. A vaccine with no next-due date is just a note. The reminder is what makes it useful.
• More than one pet. A dog and a cat are on different schedules — both belong in one household, not two apps.
• Sharing. Whoever shares the care should share the record.
• Export. When you switch vets, the whole history has to come with you.

How to set it up

1. Add your pet — species, breed, birthday, weight.
2. Log the vaccinations — with dates. PawVet suggests the next due date (rabies, DHPP, FVRCP, kennel cough …).
3. Turn on reminders — you’re nudged before the next appointment.
4. Share or export — share with your partner, or take it as a PDF.

In everyday life

The trick is to log on the spot — the booster right after the visit, the weight straight off the scale. Which vaccine falls due when is laid out in the pet vaccine schedule for dogs and cats — where the app handles the reminder a month before the next one.

Is a digital record official?

For travel it doesn’t replace official paperwork — a rabies certificate, the forms your destination asks for, or an EU pet passport with a microchip number if you’re in Europe. You’ll still need the official document at a border. But for the overview at home, the reminders, and switching vets, the digital record is the more practical tool: complete, shared, and always with you. If you keep several pets in one place, it matters all the more.

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PawVet is coming to iOS and Android soon. Join the list and we’ll tell you when it’s open.