Check published prices
Compare exact, dated prices only where the procedure, species and scope match. This does not produce a clinic-specific estimate.
Practical guidance
Can I compare another vet, get a second opinion or change practice?
Yes—you can ask about another practice or another veterinary opinion. The practical steps depend on whether treatment has started, what records and medicines are involved, and whether a new vet needs to assess your pet. Comparing a published price, obtaining another estimate and seeking a clinical opinion are different tasks.
Professional and consumer guidance checked .
Contact a vet first
If your pet may need urgent care
Contact a veterinary practice first. Comparing or switching practices should not delay urgent assessment. Petfair does not assess symptoms or define what counts as urgent.
Read RCVS emergency and out-of-hours guidance ↗Start with the question
Three different decisions
Ask for another estimate
A different practice may need records and an examination before it can explain a relevant plan and likely costs.
Seek a second opinion
This asks another vet for a clinical view. It is not a price check and does not imply that either vet is wrong.
Your current point in the journey matters
What you can safely consider
Before treatment
I have an estimate and want to compare.
Practical stepCompare only the same procedure, species and scope. Ask both practices what the estimate may include, whether another consultation is needed and whether timing affects the options.
What Petfair can addPetfair can show exact published prices and nearby clinics. A published price is not a replacement estimate for your pet.
Where Petfair stopsPetfair cannot decide whether waiting to compare is clinically safe.
After diagnosis
The estimate is high and I want another view.
Practical stepAsk for the itemised estimate and relevant clinical records. Tell the other practice that your pet has already been assessed. Another vet may need to examine your pet before giving an opinion or treatment plan.
What Petfair can addPetfair can help compare published prices and clinic facts, but cannot compare two clinical plans unless their scope genuinely matches.
Where Petfair stopsA second opinion is not evidence that the first vet is wrong or that the next estimate will be lower.
Ongoing treatment
Treatment has started and I want to change practice.
Practical stepConfirm who is responsible for current care, what has been completed, what follow-up is planned and how relevant records will reach the new practice.
What Petfair can addPetfair can help you find and research another clinic, including exact published prices and verified ownership where held.
Where Petfair stopsDo not stop treatment or medication because of this guide. Ask the veterinary teams how continuity will be managed.
Medication or long-term care
I want another vet or want to review medicine costs.
Practical stepAsk about the current medicine, strength, formulation, quantity, review schedule and written-prescription fee. A new vet may need a clinical assessment before prescribing.
What Petfair can addPetfair can compare the all-in cost only for an exact medicine and pack when the required fee, delivery and repeat assumptions are known.
Where Petfair stopsA prescription and ongoing supply cannot be assumed to transfer unchanged to a new practice.
Urgent care
I am worried about cost and my pet may need urgent care.
Practical stepContact a veterinary practice first. Tell the practice that cost is a concern and ask what information it can provide without delaying assessment.
What Petfair can addPetfair can support a later comparison when it is appropriate to do so.
Where Petfair stopsPetfair does not assess symptoms, define urgency or advise delaying treatment.
Confirm before changing practice
Switching and continuity checklist
These are points to confirm with the practices, not universal promises about how a transfer will work.
- Clinical records
- Ask whether the new practice will request the records or whether you should request a copy. Relevant clinical records must be provided on a client’s request; consent may be needed before personal data is shared.
- Another examination
- Another vet may need to examine your pet before giving an opinion, taking over care or prescribing. Confirm this with the new practice.
- Fees
- You should expect a separate fee for a second opinion. Ask both practices about consultation, record, referral or administration charges rather than assuming any step is free.
- Estimate scope
- Check whether the diagnosis, procedure, medicines, tests, hospital care and follow-up are the same. Different scopes are not a like-for-like price comparison.
- Medicines and prescriptions
- Confirm who is currently prescribing, how much medicine remains, when review is due and whether a new clinical assessment or prescription would be required.
- Ongoing care
- Ask who will handle current treatment, results, follow-up and complications, and when responsibility moves to the new practice.
- Emergency and out-of-hours care
- Check where each practice provides urgent or out-of-hours care, the initial cost and whether another provider or location is used.
- Practice process
- Ask about registration, notice, deposits, record consent and any administration steps. These processes and charges are not universal.
Copy or adapt
Questions for the current or new practice
These questions preserve continuity. They do not suggest stopping treatment or medication.
I am considering another veterinary opinion or changing practice. Please can you help me confirm:
• Can I have a copy of my pet's relevant clinical records?
• Will another vet need to examine my pet again, and could another consultation fee apply?
• Are there any fees or admin steps for transferring records?
• Can you provide an itemised written estimate?
• What treatment or follow-up has already been completed?
• What medication is my pet currently receiving, and will the new vet need to review it or issue a new prescription?
• If I change practice, where would I contact for urgent or out-of-hours care?
• Is there anything time-sensitive I need to know before seeking another opinion?
Petfair next actions
Use facts, then confirm with the practice
Petfair does not rank practices and does not infer a missing clinic price. Published prices, distance, ownership and medicine costs are separate facts to consider alongside continuity, facilities and out-of-hours care.
Authoritative basis
Current guidance used on this page
Second opinions and changing practice
RCVS guidance says a client should not be obstructed from changing practice or discouraged from seeking a second opinion. Its owner guidance says a separate second-opinion fee should be expected.
Records, reassessment and medicines
RCVS guidance requires relevant records to be provided on request and promptly to a vet taking over a case. Prescription-only medicines require an animal to be under the prescribing vet’s care following a clinical assessment.
CMA status checked 1 September 2026: the final report describes future remedies, but the substantive Order was still being finalised and its staged duties were not yet current law. This page relies on current RCVS guidance for switching, records, fees and prescribing. Check the CMA implementation status ↗