In this guide · 7 sections
Short answer
Show your licensed veterinary centre details and vets' names and qualifications, keep claims factual and non-comparative under the AVS Code of Ethics, never promise a cure, and make emergency hours and after-hours options obvious on every page. Add booking and opt-in WhatsApp reminders.
AVS licensing and what to state on your site
AVS's page on the licence to operate a veterinary centre says a licence approved by the Director-General, Animal Health and Welfare is required to operate premises as a veterinary clinic or hospital. The centre must be under the control and management of a veterinary surgeon at all times and is subject to AVS inspection. The licence fee is S$350 a year, and AVS says a complete application takes about 25 working days.
Individual vets also need a licence to practise, and one of its conditions is full compliance with the Code of Ethics for Veterinarians. A new branch needs its own centre licence before its page or Google profile says it is open.
Vet clinic website essentials
Regulation is changing. Parliament passed the Veterinary Practice Act 2026 on 8 April 2026. It sets up a Veterinary Council and full, restricted and specialist registration, and makes it an offence to falsely claim specialist status. Only some sections were in force from 1 August 2026, so check what applies when you update your site.
Advertising rules in the Code of Ethics
Annex C of the Code of Ethics for Veterinarians covers veterinary advertising, and paragraph 4.1 says a practice may maintain a website in line with those guidelines. Advertised information must be factual, accurate and verifiable, with no extravagant claims, and must not be misleading, sensational, persuasive, laudatory, comparative or disparaging.
Annex C also lists objectionable advertising: claiming personal superiority over colleagues, advertising secret remedies or exclusive methods, and advertising medical case reports. The main Code adds that vets should not boast of superior knowledge or skill, and that guaranteeing a cure is unethical. Responsibility sits with the vet or practice owner even when an agency writes the copy.
Fine on a vet website
- We see dogs, cats and rabbits
- Vaccinations, desexing, dental scaling and X-rays available
- Our vets and their qualifications
- Fees for a standard consultation
Avoid
- Singapore's best vet clinic
- Our surgeons have the highest success rate
- Case stories of patients we cured
- Calling a vet a specialist without recognised specialist status
Emergency hours and after-hours routing
The Code says that in emergencies a vet is obliged to provide essential services when necessary to save life or relieve suffering, which may be limited to stabilisation for transport to another source of care. Your website should make the after-hours path obvious, because people reading it at night are stressed.
Put emergency information on every page
A short banner or header line: what to do if your pet needs urgent care now, with a click-to-call phone number.
Be honest about your hours
If you are not a 24-hour clinic, say so plainly and list where owners can go after hours. Do not imply round-the-clock cover you do not provide.
Keep Google hours in sync
Update public holiday hours in your Google Business Profile, because many owners check Maps first. See our Google Business Profile guide.
Set an after-hours phone and WhatsApp message
An automatic reply with your opening time and the after-hours option stops urgent messages sitting unread overnight.
List signs that need urgent care
A short factual list, such as difficulty breathing or suspected poisoning, helps owners decide quickly without promising outcomes.
Automation helps with routine questions, but it has limits at night.
Online booking, deposits and pet records
Online booking works well for routine visits: vaccinations, health checks, grooming-related medical checks and follow-ups. Set appointment types with the right durations and let surgery and complex cases go through a phone call first. Our guide to online booking systems for clinics compares tools.
- Deposits for surgery such as desexing or dental work reduce no-shows. State the amount, what it covers, and the refund rule for cancellations before the owner pays.
- Pre-surgery instructions (fasting, arrival time, what to bring) can be sent automatically after booking.
- Pet record portals from your practice management software let owners see vaccination history. Use one that supports individual logins and MFA for staff.
- Owner data such as names, phone numbers and addresses is personal data under the PDPA. Collect only what you need and keep it in the booking or practice system, not in personal WhatsApp chats.
WhatsApp vaccination reminders
Owners are far more likely to read a WhatsApp message than an email. Automated reminders for vaccinations, heartworm or tick prevention and annual checks are one of the most useful automations a clinic can run.
Automated reminders run on the WhatsApp Business Platform, using Meta's Cloud API or a provider built on it. Messages sent outside a 24-hour customer service window must use pre-approved templates, and Meta's opt-in rules require you to get the owner's agreement before messaging them and to honour opt-outs.
| Message | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Booking confirmation | Right after booking | Include date, time, pet name and address |
| Appointment reminder | 24 hours before | Add a reschedule link |
| Vaccination due | 2 to 4 weeks before due date | Keep it factual, no promotions mixed in |
| Post-surgery check-in | Next day | Point to the phone number for any concerns |
Meta charges per delivered message, and the category Meta assigns to a template affects the price. Our WhatsApp Business API cost guide has the current Singapore rates. Keep reminders factual; adding a discount offer can turn a reminder into a marketing message with different rules.
Do it yourself or get help?
A clinic can put together a basic site with hours, vets, services and a phone number on a website builder. Linking booking, deposits, practice software and WhatsApp reminders is where it gets fiddly, and where mistakes cost no-shows or annoyed owners. This page is general information, not legal advice; check the Code of Ethics and AVS guidance for specific claims.
Our Business Website package (S$1,490) builds up to six pages with a booking button, Google Business Profile link and on-page SEO. Online Booking System (S$390) adds appointment types, reminders and deposits, and WhatsApp Notifications (S$590) sets up the official WhatsApp Business API with up to three approved templates and opt-in handling.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. AVS, part of NParks, requires a licence approved by the Director-General, Animal Health and Welfare to operate premises as a veterinary clinic or hospital. The licence fee is S$350 a year and a complete application takes about 25 working days. Each vet working there also needs a licence to practise veterinary medicine.
The Code of Ethics for Veterinarians lists advertising medical case reports as objectionable, bars boasting of superior knowledge or skill, and says guaranteeing a cure is unethical. Website content should be factual, accurate and verifiable. Educational articles about conditions are fine; stories promoting your own successful treatments are risky.
Only if they hold recognised specialist status. The Veterinary Practice Act 2026 creates specialist registration and makes falsely claiming or representing specialist status an offence once those provisions are in force. Describe interests and experience factually instead, for example a vet with a special interest in dentistry, unless formal specialist recognition applies.
Put a short emergency notice with a click-to-call number on every page, state your actual hours clearly, and tell owners where to go when you are closed. Keep public holiday hours updated on Google. Set an after-hours auto-reply on phone and WhatsApp, and never let a website chatbot judge whether symptoms are urgent.
Yes, if the owner has agreed to receive WhatsApp messages from you. Automated reminders run through the WhatsApp Business Platform using templates approved by Meta, and you must honour opt-out requests. Keep reminders factual. Meta charges per delivered message, so check current Singapore rates before setting up large reminder runs.