Pet sitting agreement template
A pet sitting agreement is the contract between a pet sitter and a client: which pets, what care, how many visits, what it costs, and what the sitter can do if an animal gets sick. This template is written for a pet sitting business, with a vet authorization and spending limit, key handling, cancellations and holiday rates. Read it below, add your rates and send it to each new client.
Updated November 5, 2026 · 3 min read
The contract
Gray blanks are yours to fill in before you send. Each signer fills in the blanks in their color.
- You, before sending
- Pet owner
- Pet sitter
Pet Sitting Agreement
This Pet Sitting Agreement is between Business name (the "Sitter") and Owner name, of Owner address (the "Owner"). It covers the first booking and every later booking the Owner and the Sitter confirm in writing.
1. The pets
- Names, species, breeds and ages: Pet details
- Feeding (food, amount, times): Feeding instructions
- Medications, doses and times: Medications
- Health conditions, fears and behavior with people or other animals: Health and behavior
The Owner confirms that each pet is vaccinated as the law requires, including against rabies, and will give the Sitter proof on request. The Owner has told the Sitter about any history of biting, aggression or escaping. The Sitter may decline or end a booking if a pet's behavior makes it unsafe to continue.
2. Services and schedule
The Sitter will provide: Services (for example, drop-in visits, walks, overnight stays, plants, mail and trash). Visits per day and rough times for each booking will be confirmed in writing. Dogs will be walked on a leash unless the Owner has given written permission otherwise.
3. Rates and payment
Rates: Rates. Holiday surcharge: Holiday surcharge. A deposit of Deposit confirms each booking, and the balance is due Balance due. If the Owner returns later than planned, extra visits or nights are charged at the same rates.
4. Cancellations
If the Owner cancels at least Refund notice days days before the first visit, the deposit is refunded. After that, the deposit is kept. If the Sitter has to cancel, the Owner gets a full refund, and the Sitter will help find a replacement where possible.
5. Keys and access
The Owner will give the Sitter Key handover. Alarm, gate and lockbox codes will be shared separately, not written in this Agreement. The Sitter will keep keys secure and unlabeled, will not give them or the codes to anyone else, and will return them, or delete the codes, when the Owner asks or this Agreement ends. Nobody else may enter the home on the Sitter's behalf without the Owner's permission.
6. Veterinary care
The Owner's veterinarian is Veterinarian. Emergency contact while the Owner is away: Owner emergency contact. If a pet appears ill or injured, the Sitter will try to reach the Owner and the emergency contact. If neither can be reached in time, the Owner authorizes the Sitter to take the pet to the Owner's veterinarian or the nearest emergency clinic and approve treatment up to Vet spending limit. The Owner will pay the veterinary bill and any transport costs, except where the illness or injury was caused by the Sitter's negligence.
7. Responsibility and insurance
The Sitter will care for the pets with reasonable skill and attention. The Sitter is not responsible for illness or injury caused by a pre-existing condition, old age, or the pet's own behavior, or for damage a pet does to the home, unless the Sitter was negligent. The Owner is responsible for injuries their pet causes to other people or animals. The Sitter carries Sitter insurance.
8. Updates and photos
The Sitter will send the Owner an update after each visit, or as agreed. The Sitter may share photos of the pets on the Sitter's business pages only if the Owner ticks this box: . Photos will never show the Owner's address or the inside of the home in a way that identifies it.
9. Ending this Agreement
Either side may end this Agreement in writing at any time; bookings already paid for will be completed or refunded. It is governed by the laws of the state of State, and may be signed electronically. Owner phone: Owner phone.
My pets' vaccinations are current, and I have told the Sitter about their health and behavior.
Pet owner
Pet sitter
Opens it in SignMaster as a template you can edit and send.
A starting point, not legal advice. Have a lawyer review it for your state and situation.
On this page
What it protects
Pet sitting runs on trust: you have the keys to someone's home and responsibility for an animal they love. Most problems come from things nobody wrote down: the cat's medication schedule, whether the dog is allowed off-leash, what to do at midnight if the dog eats a sock, and who pays the emergency vet. A signed agreement answers those questions before you need the answers.
Send it to every new client before the first booking. After that, a short booking confirmation with the dates is enough, because the agreement covers later bookings until either of you ends it.
What the template covers
- The pets: name, species, breed, age, feeding, medication, behavior and vaccinations.
- Services: drop-in visits, walks, overnight stays, and extras like plants, mail and trash.
- Schedule: the dates, visits per day and their rough times.
- Rates: per visit or per night, extra pets, a holiday surcharge and a deposit.
- Cancellations: how much notice the client gives and what's refunded.
- Keys and access: how keys are handed over and returned, with alarm and gate codes shared separately.
- Veterinary care: the client's vet, permission for emergency care, and a spending limit.
- Responsibility: illness from pre-existing conditions, injuries caused by the animal's own behavior, and the sitter's insurance.
Mistakes pet sitters make
- No vet spending limit. Permission to get emergency care, with a figure the client sets, avoids a standoff at the clinic counter.
- Writing alarm codes into the contract. Get them by phone or a secure note; contracts get emailed and filed.
- Not asking about bite history. Disclosing aggression is the client's job, but you have to ask, and you should feel free to decline.
- Skipping vaccination records. Ask for proof of rabies vaccination and whatever else your area requires.
- Leaving long stays open-ended. Say what happens, and what it costs, if the client's flight is canceled and they're two days late.
How to send it with SignMaster
- 1
Open the template
Choose Use this template above. The client signs first and you sign as the sitter.
- 2
Add your rates and policies
Fill in the gray blanks with your business name, rates, holiday surcharge, deposit and cancellation notice. They stay the same for every client.
- 3
The client describes their pets
Your client fills in the pet details, feeding, medication, their vet and the emergency spending limit, and ticks that vaccinations are current.
- 4
Collect the vaccination record
Add an Attachment field in the template editor, and clients can attach a photo of the vaccination record as they sign.
- 5
Put it on your website
Turn the template into a public signing link with you assigned as the sitter, and new clients can sign up before you've even met.
With a public link, every new client's answers, from pet names to their vet, land in the template's Responses tab as one table you can export, which makes a ready-made client list for busy holiday weeks. See all answers to a template in one table.
Questions? Answers.
Do pet sitters need a contract?
It isn't required by law, but it's the easiest way to show what you agreed if an animal is hurt, a key goes missing or a client disputes a charge.
What should a vet authorization include?
The client's regular vet, permission for the sitter to get emergency care when the client can't be reached, a spending limit, and the client's promise to pay the bill. The template has all four.
Can clients sign a pet sitting contract online?
Yes. They get a link by email, or sign through a public link on your website, on any phone or computer, and both of you get the signed PDF.
Who pays if a pet gets sick while I'm sitting?
Under this template, the client pays for veterinary care unless the illness or injury was caused by the sitter's negligence. Business liability insurance is how sitters cover that case.