Checklist
Veterinary practice buyer checklist
A veterinary practice buyer checklist covers who the provincial veterinary college allows to own the practice, whether federal controlled-substance authorization needs to be renewed under the new owner, how client and patient records transfer, referral and emergency-coverage relationships, and any boarding or grooming revenue.
This checklist covers what to verify before buying a Canadian veterinary practice. A veterinary practice carries a mix of concerns a general medical or dental practice does not — controlled sedatives and euthanasia drugs kept on site under federal authorization, an emergency referral network, and often a boarding or grooming operation running alongside the clinical side — which is where this checklist focuses rather than repeating general clinical due diligence.
Confirm ownership eligibility and the corporate structure
Confirm the buyer, or the buyer’s designated licensed veterinarian, meets the provincial veterinary college’s ownership requirements before signing a binding agreementMost provincial veterinary colleges require the voting shares of a veterinary professional corporation to be held by licensed veterinarians, which shapes how a non-veterinarian buyer — including a consolidator — has to structure the purchase.
Where a management or holding structure is used to bring in outside capital, confirm the clinical corporation itself still meets the college’s licensing requirements independentlyA structure that works on paper can still fail college review if the entity actually delivering veterinary care is not held the way the college requires, and that review happens on its own timeline, not the deal’s.
Ask whether any veterinarian or registered veterinary technician at the practice has an open complaint or condition on their registrationA restriction on a key clinician’s registration can limit what the practice is able to do the moment ownership changes, independent of anything in the financial statements.
Check controlled-substance handling and drug inventory
Confirm the practice holds a current Health Canada dealer’s licence or equivalent authorization for the controlled drugs and narcotics it stocks, and ask whether the new owner needs a fresh authorization in its own nameVeterinary practices commonly stock controlled sedatives and euthanasia drugs, and federal authorization to possess and dispense them under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act is not something a buyer can assume simply carries over with the sale.
Request the drug inventory count, storage security arrangements and reconciliation records for controlled substances, and ask whether any discrepancy has ever been reportedA poorly reconciled controlled-substance log is a serious regulatory issue on its own, well beyond its dollar value as inventory, and it is worth resolving before taking over responsibility for the cabinet.
Review client and patient records and referral relationships
Confirm how client and patient records will transfer in compliance with the applicable privacy law, and whether client notice or consent is requiredClient and animal-patient records carry the same kind of privacy-law handling obligations as other personal information a business holds, and a transfer plan that skips required notice can create a complaint the new owner did not expect.
Review referral relationships with emergency clinics and specialty hospitals and confirm whether they are documented or depend on the seller’s personal reputationA practice that sends its complex cases to a specific referral network built on the departing veterinarian’s own relationships can see that pipeline weaken once that veterinarian is no longer the one making the call.
Ask how after-hours and emergency coverage is currently handled, and confirm what happens to that arrangement after the saleA practice that has quietly relied on the owner personally taking emergency calls can leave a real gap in client service the moment ownership changes, unless a documented coverage plan already exists.
Check equipment, ancillary services and associate agreements
Confirm diagnostic imaging, surgical and anesthesia equipment has current maintenance and calibration recordsEquipment that is out of calibration is not just a cost to replace — using it can create a clinical liability the new owner did not know it was taking on.
Where the practice offers boarding or grooming alongside clinical services, review that revenue and its staffing separately from clinical productionBoarding and grooming can carry meaningful revenue and their own liability and staffing patterns, and folding them into overall practice revenue without separating them out can misstate what the clinical side of the business is actually worth.
Review any associate veterinarian agreements and the seller’s proposed non-compete, and confirm with a lawyer how enforceable the non-compete is likely to be for this profession and provinceCourts weigh non-competes against regulated professionals carefully, and an unenforceable clause provides far less protection than it appears to against a departing veterinarian opening nearby.
Sources
Every item on this checklist traces to a primary source. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Canada Revenue AgencyGovernmentSelling a business
- 02Office of the Privacy Commissioner of CanadaGovernmentThe Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
- 03Treadstone LawLegal commentaryAre Non-Compete Clauses Enforceable Against Regulated Professionals Selling a Practice in Ontario?
- 04Treadstone AssociatesAdvisoryProfessional Practice Owners
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