Pet sitter forms and documents you actually need

The short answer: most pet sitters need about a dozen documents. Half are one-time client paperwork; the other half are per-visit or per-stay records. Once they exist in a folder somewhere, you stop re-inventing them every week.

This is a working checklist of the categories professional sitters use — solo drop-in sitters, overnight sitters, and small teams. Wording should be reviewed for your state and insurance requirements before you use it with real clients.

Client intake form

The single document a new client fills out before their first booking. It captures the owner’s contact details, preferred communication, address, home-entry instructions, who else has access to the home, and how they found you. A short intake form is a better experience than a long one — you can always ask follow-up questions later.

Pet information sheet

One per animal. The essentials:

• Name, species, breed, age, sex, and whether spayed or neutered
• Feeding schedule, food brand, portions, and treats allowed
• Medications with dose, timing, and how to administer
• Behavior notes: reactivity, resource guarding, fear triggers, recall
• Sleep, crate, and enrichment preferences

Emergency contact and vet release

Two contacts you must never guess about: a person the sitter can reach if the owner is unreachable, and the pet’s primary vet with an after-hours option. Many sitters ask the owner to authorize emergency care up to a stated dollar amount so treatment does not stall while you try to reach them mid-emergency.

Service instructions (per stay or per visit)

A one-page brief for the specific booking: dates, visit times, keys or lockbox codes, garbage day, mail handling, plant watering, thermostat preferences, and anything the sitter should not do. This is different from the pet info sheet — it changes with each booking and should live with the day’s schedule.

Policies and service agreement

Common policies to write down once and reuse:

• Cancellation and late-cancel fees
• Holiday premiums and blackout dates
• Key handling, lockbox rules, and smart-lock protocols
• Photo and social media consent
• What happens if a pet is sick, injured, or missing
• Liability, indemnification, and dispute resolution language — review this with a professional before use

Scheduling and confirmations

Even solo sitters benefit from a simple scheduling routine: a running calendar for confirmed bookings, a template confirmation message with dates and rate totals, and a night-before reminder to the client. Written confirmations prevent 90% of the “wait, I thought you were coming Tuesday” problems.

Visit reports and updates

A visit report is a short, dated record of what happened: potty, food, water, meds, mood, and any incidents. Owners love photo updates; you love a paper trail if something is ever disputed.

Payment records

• Rate sheet in your standard format
• Invoice or receipt template with your business info and payment methods
• Deposit and final-payment tracking (for longer stays)
• End-of-year totals for tax season

Where PetProsHQ resources fit

Pet sitters and dog walkers overlap heavily on paperwork. The Dog Walker Starter Kit includes intake, service agreement, and daily report templates that many sitters adapt for drop-in visits. The Pet Business Blueprint is a broader guide covering pricing, positioning, and operations for solo pet-care businesses.

Related resources

• How to start a dog walking business — many of the same docs apply.
• Pet business templates — categories and how to pick the right one.
• How to market a pet care business — filling the calendar those forms track.
• Free guides — starter-pack downloads for new pet pros.