First Vet Visit in Germany: What to Bring and Ask

A useful first appointment starts before you enter the consulting room. Confirm the practice, language, urgency, records, likely payment method and questions in advance.

This guide is a preparation checklist, not medical advice. If your pet may need urgent care, use the Pet emergency guide rather than waiting for a routine appointment.

1. Choose and contact a practice

Directory records do not all have the same evidence level. Check the listing status and read our Directory quality promise. Then confirm English availability, the service you need and the appointment time directly with the practice. English-speaking staff and opening hours can change.

When booking, briefly describe the problem and ask whether the practice considers it suitable for a routine slot. Ask which clinician can consult in English and confirm English again at booking. If the situation changes before the appointment, contact the practice again.

2. What to bring

Bring information that helps the vet reconstruct the history. A phone note is useful if stress or translation could make details hard to remember.

• A short symptom timeline: when it started, what changed, and whether eating, drinking, toileting or activity changed
• Vaccination and medical records, including laboratory results, imaging reports and operation notes
• The names, strengths and doses of current medicines, supplements and recent parasite treatments
• Your pet in a secure carrier or on a secure lead, with any handling or bite risk explained before the examination
• Insurance details if relevant, while remembering that the policy determines the claim process

Photos or videos can help show an intermittent symptom, but do not delay urgent care to record one. Ask before bringing a urine, stool, vomit or food sample because the practice may require a specific container, quantity or collection time.

3. During the appointment

Start with the main concern and the symptom timeline. Mention known conditions, allergies, recent travel and all medicines. If you do not understand a term, ask the vet to rephrase it or write it down.

Before a non-urgent test or treatment, ask what the vet is looking for, how the result could change the plan, and what the benefits, risks and alternatives are. You can also ask about expected costs. An expected-cost discussion is not a fixed quote because a living animal's findings and treatment needs can change.

The German Federal Chamber of Veterinarians advises owners to discuss the examinations, treatment plan and likely cost with the vet. Its Official GOT guide for pet owners also explains why a tradesperson-style fixed estimate is not generally possible.

4. Vaccination and pet passports

Do not use a generic annual schedule as a substitute for an individual vaccination plan. The vet should consider the species, age, health, exposure, product information and travel plans. The current StIKo Vet vaccination guidance is the national expert reference for small animals.

An EU pet passport is a travel document for dogs, cats and ferrets. The European Commission says an authorised veterinarian can issue one for an EU resident. For travel, the animal must be identified by microchip before the rabies vaccination used for that journey. Other entry conditions and waiting periods may also apply.

Read the European Commission pet passport FAQ and our EU pet passport guide before relying on a document for travel.

5. GOT fees and invoices

Veterinary billing in Germany follows the national GOT. Ordinary services can generally be billed at one to three times the GOT base rate depending on the circumstances. A visit often contains several services, and medicines, materials, laboratory work and VAT can add to the total. This is why a single fixed "typical visit price" is misleading.

See the German vet costs and GOT guide for the ordinary and emergency fee rules.

Before a planned dental procedure, our Dental care costs and appointment guide explains which GOT items can appear and which questions to ask about anaesthesia, imaging, extractions and follow-up.

6. Payment and insurance

Payment arrangements vary by practice. Confirm accepted payment methods before the appointment, especially if a large diagnostic or procedure may be discussed. Do not assume cash, card, instalments or insurer billing will be available.

If you have insurance, check the policy's claim process, reimbursement limits, waiting periods, exclusions and any pre-authorisation requirement. Keep the invoice and medical documents. The practice can explain its bill, but only the insurer can confirm how your policy will handle a claim.

7. Before you leave

• Repeat medication dose, timing, duration and storage instructions back to the team.
• Ask which changes mean you should call sooner or seek urgent care.
• Confirm when and how results will arrive and whether a follow-up is needed.
• Request relevant records and an itemised invoice for your files.
• Check that any travel-document entry is complete before leaving.

Useful German phrases