PetSoMo

How we verify

When your pet is sick, you don't need marketing — you need facts you can check. Here is the method and the standards behind every clinic page we publish.

Our standards

A few rules we don't bend. They aren't slogans — they are how we treat every single data point.

Every fact has a source

Clinic name, address, license, accreditation — wherever possible we label where it came from (a state veterinary board, the AAHA directory, or the clinic itself). You can follow the source and check for yourself.

Every fact has a verified date

Data goes stale. We show when each item was last checked, so you know how fresh it is — instead of pretending it's always current.

Three honest tiers, never a blank

Every clinic sits in one of three tiers: License verified (its state veterinary license was checked against an official board record), Clinic submitted (the clinic claimed its page and added details, review in progress), or Public listing only (name and address from public listings, license not independently verified yet). A verified name or address is never treated as license verification. Where we haven't confirmed something, we label the tier — we don't fill the gap with something plausible.

Clinic submissions are labeled separately

Information a clinic adds after claiming its page is labeled 'Clinic submitted' with a timestamp — richer data, and you always know who it came from.

What we verify

State veterinary licenses

We check public license records from state veterinary boards (such as the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners) and show the license number and status, labeled with the date we verified it.

AAHA accreditation (shown only when present)

Accreditation by the American Animal Hospital Association is a widely recognized quality signal. To be honest about where we are: our directory-wide AAHA matching isn't built yet, so today almost no page shows it. When a clinic is AAHA-accredited, we'll show it with its source — but we don't list AAHA as a coverage claim we've completed, and it isn't part of the “License verified” tier.

Emergency care and services

Emergency availability, 24-hour service, animals treated, specialties and facilities — the details that matter most in a critical moment. We collect and verify what we can, and clinics can complete the picture by claiming their page.

One honest note: a clinic's mode of operation (in-person vs telehealth) currently reflects how it appears in public listings — most clinics are listed as in-person by default, and this is not part of our official verification. Whether a clinic offers telehealth is confirmed through claiming or official sources; until then, calling ahead is your safest bet.

An honest word about "trust"

We are still in the middle of building out our verification coverage. That's why you'll see many clinics marked "Public listing only" — it isn't neglect, it's honesty, and it says the license verification is still in progress, not that the clinic is any less trustworthy. We won't comfort you with absolute claims like "real-time verified" or "100% accurate." What we can promise: everything we show as verified has a source you can check, and everything we can't verify is clearly labeled.

This tool exists for pet parents — free, and built in good faith. If it helps you panic a little less and find a trustworthy vet a little faster when your companion needs help, it's doing its job.

Frequently asked questions

Is PetSoMo free for pet parents?+
Yes — completely free. We don't charge pet parents anything and we don't sell your personal information. PetSoMo is a goodwill tool built to help you find a vet you can trust.
How do you verify whether a vet is licensed?+
We check public license records from state veterinary boards (such as the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners) and show the license number and status on each clinic page, labeled with its source and the date we verified it. Every clinic falls into one of three honest tiers — "Verified" (checked against an official source), "Clinic submitted" (the clinic added it, review in progress), or "Public listing only" (from public business data, license not yet independently verified). We never make it up.
What is AAHA accreditation and why does it matter?+
AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association) accreditation is a voluntary program that evaluates hospitals against roughly 900 standards covering anesthesia safety, medical records, and equipment. It's a strong quality signal — though not the only one; many excellent clinics simply haven't pursued accreditation. To be transparent: our directory-wide AAHA matching isn't built yet, so we show AAHA only when a clinic has it, and it is not part of the "License verified" tier.
Can I filter for emergency or 24-hour vets?+
Yes. On any city page you can filter by emergency care, 24-hour availability, telehealth, specialty, and the types of animals a clinic treats.
How current is the information?+
Verified signals are labeled with the date we checked them, so you always know how fresh they are. Information submitted by clinics through claiming is labeled "Clinic submitted" with a timestamp. We re-verify against official sources as they change (for example, when licenses expire).
I'm a veterinarian or clinic owner — how do I claim my page?+
Search for your clinic on the "For Clinics" page, verify with your work email (a domain email matching your website is best), then complete your listing — animals treated, emergency care, hours, fees, and in-person vs telehealth. It's completely free.

Are you a veterinarian or clinic? Claim your page to keep your information accurate and easy to find.

Learn about claiming →

Built on the xcircl API

The verified, source-linked provider data behind this directory comes from the xcircl data API. If you're a developer or building a product on regulated-care provider data, you can call the same API.

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