Do I Need a Regular Vet to Use an Online Vet? FL, NY & VA

No: in Florida and Virginia a licensed vet can meet your pet by video as the first visit, and no New York law requires a prior in-person exam.

If your pet is collapsing, struggling to breathe, bleeding heavily, seizing, bloated, unable to urinate, overheating or has swallowed something poisonous, skip the video call and go to an in-person emergency vet now.

If you have just moved, just adopted, or have a pet that has not seen a vet in years, you may be asking: do I need a regular vet to use an online vet? Here is the answer for Florida, New York and Virginia, what to have ready, and what a video visit cannot do.

Do I need a regular vet to use an online vet? The answer by state

Florida: no regular vet needed. A Florida-licensed veterinarian may perform the initial evaluation that starts the veterinarian/client/patient relationship by live, synchronous audiovisual video (F.S. 474.2021).
Virginia: no regular vet needed. Under Va. Code 54.1-3303, an examination made electronically, through equipment that transmits images and medical records, is evidence of a bona fide veterinarian-client-patient relationship, just as a physical examination is.
New York: no statute or rule requires one, but the vet decides. NYSED's Professional Practice Guidelines ask that the veterinarian examine the patient in a timely way, so a New York-licensed veterinarian uses professional judgment on whether video is enough for your pet's problem.

In all three states your pet must be physically in Florida, New York or Virginia at the time of the visit. RexVet's veterinarians are licensed in Florida, New York and Virginia.

Why everyone online says you need an existing relationship

The relationship is the veterinarian-client-patient relationship, or VCPR. It exists when a veterinarian has taken responsibility for medical decisions about your pet, knows enough about the animal to make at least a preliminary diagnosis, and is available for follow-up.

The line that may have stopped you comes from the AAHA telehealth explainer: "Telemedicine requires your pet to have an existing and current relationship with their veterinarian." AAHA itself adds a caveat further down the same page: the laws "differ from state to state", and AAHA says the answer depends on your state, on whether you are already a client of that veterinarian, and on the condition you are asking about. This article answers only for Florida, New York and Virginia.

Florida: the PETS Act lets a Florida-licensed vet meet your pet by video first

The law that matters is F.S. 474.2021, the Providing Equity in Telehealth Services Act, created by House Bill 849 and effective July 1, 2024. F.S. 474.2021 says a Florida-licensed veterinarian may perform the initial patient evaluation that establishes the veterinarian/client/patient relationship as long as it is done by live audiovisual video. The same section says the evaluation "may not be performed using audio-only communications, text messaging, questionnaires, chatbots, or other similar means".

On records, the statute is direct. If the telehealth evaluation is sufficient to diagnose and treat the patient, the veterinarian "is not required to research a patient's medical history or conduct a physical examination of the patient" before providing care. Having no paperwork does not stop the visit.

After a telehealth initial evaluation, F.S. 474.2021 requires the veterinarian to give you a statement with their name, license number and contact information, plus the contact information for at least one physical veterinary clinic near your pet's location. The Florida PETS Act guide covers the full statute, and the online vet in Florida page covers how a RexVet visit works there.

Virginia: a video examination can count as the examination

Va. Code 54.1-3303 allows a prescription only where a bona fide practitioner-patient or veterinarian-client-patient relationship exists. For an animal, the statute says evidence of that relationship includes an examination of the animal "either physically or by the use of instrumentation and diagnostic equipment through which images and medical records may be transmitted electronically", plus enough knowledge of the animal to reach a preliminary diagnosis and being available for follow-up care. A video examination is one accepted way to meet the examination element.

The Virginia Board of Veterinary Medicine's Guidance Document 150-25 adds that the practitioner "must hold a current, active Virginia license" and uses "professional judgment to determine if the type of service can be delivered via telehealth at the same standard of care as in-person service". See the online vet in Virginia page.

New York: no rule requires a prior in-person visit, but the vet decides

No New York statute or rule requires a prior in-person visit. NYSED's Professional Practice Guidelines open by saying the guidelines are not the law: "Law, rules and regulations, not Guidelines, specify the requirements for practice and violating them constitutes professional misconduct." Guideline 5.11 defines the VCPR through, among other things, "a timely examination of the patient by the veterinarian", availability for follow-up and patient records. Guideline 5.12 allows prescribing only when a VCPR exists and the veterinarian has decided the drug is medically warranted for the animal. The page never uses the words telehealth, telemedicine, video or in-person.

So the honest reading is a hedge, not a green light: a New York-licensed veterinarian uses professional judgment on whether video is enough for your pet's problem, and may tell you a clinic exam is needed first. See the online vet in New York page.

What to have ready when you have no vet and no records

Before you book an appointment, gather what you can:

Your pet's weight or a best guess: weigh yourself on a bathroom scale, then again holding the pet, and subtract.
Clear phone photos or a short video of the problem from different angles.
The packaging of any food, supplement, or flea and tick product in use.
Any adoption, shelter or breeder paperwork, vaccine stickers or microchip papers, if they exist.
When the problem started and what changed: food, a move, a new animal, appetite, thirst or energy.

Having none of it does not stop the visit: in Florida that is written into the statute quoted above, and in Virginia and New York you can book without records and the veterinarian will simply ask more questions and decide what they need. The how it works page explains the steps.

Online vet vs in person when you have no regular vet: what a RexVet video visit can and cannot do

For anything not on the emergency list above, a video visit with a licensed veterinarian can:

Watch your pet on camera and take a full history.
Give a preliminary diagnosis where the picture allows.
Set a plan and a watch window, with the changes that should send you to a clinic.
Tell you plainly whether a clinic visit is needed and how urgently.
Give you a written summary to hand to whichever local clinic you choose.
Prescribe, if the veterinarian decides medication is appropriate, where state rules allow. In Florida a prescription based only on a telehealth evaluation is limited to up to 14 days for most animal drugs and up to 1 month for products labeled solely for flea and tick control, cannot be renewed without an in-person examination, and cannot be a controlled substance, a human-labeled drug, or a compounded antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral or antiparasitic medication by telehealth alone (F.S. 474.2021). Want a refill instead? Read what records a vet needs for an online refill.

A video visit cannot:

Do a hands-on physical exam or give vaccines.
Run bloodwork, X-rays or ultrasound.
Perform surgery, stitches, spay or neuter, or dental work.
Prescribe controlled substances.
In Florida, issue an international or interstate travel certificate or a certificate of veterinary inspection; F.S. 474.2021 bars both by telehealth.

AAHA notes that even where prescribing is legal, the veterinarian may decide after hearing the history that the pet should be seen in person instead. That is a normal outcome, not a failed visit.

If the problem is not an emergency, you can book a RexVet video visit now for $64.99. RexVet's veterinarians are licensed in Florida, New York and Virginia only and are available 24/7.

When it has to be in person, even if you have no regular vet

The emergency list does not change when you lack a clinic: a pet that is collapsing, struggling to breathe, bleeding heavily, seizing, bloated, unable to urinate, overheating or has swallowed something poisonous needs an in-person emergency vet now, not a video call.

Outside emergencies, a pet that has never had a vet will still need a clinic for:

First vaccines and boosters.
Spay or neuter.
Dental work.
Any illness that needs labs or imaging to diagnose.
Any Florida telehealth prescription that would need renewing after 14 days, since renewal requires an in-person examination.

In Florida, the video veterinarian must give you contact information for at least one physical veterinary clinic near your pet's location (F.S. 474.2021), so you leave with a place to go. In all three states, the written visit summary shortens that first clinic appointment.

Should you still get a regular vet? Yes, and the video visit is a good first step

An online vet is a first licensed opinion for someone who has no clinic yet, not a replacement for a lifetime of wellness care. Vaccines, annual exams, bloodwork, imaging, surgery and dental care all happen in a building. Use the video visit to get unstuck tonight and to learn what your pet needs next and which type of clinic to look for; once you have one, see how pet telehealth fits alongside a clinic.

If your pet is in Florida, New York or Virginia and the problem is not on the emergency list, you can book a video visit with a RexVet veterinarian for $64.99, 24/7. RexVet's veterinarians are licensed in Florida, New York and Virginia only, and the veterinarian will tell you if a clinic exam is needed.

Frequently asked questions

Can an online vet see my dog if he has never been to a vet?

In Florida and Virginia, yes: Florida's statute permits a live audiovisual first evaluation (F.S. 474.2021), and Virginia counts an electronic examination as evidence of a bona fide relationship (Va. Code 54.1-3303). In New York, no statute or rule requires a prior in-person visit; the New York-licensed veterinarian uses professional judgment on whether video is enough. The dog must be physically in one of those states.

Do I need my pet's medical records to book an online vet visit?

No. In Florida the statute says that when the telehealth evaluation is sufficient to diagnose and treat, the veterinarian does not have to research the pet's medical history or do a physical examination first (F.S. 474.2021). In Virginia and New York you can book without records; the veterinarian will ask for what they need.

Can an online vet prescribe medication for a pet they have never seen in person in Florida?

Only if the veterinarian decides medication is appropriate, and then only within Florida's limits: up to 14 days for most animal drugs or up to 1 month for flea-and-tick-only products, no renewal without an in-person examination, and no controlled substances, human-labeled drugs, or compounded antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral or antiparasitic medications by telehealth alone (F.S. 474.2021). Some visits end with a plan and no prescription at all.

Is it legal to use an online vet in New York if I don't have a regular vet?

No New York statute or rule requires a prior in-person visit. NYSED's guidelines ask that the veterinarian examine the patient in a timely way and never mention telehealth or video, so a New York-licensed veterinarian uses professional judgment on whether a video visit is enough for your pet's problem, and may tell you a clinic exam is needed.

Can an online vet be my pet's only vet?

No. A video visit is a first licensed opinion; it cannot give vaccines, run bloodwork, X-rays or ultrasound, or perform surgery, spay or neuter, or dental work. Every pet eventually needs an in-person clinic for those.