Licensing of veterinary centres

A licence approved by the Director-General, Animal Health and Welfare is required to operate and maintain a premises as a veterinary clinic or hospital.

If you are a licensee, it is your responsibility to do the following:

• Observe and keep yourself informed of all relevant statutory requirements.
• Ensure that the veterinary surgeons under your employment are licensed by NParks/AVS. They must also comply with the conditions of licensing, or any directives that may be issued by the Director-General, Animal Health and Welfare from time to time.

The veterinary centre must be under the control and management of a veterinary surgeon at all times, and is subject to inspection by AVS.

Code of Ethics

Veterinary surgeons working in any veterinary centre should act in accordance with the Code of Ethics for Veterinarians.

The Code of Ethics is implemented to assure the public of the quality service standards veterinarians are capable of, and promote co-operation among veterinary industry professionals.

Exemplary professional conduct displayed in accordance with this code of ethics not only upholds honour and dignity. It also enlarges each professional’s sphere of usefulness, exalts his/her social standards, and promotes the science he/she cultivates.

Four fundamental principles guide the work of veterinarians:
1. To pursue the work of one's profession with uprightness of conduct.
2. To serve the community to the utmost of one’s ability.
3. To constantly endeavour to ensure the welfare of animals committed to one’s care.
4. To seek no personal advantage at the expense of one’s professional colleagues.

How to apply

Please log in to LicenceOne to apply for a Veterinary Centre Licence. An active CorpPass will be required to facilitate application. 

Approximately 25 working days is needed to process an application that is complete and in order.

The licence fee for a veterinary centre is S$350 per year.

Licensing conditions

For more information, refer to the conditions of licensing for veterinary centres.

Reporting notifiable diseases

If you have reason to suspect, or are aware of the positive detection of diseases listed in the schedule of the animals and birds (disease) notification, you must report this information to us. 

These diseases may be detected in the following items.

• Locally obtained samples of animal or bird origin.
• Imported samples of animal or bird origin.
• Exported samples of animal or bird origin, regardless the location of the testing lab.

For more information on identifying, diagnosing and timeframes/criteria for reporting notifiable diseases, click here. 

List of licensed veterinary centres

More information on AVS-licensed veterinary centres can be found here.