What documents do I need to sell my veterinary practice?
A buyer of a veterinary practice asks for three years of tax returns and monthly P&Ls, a normalized EBITDA with owner add-backs, production by doctor, the real-estate lease, licenses, DEA registration and controlled-substance logs, associate agreements, and equipment.
Raw client or patient records stay out. The buyer’s own request list controls. Have counsel review the cut. This page is not a template.
Veterinary-practice sale document index (definition). The numbered evidence file behind one clinic sale.
It proves normalized EBITDA matches the books, DEA registration and controlled-substance logs are in the room as facts, and named clients and patients wait for confirmatory diligence.
A generic company-sale checklist is not this index.
The index, sourced, not a vendor list
DM Counsel’s guide on selling a veterinary practice (14 February 2025, retrieved 2026-10-02) covers three to five years of financials, tax returns, licenses, DEA, contracts, leases and corporate documents. It does not publish a file count. Vet Sales Consulting publishes a 27-point buyer due-diligence checklist (25 May 2026, retrieved 2026-10-02): three years of P&Ls and tax, owner add-backs, production split, lease assignment, DEA registration and twelve-month controlled-substance logs, associate agreements, and equipment service. The general company-sale version of this index is what should be in a sell-side data room index. A veterinary-practice sale adds production by doctor, the real-estate lease, DEA registration and controlled-substance logs, and it keeps named clients and patients out until confirmatory diligence. How to share those files is how to share veterinary practice financials with several corporate buyers.
| Put this | Why it is in the index | Where the norm is written |
|---|---|---|
| Three years of tax returns and monthly P&Ls | The earnings the price is built on, month by month. | DM Counsel, February 2025: three to five years of financials |
| Normalized EBITDA with owner add-backs | Corporate buyers underwrite adjusted earnings, not tax-return profit. | Vet Sales Consulting, May 2026: owner add-backs and normalized EBITDA |
| Production by doctor | Whether revenue stays if a producing owner steps back. | Vet Sales Consulting: production split |
| Real-estate lease and assignment rights | The clinic has to stay in the building after close. | Vet Sales Consulting: lease assignment |
| Licenses and corporate documents | Who is licensed to practice, and what entity conveys. | DM Counsel: licenses and corporate documents |
| DEA registration and controlled-substance logs | A DEA registration is not assigned or transferred like other assets. List the facts; this page is not a procedure. | DEA Form 222 FAQ EO-DEA117, 26 February 2023, and 21 CFR 1301.52 |
| Associate agreements | Who stays, who can walk, who is key-person risk. | Vet Sales Consulting: associate agreements |
| Equipment list and service contracts | What the buyer is actually buying on the floor. | Vet Sales Consulting: equipment service |
First-look, after exclusivity, keep out
First-look is what an NDA’d bidder sees with the normalized package. After exclusivity is confirmatory sampling. Keep-out is what does not belong in the open tree. 21 CFR 1301.52 (eCFR, title 21 as of 30 September 2026, retrieved 2026-10-02) says no DEA registration shall be assigned or otherwise transferred except upon conditions the Administration designates, and then only pursuant to written consent. On a transfer of business, schedule I or II substances require order forms under part 1305. DEA’s Form 222 FAQ (EO-DEA117, 26 February 2023, retrieved 2026-10-02) repeats that those transfers require Form 222s; unused forms are returned when the business closes (EO-DEA190, 5 October 2020). Have counsel review. This page is not a procedure.
| Folder | First-look | After exclusivity | Keep out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financials | Three years of tax returns and monthly P&Ls, a normalized EBITDA with add-back support | Monthly P&Ls, add-back support in Excel | A PDF of bank statements the quality-of-earnings has to unwind |
| Production | Anonymized production bands by doctor | A sampled named set for confirmatory testing | The ID-swap key, and a raw PMS dump |
| Premises | Lease summary and remaining term | Lease, assignment consent, equipment list and service contracts | A hoped-for assignment that is not in hand |
| People | Org chart, role list | Associate agreements | Employee SSNs in the open tree |
| Licenses and DEA | License list; that a DEA registration is on file, as a fact | Registration documents and twelve-month controlled-substance logs, as the buyer requests | A claim that the data-room vendor transfers the registration |
| Clients and patients | Closed | A sampled named set through advisors, if counsel signs off | Raw client or patient records. California BPC 4857 and the AVMA principles. |
California Business and Professions Code 4857 restricts disclosure of animal-patient and client information except listed circumstances. The AVMA Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics, section 7 (published 1 October 2026, retrieved 2026-10-02), says veterinary medical records are confidential except as required or allowed by law, or by client consent. Have counsel review. See What is Cashpian?, and pricing.
FAQ
Who decides the final document list?
The buyer's own diligence request list.
DM Counsel and Vet Sales Consulting publish checklists, not a file count.
Have counsel review the cut. This page is not a template.
When do client or patient records go in?
They do not, in first-look.
California BPC 4857 and the AVMA principles treat animal-patient and client information as confidential.
Have counsel review.
Why do buyers ask for DEA registration and controlled-substance logs?
Because a DEA registration is not assigned or transferred like other assets.
21 CFR 1301.52 and DEA's Form 222 FAQ say so.
Have counsel review. This page is not a procedure.
How does this index differ from a general company sale?
DEA registration, controlled-substance logs, production by doctor, and the real-estate lease sit here.
Named clients and patients wait, the way named customers wait in a company sale.
Sources
- DM Counsel, A Comprehensive Guide on Selling Your Veterinary Practice, 14 February 2025, retrieved 2026-10-02. Financials. Tax. Licenses. DEA. Contracts. Leases. Corporate documents.
- Vet Sales Consulting, Due Diligence Checklist: 27 Things Every Buyer Should Verify, 25 May 2026, retrieved 2026-10-02. Three years of P&Ls and tax. Owner add-backs. Production split. Lease assignment. DEA registration and twelve-month controlled-substance logs. Associate agreements. Equipment service.
- DEA Diversion Control Division, DEA Form 222 Q&A, EO-DEA117 26 February 2023 and EO-DEA190 5 October 2020, retrieved 2026-10-02. Schedule I or II transfers on discontinuance of business require Form 222s. Unused forms are returned when the business closes.
- eCFR, 21 CFR 1301.52, title 21 as of 30 September 2026, retrieved 2026-10-02. No registration assigned or transferred except as DEA designates, with written consent.
- California Legislative Information, Business and Professions Code 4857, retrieved 2026-10-02. Animal-patient and client information.
- AVMA, Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics, section 7, published 1 October 2026, retrieved 2026-10-02. Veterinary medical records are confidential except as required or allowed by law, or by client consent.
If the files are already in a folder, grade which row they are on. Cashpian is a gated room for that packet. It is not a listing portal. It does not sell the company or run the deal.