Expect to be asked for a defined set of documents before an evaluation day, and treat the front desk's confirmation of each one as part of the booking, not a formality. Facilities set their own requirements, so ask what this daycare requires, send the documents several days ahead, and then confirm receipt item by item. A dog turned away at drop-off because a vaccine date was misread or a file never arrived loses the evaluation slot entirely, and that outcome is avoidable with one careful phone call.
The Vaccination Record, Vaccine by Vaccine
The central document is the vaccination record issued by your vet, showing your dog's name, each vaccine, the date given, and the date the next dose is due. Expect the record to be checked for rabies vaccination, which many facilities and local rules treat as essential, and for the core vaccines that protect against distemper and parvovirus. Many daycares also require kennel cough cover, and some ask about canine influenza or leptospirosis cover as well. Those extra requirements are set by the facility, not by a universal rule, so the honest question to ask is which vaccines this daycare requires and how recent each dose must be. Check the dates as the desk will check them. A booster that falls due the week before the evaluation can mean a visit to the vet first, and some facilities want a gap between a fresh kennel cough dose and the first group day. Ask the desk to read the expiry dates back from the copy they hold, because that read-back exposes a blurred scan, a missing second page, or an old record filed under your dog's name.
Parasite Prevention Status
Expect to be asked for your parasite prevention status as its own item: what flea and worming cover your dog is on, in general terms, and the date it was last given. Daycares ask because dogs share water bowls, bedding areas, and play surfaces all day, and one untreated dog raises everyone's exposure. Have the last-given dates written down before you call; guessing at the desk helps nobody. If a dose is due shortly before the evaluation, ask whether the facility prefers it given ahead of the day, and note their answer alongside the confirmation.
Vet Contact and Emergency Authorisation
Two documents protect your dog if the day goes wrong. The first is your vet's contact details: practice name, phone number, and address, plus your own mobile and a second person who can be reached if you are in a meeting or on a flight. The second is a signed emergency authorisation: your written permission for the facility to seek urgent veterinary care for your dog, naming who may approve treatment decisions if you cannot be reached, and how costs and transport are handled under the facility's own process. Read what you are signing. An authorisation written by the facility may cover emergency transport and immediate stabilisation only, and you should know its limits before the day, not during a phone call about an injured dog. It also helps the desk to note any allergies, long-term conditions, or behaviour that staff should know for a first group session, given as background for handlers rather than as a health document in its own right.
Confirming Receipt, Not Just Sending
Sending is not confirming. After you send copies, phone or visit and work through a short spoken checklist: vaccination record received, dates in order, parasite status noted, vet contact on file, emergency authorisation signed. Ask who has checked the file and whether anything else is needed before the evaluation, and write down the name of the person who confirmed it. Keep your own copies of everything you sent, labelled with the date sent, so a missing item can be resent in minutes. KinsLe stores scanned copies of every confirmed document inside Pet Passport, turning a missing-file phone call into a two-minute resend rather than a frantic search.