Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 9 August 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how EKM Veterinary Group Ltd, trading as The Pet Passport Co. ("The Pet Passport Co.", "we", "us" or "our") collects, uses, stores and protects your personal information when you use our website, make a booking or use our veterinary certification services.

1. Who We Are

The Pet Passport Co. provides veterinary certification and pet travel services, including Animal Health Certificates and other export documentation.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, EKM Veterinary Group Ltd is the data controller for personal information collected through our website and services.

For privacy enquiries, please contact:

Email: info@thepetpassportco.co.uk

2. Information We Collect

Depending on the service you use, we may collect:

• your name;

• email address;

• telephone number;

• home and appointment address;

• booking and payment information;

• travel dates, destinations and travel arrangements;

• details of any person authorised to travel with your pet;

• correspondence between you and The Pet Passport Co.;

• information contained in veterinary or clinical records supplied for certification purposes; and

• information you voluntarily provide through forms, emails, telephone calls or other communications.

We also collect information relating to your pet, including:

• name;

• species;

• breed;

• sex;

• date of birth;

• microchip number;

• rabies vaccination details;

• relevant clinical history; and

• other information required for veterinary certification.

Information relating solely to an animal is not normally personal data. However, veterinary records may also contain information that identifies you or another person.

3. How We Collect Your Information

We may obtain personal information:

• directly from you when you make a booking or complete a form;

• through our website and booking system;

• through email, telephone or other correspondence;

• from your registered veterinary practice, where you have authorised records to be supplied;

• from another person acting on your behalf; and

• from veterinary surgeons or other professionals involved in providing your service.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use personal information where necessary to:

• process and manage bookings;

• communicate with you regarding your appointment;

• verify your pet's identity and vaccination history;

• obtain or review supporting veterinary records;

• prepare and issue veterinary certificates;

• arrange appointments with an appropriate Official Veterinarian;

• take and reconcile payments;

• provide customer support;

• maintain appropriate veterinary, certification and business records;

• investigate complaints or queries;

• prevent misuse, fraud or security incidents;

• comply with legal, regulatory and professional obligations; and

• improve the operation and administration of our services.

5. Our Lawful Bases for Processing

Under UK data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for using your personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, we rely on the following lawful bases:

Contract

We process information where it is necessary to provide a service you have booked or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.

This includes processing bookings, communicating with you, preparing documentation and arranging veterinary appointments.

Legal obligation

We may process and retain information where necessary to comply with legal, regulatory, tax or professional obligations.

Legitimate interests

We may process information where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and those interests are not overridden by your rights.

This may include:

• managing and improving our services;

• maintaining appropriate business and veterinary records;

• preventing fraud or misuse;

• responding to complaints or disputes; and

• ensuring the security of our systems.

Consent

Where consent is the appropriate lawful basis, we will ask for it separately. You may withdraw your consent at any time, although this will not affect processing that took place before consent was withdrawn.

6. Veterinary Records and Information from Your Vet

To issue veterinary certification, we may need to obtain or review your pet's clinical history and vaccination records.

Where appropriate, we will ask you to authorise your veterinary practice to provide these records to us.

Clinical records may contain personal information about pet owners or other individuals. We use this information only where reasonably necessary to provide the veterinary service, meet professional obligations or maintain appropriate records.

7. Who We Share Your Information With

We do not sell your personal information.

We may share personal information where reasonably necessary with:

• Official Veterinarians and other veterinary professionals providing services on our behalf;

• your registered veterinary practice;

• website and booking platform providers;

• payment processors;

• email, cloud storage and business software providers;

• professional advisers, insurers, accountants or legal advisers;

• government departments, competent authorities or regulators where required for certification or by law; and

• law enforcement or other authorities where disclosure is legally required.

Where third parties process information on our behalf, we take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate data protection arrangements are in place.

8. International Data Transfers

Some of the technology and service providers we use may process or store personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with UK data protection law.

These may include transfers to countries recognised as providing an adequate level of protection or the use of approved contractual safeguards.

9. How Long We Keep Your Information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and to meet any legal, regulatory, professional, accounting, insurance or dispute-resolution requirements.

The appropriate retention period depends on the type of information and the service provided.

Veterinary and certification records may need to be retained after your appointment to meet professional, regulatory or insurance requirements.

Records that are no longer required will be securely deleted, anonymised or otherwise disposed of where appropriate.

10. How We Protect Your Information

We use reasonable organisational and technical measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, disclosure or misuse.

These measures may include:

• password-protected accounts;

• access controls;

• secure cloud-based systems;

• restricted staff access;

• appropriate account security measures; and

• procedures for handling confidential veterinary and client information.

No internet-based system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect the information entrusted to us.

11. Cookies and Website Data

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to operate correctly, understand website usage and improve your experience.

Some cookies are necessary for the website to function. Other cookies, including analytics or marketing cookies where used, may require your consent.

You can manage your cookie preferences through the cookie controls provided on our website and through your browser settings.

Please see our Cookie Policy or cookie settings for further information about the cookies currently used.

12. Your Data Protection Rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

• request access to personal information we hold about you;

• ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;

• request deletion of your information;

• request restriction of processing;

• object to certain uses of your information;

• request transfer of certain information to you or another organisation;

• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and

• complain about how your information has been handled.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal, regulatory or professional record-keeping requirements.

For example, we may be unable to delete information that we are required to retain.

To exercise any of these rights, contact:

info@thepetpassportco.co.uk

13. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we use your personal information, please contact us first so that we can investigate.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator.

Further information is available from the ICO.

14. Third-Party Websites

Our website may contain links to websites operated by other organisations.

We are not responsible for the content, security or privacy practices of third-party websites. You should review their privacy policies before providing personal information.

15. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our services, technology, suppliers or legal requirements.

The latest version will be published on this page together with the updated effective date.

The Pet Passport Co.
A trading name of EKM Veterinary Group Ltd

Privacy contact: info@thepetpassportco.co.uk

Last updated: 9 August 2026