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Fees and rates in California

For legal reasons specific to California, the way pet care providers enter their rates and the service fees paid by pet owners are different than in other states. 


How pet care providers enter their rates in California 

Pet owner fees

How pet care providers enter their rates in California 

The way pet care providers enter rates in California is different than in other states. If you’re a pet care provider, this difference makes it more clear how much you’ll take home/earn. As always, you set your own rates and can change them at any time. 

The number you enter as your rate for a service is the amount of money you take home. Once you enter your rate, you’ll see the list price displayed under it. This is the price your clients will see on your profile, and it includes a service fee that clients pay to keep Rover running. 

Here’s what that looks like if you’re a pet care provider in California:

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Rover includes a service fee in the list price, which is paid by pet owners. This fee is 25%—rounded to the nearest dollar—of the rate pet care providers set for each service.

The price that’s listed on your profile for each service includes the rate you entered plus a service fee that pet owners pay. Previous documentation about this fee sometimes referred to the service fee as 20% of the list price that appears on your profile. Because you enter the rate you keep for each service, and not the list price, the service fee percentage is based on the rate you keep and then added on top, and that amount is 25%.

Example: 

  • A pet care provider sets their rate to $80
  • As a result, the list price is $100 
  • The $20 service fee that a pet owner pays (the difference between the list price, and the pet care provider’s rate) is equivalent to 20% of the list price. 

Pet owner fees

Service fees allow Rover to operate and continually make improvements based on the needs of our growing community of both pet owners and pet care providers, and cover things such as:

  • The Rover Guarantee, a reimbursement program primarily intended to protect pets.
  • Rover’s 24/7 support, including a dedicated team of safety experts.
  • Secured payment processing for each booking. 
  • Use of the Rover platform to facilitate connections between pet care providers and pet owners.
  • Essential site maintenance and continuous product improvements.

If you’re a pet owner, you’ll pay two types of fees: 

  • Fees included in the list price
  • Fees calculated at checkout

Fees included in the list price

Rover includes a service fee in the list price, which is paid by pet owners. This fee is 25%—rounded to the nearest dollar—of the rate pet care providers set for each service, which is equivalent to 20% of the list price.

Fees calculated at checkout

An 11% service fee is also added during checkout when you pay for the booking. This fee can’t exceed $50.

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