Someone has invited you to their family and you've received a 6-digit code. Joining takes a few seconds, and there are two ways to do it.
Jump to:
- The app shows me a prompt
- Type the code yourself
- What you'll see when it works
- If you'd rather decline
The app shows me a prompt
While an invitation is waiting for you, the Ask A Vet app opens the prompt on its own — you don't have to hunt for the push notification. It reads Join {Owner's first name}'s family — "{Owner's name} has invited you to join the family. You'll be able to see family pets, their health insights, and more."
Tap Join family and you're in. If you dismiss it, it comes back the next time you return to the app.
Type the code yourself
- Open Settings → Family Sharing.
- Go to the Joined families tab.
- Tap Join a family.
- Under Enter your invite code, type the 6 digits.
- Tap Join — the button becomes active as soon as all six digits are in.
Your code is in the invitation email and in the push notification ("Your invitation code is {code}."). It's always exactly 6 digits, numbers only.
Important: The code is tied to the email address the invitation was sent to. Sign in to that Ask A Vet account before entering it — the code will never work on a different account.
What you'll see when it works
A confirmation screen reads Invitation accepted! — "You've joined {family}!" and "You can now view shared pets, get updates, and help manage their care." Tap Go to my pets and the shared pets appear in your normal pet list.
You start with all five family permissions switched on. The family owner can change them at any time.
Please note: Codes are single-use. Once you've joined, the code stops working — you don't need it again.
If you'd rather decline
Tap Decline invitation on the prompt. That removes the invitation completely, and the owner is notified. If you change your mind later, they'll need to send you a fresh invite.
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