Regrouping occurs when a dairy cow is moved from one pen to another. We predict this is a stressful time for a cow; however, no research has quantified a physiological stress response. Further, no work has attempted to determine if the anticipated physiological stress response is mitigated when cows are moved with a familiar partner. We predict that cows moved individually may lack the social support needed to buffer the negative effects of regrouping. The objective of this study was to measure fecal cortisol metabolite concentrations during the days following regrouping, among cows moved individually or as a pair. Holstein and Jersey cows were divided equally into 2 treatments: 1) Individual Regrouping 3 d after calving; n = 17, and 2) Paired Regrouping 3 d after calving; n = 17). Treatment groups were balanced by parity and breed. After calving, all cows stayed in a postpartum pen for 3 d that was adjacent to the maternity pen. The afternoon of d 3, cows in the individual treatment were regrouped alone while the focal cow in the paired treatment was moved with a familiar partner (i.e., both spent 3 d in the postpartum pen together). Fresh fecal samples were taken during the afternoon feeding, for 5 d, starting on the day of regrouping. Samples were analyzed for fecal cortisol metabolite (11,17-dioxyandrostane; 11,17-DOA) concentration. Data were analyzed using a mixed model in SAS. Primiparous cows had higher 11,17-DOA than multiparous cows after regrouping (1.9 ± 0.2 vs. 1.1 ± 0.2 ng/mL, respectively; P < 0.001) and Holsteins tended to have higher 11,17-DOA relative to Jerseys (1.7 ± 0.2 vs. 1.3 ± 0.1 ng/mL, respectively; P = 0.08). Overall, cows regrouped as individuals had higher 11,17-DOA concentrations compared with paired cows (1.8 ± 0.2 vs. 1.2 ± 0.2 ng/mL, respectively; P = 0.01). These differences were greatest during the 24 h after regrouping (P < 0.01); by d 3 after regrouping there were no detectable differences in 11,17-DOA concentration (P = 0.90) between treatments. Moving cows in pairs may help reduce the physiological stress response observed within 24-h after regrouping.