Licensing and Boards

All veterinarians must be licensed before they can practice veterinary medicine. Veterinary licensing requires successful completion of both national and state applications and exams.

Steps to Becoming Licensed to Practice Veterinary Medicine

1. Completion of your DVM degree (or equivalent education) and
2. A passing score on the NAVLE (North American Veterinary Licensing Examination)
3. In addition, some states have additional requirements such as additional clinical competency tests and/or state jurisprudence exam
4. Completion of of licensure forms in the state you want to be licensed in along with payment of licensure fees

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National Licensing Examination

Students in the DVM Professional Program at the VMBS can take the North American Licensing Examination (NAVLE) during their fourth year. The exam is currently offered in two “exam windows” (four weeks in November/December and two weeks in April).

Visit the NAVLE website for exam information.

Requirements to apply for the NAVLE under the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (TBVME) are:

• You are a graduate of an AVMA-accredited college of veterinary medicine. The college of veterinary medicine MUST have held AVMA accreditation at time of your graduation; OR
• You are a fourth year student enrolled at an AVMA-accredited college of veterinary medicine and will be within 60 days of graduation when you take the licensing exam;
  AND
• You have passed the National Board Examination (NBE) with a locally derived, scaled minimum score of 75% (425 minimum raw score), AND the Clinical Competency Test (CCT) with a locally derived, scaled minimum score of 75% (425 minimum raw score); OR
• You have passed the NAVLE with the same minimum score criteria.

Visit the TBVME website for complete information.

For exam information for states other than Texas, visit the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB) website.

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State Licensing

Notice to students pursuing programs that may lead to a professional license or certification required for employment.

The following programs may lead to a professional license or certification that is required for employment. Professional licensure/certification requirements vary from state to state, which may affect a student’s ability to apply for a professional license/certification upon the completion of the program. The U.S. Department of Education regulation, 34 CFR 668.43 (a) (5) (v), requires an institution to disclose whether the program will fulfill educational requirements for licensure or certification for each state. The administrative departments that offer the programs have made the following determination regarding their curriculum.

Program	Meets	Does not meet	A determination has not been made
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine	TX, Al, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY		VI, AS, CNMI, GU, MH, FM, PW

We recommend students contact the appropriate state licensing agency in their state or the state where they intend to work to seek the most up-to-date information about state licensure/certification requirements before beginning the program.