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Are You Practice-Ready?

What is licensing text image

Licensing is a crucial step required to practice veterinary medicine—and it doesn't happen automatically when you graduate from veterinary school or when you pass the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam (NAVLE). The good news: Understanding the licensing process is easier than you might think. Here's what you need know to get started.

Licensing 101

What veterinary licensing is—and isn't

Your veterinary license is your official permission to practice veterinary medicine in your specific state or other jurisdiction (e.g., Canadian province, Puerto Rico, District of Columbia). Without licensing, you can't legally practice as a veterinarian.

Here are a few important facts to keep in mind about licensing:

  • Licensing is overseen by your state or jurisdiction's veterinary board.
  • It's state-specific. If you want to practice in multiple states, you need separate licenses from each of those states.
  • It expires, so it needs to be renewed regularly. The timeframe for renewals varies by state, so this is something you'll want to check on with the veterinary board.
  • It's not the same as USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) accreditation, which is an optional step that enables you to provide additional services such as health certificates to your patients. In fact, you must be licensed in your state(s) before you can apply for USDA accreditation separately.

How to get licensed

You can start looking into getting licensed as soon as you know where you're going to practice medicine, and it's a good idea to start early because license processing times can take weeks to months. The requirements vary for each state and territory, so you need to start with the veterinary board website for your location (look them all up here). The website will explain the specific process for getting the license you need.