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United States · Licensing exams

Veterinary medical board: finding your state’s licensing board

A veterinary medical board, or board of veterinary medicine, is the state agency that licenses veterinary professionals where you work. Each state has its own. This page doesn’t list each board’s address. To reach yours, use the look-up from the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB): pick your state, and it gives you that board’s contacts and rules.

  • 2 directoriesAAVSB’s look-up and ICVA’s directory
  • 1 boardPer NAVLE application
  • All 50 statesEach with a board, plus DC and 2 territories
Find your board with the AAVSB

Updated November 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

What does a veterinary medical board do?

The AAVSB describes state and provincial boards as doing these things:

  • Set and enforce the requirements for your first license after an accredited program
  • Set requirements for keeping your license
  • May set minimum standards for veterinary facilities and mobile units
  • Investigate complaints against veterinarians, veterinary technicians and facilities

The AAVSB’s members are these boards, in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and nine Canadian provinces. The AAVSB supports them, but it doesn’t license anyone.

What the AAVSB does →

Where to find your state’s board

There are two official directories. The AAVSB’s look-up covers both veterinarians and veterinary technicians, with main and disciplinary contacts, license verification, requirements and statutes and rules. The directory from the International Council for Veterinary Assessment (ICVA) is built for NAVLE applicants. It shows whether ICVA or the board reviews that state’s applications. Search either one by state, whether yours is called a veterinary board, a board of examiners or something else.

ICVA: Licensing agency directory ↗

How your board connects to the NAVLE

The North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) application makes you pick one licensing board, and you can’t change it once you’ve submitted. That board gets online access to your score when scores are released, and for one year after. Application steps, deadlines and fees vary by board, so contact yours before the NAVLE deadline. If you don’t know where you’ll work, you can mark ICVA as your agency instead.

NAVLE application and dates →How vet licensing works →

How your board connects to the VTNE

The AAVSB approves Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE) eligibility using the rules of the jurisdiction you name, so your board’s rules decide which pathway works for you. Some boards have tighter retake limits than the AAVSB’s.

VTNE retakes →Vet tech credentials by state →

Veterinary laws and complaints

Veterinary law is set state by state, and the board entry in the AAVSB’s look-up links to its statutes and rules. To complain about a veterinarian or a clinic, use the disciplinary contact in that same entry. The AAVSB’s Consumer Rights page explains more.

AAVSB: Know your rights ↗Check a license →
Sources: AAVSB · ICVA and 3 more. Checked November 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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