Veterinarian Licensure Requirements in Maryland

Maryland defines its exam stack by rule as the "Maryland State Examination": the Board Examination (an attestation, covered below) plus the NAVLE, with the NBVME — the national testing board — establishing the passing score rather than Maryland restating a number.

For a veterinarian relocating with an existing score, the age rules are the part to check: COMAR 15.14.09.03(E)(1) accepts a previously passed NAVLE if it is not more than 7 years old, after which a retake is required unless the applicant qualifies under the endorsement chapter instead.

The Board's application instructions describe a different, five-year threshold — scores older than five years are routed into its experienced-practitioner track unless the applicant has practiced or taught continuously for the preceding five years.

The research behind this page records both figures and flags them as unresolved between its passes, so an applicant with an older score should confirm the current standard with the Board before applying.

Maryland's "Board Examination" is the state-specific layer of the Maryland State Examination, and it has no questions, no passing score, and no test sitting: the applicant reads and comprehends the laws and regulations governing the practice of veterinary medicine in Maryland, then signs a statement to that effect before a notary public — or signs an electronic statement through the Board's online application process.

For a new graduate, that removes an entire study track from exam preparation.

An applicant already licensed elsewhere completes the same attestation on the endorsement route (COMAR 15.14.08.01(A)(4)), so no pathway into Maryland skips it.

The Board's application page states that all applicants are required to attest, and that failure to adhere to state regulations can result in disciplinary action.

A graduate of an AVMA-accredited school sits the NAVLE plus the attestation — nothing more.

A foreign veterinary graduate on the ECFVG route adds the BCSE and CPE exams, and a PAVE graduate substitutes evaluated clinical experience; both pathways are accepted, and the Board's application instructions require an ECFVG (available through the AVMA) or PAVE (through the AAVSB) certificate from any graduate of a school not accredited by the AVMA.

In lieu of a NAVLE score, the rule also lets the Board accept passing scores on the NBE and CCT — the pre-2000 national exams — under the same 7-year age limit.

Transcripts must be sent directly from the school, with an English translation if they are not in English.

A veterinarian licensed in another state qualifies if they have engaged in the clinical practice of veterinary medicine continuously for the preceding five years, or taught clinical veterinary medicine for the preceding five years at an AVMA-accredited institution, alongside the fees and the attestation.

An applicant who cannot show that continuity has an alternative route: no absence from practice longer than five consecutive years, at least three full years practiced within the preceding five, licensure verification or letters of good standing from every board they are or ever were licensed by, and proof of Maryland-equivalent continuing education — with any shortfall made up in clinically oriented or practical hours.

Relocation abroad because the applicant or their spouse served the government has its own substitute standard: ten full years of practice across the career, or at least one full year within the preceding five.

Good moral character must be documented, and the Board reviews these applications itself at its monthly meeting rather than through routine staff processing.

Maryland's continuing-education rule is annual: the Board may not renew a license without 18 credit hours earned in the 12 months before the new licensing year, or across the preceding 24 months counting only hours unused in the final 12 (COMAR 15.14.10.04).

Licenses renew before the State fiscal year begins July 1 — the Board cautions that even a veterinarian initially licensed in May or June must renew again by July 1 — with rule-set fees of $300 for annual renewal, a $200 late fee after July 1, $300 or $150 for initial registration depending on the half of the fiscal year, and $300 to reinstate (COMAR 15.14.12.02).

New licensees are exempt from CE their first year.

Since a March 2023 rule update, all CE may be completed online, and RACE-approved or state/regional veterinary medical association courses are accepted without individual Board approval.

A lapsed license accrues 18 CEs per lapsed year for reinstatement, and after five or more years lapsed the application restarts as a new licensee.

The research for this page checked every chapter of COMAR Title 15, Subtitle 14 (Chapters 01 through 14) and Agriculture Article §§2-301 through 2-316, and found no temporary, relief, or locum permit for veterinarians — the at-a-glance field above is left as "Not stated in the sources read." rather than filled by inference.

Practically, that means short-notice or relief work in Maryland requires a full Maryland license, so the timeline lives in the application process: routine first-license applications can turn around in about two weeks once documentation is complete, but applications requiring Board review are heard at the Board's monthly meeting, scheduled for the fourth Thursday.

The Board's own instructions tell applicants with a job offer waiting to take that step into account.

Confirm any short-term plan with the Board before relying on it.

Under Agriculture Article §2-316, the provisions creating the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners and regulating veterinarians "are of no effect and may not be enforced after July 1, 2031." Read alone that sounds drastic; the research identifies it as routine Maryland periodic-review (sunset) language — a scheduled legislative reauthorization checkpoint, not a closure signal.

Applicants and licensees should treat the Board as operating normally, and re-check the statute only if the 2031 date approaches without reenactment.