Veterinarian Licensure Requirements in Mississippi
Mississippi licenses veterinarians through the Mississippi Board of Veterinary Medicine.
An applicant not yet licensed in Mississippi files NAVLE or legacy NBE and CCT scores through AAVSB and passes a state board examination on the Mississippi Veterinary Practice Act and the AVMA's Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics.
ECFVG and PAVE are both accepted, alongside a one-year board-approved clinical internship.
An out-of-state-licensed applicant must show good moral character, licensure in at least one U.S. jurisdiction and discipline-free practice immediately before filing.
Licenses renew each August 1 against 15 CE hours.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
National exam results are part of every application packet — NAVLE scores or legacy NBE and CCT grades, submitted through AAVSB — and Mississippi's statute, amended effective July 1, 2026, authorizes the board to adopt the results of a nationally recognized testing entity such as the ICVA or AAVSB, with the passing score set by the testing entity rather than restated as a number in Mississippi's own law.
Yes — every applicant not yet licensed in Mississippi must pass a state board examination on the Mississippi Veterinary Practice Act and the AVMA's Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics, delivered through the AAVSB's SPA program: 100 questions, open-book, 180 minutes, 70% to pass, $50 fee to AAVSB, retake after a 60-day wait.
None found in the sources read beyond the national exam results and the state board examination.
Both ECFVG and PAVE certificates are accepted, and Mississippi adds a third route of its own — a one-year board-approved clinical internship.
Available under Section 73-39-71, rewritten effective July 1, 2026: an applicant licensed in another jurisdiction must show good moral character, licensure in at least one U.S. state, territory or district, and practice without disciplinary action by any state or federal agency in those same jurisdictions immediately before filing. The prior explicit three-year duration requirement was removed in the rewrite.
15 hours of continuing education per year — up to 5 RACE-approved plus 10 contact hours — on an August 1-to-August 1 CE year; licenses expire August 1 annually; renewal fee $200 (2026); veterinarians aged 70 or older working part-time are exempt from the renewal fee.
Narrow and tied to the path to full licensure: a new graduate who received the DVM in May or June and has Mississippi employment can hold a temporary license valid until the state board exam on the second Tuesday of June following graduation, with a second temporary license available if warranted; a foreign-college graduate needs a NAVLE pass, educational equivalency and proof of Mississippi employment. No general locum-tenens permit was found.
Mississippi Board of Veterinary Medicine
No interstate veterinary licensure compact is currently operational in any state, including Mississippi — none of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions' own board pages, statutes or administrative codes references joining, enacting or currently considering one, as of September 2026.
National exam results: the NAVLE, the NBE/CCT, and who sets the score
Every application packet includes national exam results — NAVLE scores or the legacy NBE and CCT pair — submitted through AAVSB, and Mississippi's statute as amended effective July 1, 2026 authorizes the board to adopt and use the results of a nationally recognized testing entity such as the International Council for Veterinary Assessment or the American Association of Veterinary State Boards.
The passing score is determined by the testing entity rather than restated as a number in Mississippi's own law, so a candidate plans against the national standard, not a Mississippi-specific figure.
A candidate who fails an examination may be admitted to a subsequent sitting on payment of the application fee again.
“The passing score shall be determined by the testing entity.”
The Mississippi state board examination
The state-specific layer applies to any person not yet licensed to practice veterinary medicine in Mississippi — so a veterinarian relocating with years of experience elsewhere sits it too, not just new graduates.
It tests the Mississippi Veterinary Practice Act and the AVMA's Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics, and once the application is complete the board sends a link to take it through the AAVSB's SPA program: 100 questions combining true/false and multiple choice, open-book against the state's own study materials (the Practice Act, board rules, DEA regulations and Mississippi rabies laws), 180 minutes, 70% to pass, $50 paid to AAVSB, with a 60-day wait and a fresh $50 fee for a retake — AAVSB pulls scores weekly and forwards them to the board.
The 2026 amendment leaves the exam's application fee, time and location to the board; the board's study-material document describing the exam as given the second Tuesday of June each year predates that change.
“Once the application is completed applicants will be sent a link to take the state board exam through AAVSB's SPA program.”
Veterinary education, ECFVG/PAVE, and the clinical-internship route
Mississippi accepts both foreign-graduate certifications — the AVMA's ECFVG certificate and the AAVSB's PAVE — and adds a third, Mississippi-specific route: a one-year board-approved clinical internship.
The sources read name the internship but do not spell out its conditions beyond the one-year, board-approved frame, so a graduate considering that route should ask the board what documentation it requires.
Every applicant supplies a copy of a diploma or an official transcript from their veterinary college as part of the packet, alongside the national exam scores, good-standing letters, photograph and recommendation letters.
Licensure for a veterinarian already licensed in another jurisdiction
Section 73-39-71 was rewritten effective July 1, 2026, and the version now in force requires an applicant licensed in another jurisdiction to show good moral character, licensure in at least one U.S. state, territory or district, and practice in those same named jurisdictions without disciplinary action by any state or federal agency immediately before filing the application.
The rewrite removed the prior explicit three-year duration requirement, and the discipline condition is scoped to the period immediately before filing, which makes unresolved matters elsewhere worth clearing up first.
The application packet separately requires good-standing letters from every jurisdiction in which the applicant has ever held a veterinary license, so the board verifies the full history regardless.
The section opens by routing a separate group — military-trained applicants, military spouses and persons establishing residence in Mississippi — to the provisions of Section 73-50-1 or 73-50-2, as applicable, so a relocating veterinarian in one of those categories should ask the board which pathway governs.
Because this section is freshly rewritten, confirm the current mechanics with the board before filing.
Continuing education and the August 1 renewal cycle
The board's own rule sets the continuing-education load: proof of 15 hours of CE credit, one clock hour earning one credit, with 10 credits from contact learning experiences and up to 5 through any AAVSB RACE-approved program — the Practice Act delegates the requirement to the board.
The CE year runs August 1 to August 1, and the statute sets license expiration at August 1 of each year, renewable on payment of the renewal fee — $200 in 2026.
Let a renewal lapse and the license auto-voids 30 days after the board's delinquency notice; the renewal letter sets a $500 reinstatement fee, and the statute allows an expired license to be renewed within five years against current, delinquent and reinstatement fees plus CE compliance.
New licensees get a break — the 2026 letter exempts 2025 graduates from showing CE proof at their first renewal, fee still due — and the statute excuses veterinarians aged 70 or older working part-time (under 20 hours a week) from the renewal fee, a threshold the 2026 act raised from 65.
“The Board shall require proof of fifteen (15) hours of continuing education credit, with one clock hour of continuing education earning one credit. Ten credits from contact learning experiences are required. Five credits may be earned through any RACE approved program.”
Temporary permits: bridges to full licensure, not relief coverage
The permits Mississippi issues are tied to the path toward full licensure rather than to short-stint relief work.
A new-graduate temporary license goes to a graduate who received the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in May or June and has employment in Mississippi, and it is valid until the state board examination on the second Tuesday of June following graduation; the rule sets no fixed cap, but a holder who wants more time can apply for a second temporary license if warranted.
A graduate of a foreign college of veterinary medicine can hold a temporary license after passing the NAVLE, establishing educational equivalency and submitting proof of employment in Mississippi.
The sources read show no general locum-tenens permit, so a veterinarian already licensed elsewhere who wants to cover relief stints in Mississippi needs a full Mississippi license first.
“A temporary license issued to a new graduate would not prevent the holder of such license from applying for a second temporary license if warranted.”
What This Page Does — and Doesn’t — Cover
This page summarizes Mississippi’s own statute and board rule as read for this series, current as of September 2026. It does not list application forms, current fees beyond what’s cited above, background-check steps, or processing times, and it is not a substitute for the Mississippi Board of Veterinary Medicine’s own application instructions.
Accepted exams, endorsement conditions and continuing-education requirements change by statute and by board rule. Confirm every requirement with the Mississippi Board of Veterinary Medicine before you register for an exam or submit an application.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Mississippi require a state-specific exam beyond the NAVLE?
Yes.
Every applicant not yet licensed in Mississippi must pass a state board examination covering the Mississippi Veterinary Practice Act and the AVMA's Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics.
It is delivered through the AAVSB's SPA program: 100 questions, open-book, 180 minutes, 70% to pass, $50 paid to AAVSB, with a 60-day wait and a new $50 fee to retake.
Confirm current logistics with the Mississippi Board of Veterinary Medicine.
Can an out-of-state veterinarian get licensed in Mississippi without retaking exams?
The national exam is not retaken: NAVLE scores — or legacy NBE and CCT grades — transfer in through AAVSB as part of the application packet.
But Mississippi's state board examination is required of any person not yet licensed to practice veterinary medicine in Mississippi, so an out-of-state licensee sits it too: 100 questions, open-book, 70% to pass, through AAVSB's SPA program.
Endorsement under Section 73-39-71 adds good moral character, licensure in at least one U.S. jurisdiction and discipline-free practice immediately before filing, but waives no exam.
Confirm your situation with the Mississippi Board of Veterinary Medicine.
How much continuing education does Mississippi require?
15 hours every year, earned between August 1 and August 1.
Up to 5 hours can be any AAVSB RACE-approved offering; the remaining 10 must be contact hours (interactive distance, seminar or lecture, lab or wet lab, including live-streamed programs), with online interactive and live-streamed contact hours RACE-approved.
Proof of attendance is required at renewal, the renewal fee is $200, and licenses expire August 1.
The board's renewal letter exempts veterinarians who reached age 70 before September 1, 2025 from the CE requirement.
Confirm details with the Mississippi Board of Veterinary Medicine.
Does Mississippi have a temporary permit for relief or locum veterinarians?
No general locum-tenens permit appears in the sources read.
The temporary licenses Mississippi does grant are tied to the path to full licensure: new graduates who received the DVM in May or June and hold Mississippi employment can practice until the state board exam on the second Tuesday of June following graduation, with a second temporary license available if warranted, and foreign-college graduates qualify through a NAVLE pass, educational equivalency and proof of Mississippi employment.
A relief stint otherwise takes a full Mississippi license.
Ask the Mississippi Board of Veterinary Medicine what is currently available.
Has Mississippi joined a multistate veterinary licensing compact?
No. As of September 2026, no state — Mississippi included — has joined an operational interstate veterinary licensure compact; none currently exists in any U.S. jurisdiction.
A veterinarian moving to Mississippi uses the state's own pathway: the application packet with national exam scores and the state board examination, or, for a veterinarian already licensed elsewhere, the conditions set out in Section 73-39-71.
Confirm current requirements with the Mississippi Board of Veterinary Medicine.
More Mississippi & Veterinarian Resources
Sourced from Mississippi’s own statute and board rule (see the citations above). Verified September 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice — confirm current rules with the Mississippi Board of Veterinary Medicine.