Veterinarian Licensure Requirements in Tennessee

Tennessee's examinations rule adopts the NAVLE as both its state and national examination under T.C.A. § 63-12-115, and the Board takes the passing score from the NBVME's own determination — the rule text never states a number, so a score figure attached to Tennessee specifically is not coming from the state's rule.

The examination track requires the pass within the five years preceding application, with official scores submitted to the Board's administrative office directly from the AAVSB.

An applicant who has not passed keeps the application file open until they have had the opportunity to sit the NAVLE three times, after which the file closes and a new application is required.

For a new graduate this is the entire exam stack; for a veterinarian whose NAVLE is older than five years, the examination route has closed, but the reciprocity route does not restate a recency window and accepts the legacy NBE and CCT as well.

A read of the full current rule chapter turned up zero mentions of jurisprudence, and the examinations rule names only the NAVLE plus the legacy NBE and Clinical Competency Test for reciprocity applicants — no Tennessee-law test sits anywhere in the licensure sequence.

For a new graduate, that removes a scheduling step from the exam stage entirely; for a relocating veterinarian, the state-specific layer shows up in the reciprocity conditions — practice history, continuing-education documentation, endorsement letters — rather than in a test.

The research recorded this as a not-found finding from the sources read, not an affirmative statement that no such requirement could ever be added, so confirm the current application checklist with the Board before you rely on it.

The examination track starts with a doctorate degree from a school or college of veterinary medicine approved by the Board, plus the NAVLE and a good-moral-character showing.

Foreign graduates are governed by the rule's separate Foreign Graduates subsection, and its requirements stack on top of the track above: it names ECFVG — a committee of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) — and PAVE — a program of the AAVSB — allows 'a certification agency deemed by the Board to be equivalent to ECFVG or PAVE,' and sets its own school standard — graduation from a veterinary school approved by the AVMA or the Board.

Foreign transcripts and curricula must be translated into English where needed, with the original and the translation certified as authentic by the issuing source.

A foreign-trained candidate who satisfactorily completed the fourth year of clinical study at an accredited or approved college, has passed the examinations, and is pursuing ECFVG or PAVE certification can practice on a temporary license while finishing — covered in the temporary-license section below.

The Board may grant full licensure by reciprocity to a veterinarian licensed in another state.

The conditions: a written application; good moral character shown through application review and a background check, with a possible appearance before the Board; proof of initial licensure by examination and that the license is in good standing; proof that no veterinary license, privilege or certification has ever been disciplined or restricted for any reason, with the Board weighing the magnitude of anything disclosed; active practice in 3 of the 5 years preceding application averaging 25 hours a week in another jurisdiction — waivable on written request; and 60 hours of continuing education in the past 5 years, 45 of them in medical and surgical care, also waivable.

Exam history is shown by the NAVLE or the legacy NBE plus Clinical Competency Test, with scores direct from the AAVSB; anyone ever licensed in another state or Canada also submits a Certificate of Endorsement equivalent from each such board.

Fees run $125 for the application plus a $150 reciprocity license fee, each non-refundable.

Continuing education runs on a calendar-year clock even though the license itself renews biennially: 20 hours each calendar year, attested on a Board form by December 31, with 15 hours in the medical and surgical care of animals, up to 5 in special-interest fields such as practice management, and a maximum of 10 in multi-media format.

Every two-year period must also include 2 hours on regulatory issues, controlled substances, or professional ethics, and a licensee is exempt for the calendar year of graduation.

Renewal falls due the last day of the month of the license period under the Division's biennial renewal system, for a $360 renewal fee plus a $10 state regulatory fee; reinstating an expired license adds the $80 late renewal fee, past-due fees, and continuing-education compliance.

Each veterinarian must retain independent documentation of completed courses for four years from the end of the calendar year in which the course was completed.

Tennessee's temporary license is a supervised bridge with three distinct uses, not a general relief permit.

Examination candidates who meet every licensure qualification can hold one until 30 days after the next scheduled NAVLE sitting — it expires on exam day if they fail to report, a failed candidate may apply for another, and no individual is issued more than three.

Reciprocity applicants can hold one until the Board rules on their licensure application, and foreign graduates who completed fourth-year clinical study at an accredited or approved college, passed the examinations, and are pursuing ECFVG or PAVE certification can hold one until certification issues, capped at 18 months.

Every temporary license requires a named supervising Tennessee-licensed veterinarian — the notarized application carries the supervisor's name, license number and facility details, with an attestation of direct supervision and a $25 fee each time an application is filed — so a veterinarian doing short-term relief work in Tennessee needs full licensure by reciprocity instead.