American College of Veterinary Radiology (ACVR): How to Become Board-Certified

ACVR certifies specialists in veterinary radiology and veterinary radiation oncology, and some diplomates are dual boarded in both.

Its residents overview names three residency tracks: Diagnostic Imaging, Equine Diagnostic Imaging, and Radiation Oncology.

Veterinary radiology itself spans five core areas — all aspects of Roentgen diagnosis, diagnostic ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and diagnostic nuclear medicine.

AVMA lists two specialties under the college, Radiation oncology and Equine diagnostic imaging, and counts 850 active ACVR diplomates as of December 31, 2025, with 164 listed under radiation oncology and 50 under equine diagnostic imaging.

Those two figures do not add up to the college total, so read the split exactly as AVMA prints it rather than as a complete breakdown.

ACVR trainees must hold a DVM or equivalent degree, and the college adds that a one-year rotating internship or equivalent practice experience is generally required before starting an ACVR residency.

The word generally matters: equivalent practice experience can stand in for the internship year.

Programs run at universities and in private practice.

A standard Diagnostic Imaging residency that meets the college's Radiology Residency Program Essentials is a minimum of 3 years of postdoctoral medical education in veterinary radiology; a standard Radiation Oncology residency involves 3 years of continuous training in veterinary radiation oncology; and the Equine Diagnostic Imaging residency is a minimum 3-year program covering all available imaging modalities, encompassing orthopedic, soft tissue, abdominal, airway and cardiac imaging.

For planning, that is the internship year plus three residency years before the examination.

The diagnostic imaging and radiation oncology pages each describe an alternative to the standard residency, and neither waives the training requirements.

In radiation oncology, an alternative program must also meet all requirements listed in the Radiation Oncology Residency Program Essential Training Standards and Requirements, but may be longer than 3 years in duration, up to a maximum of 5 years.

In diagnostic imaging, an Alternative Radiology Residency Training Program must meet equivalent requirements, and its program application must be formally approved — by the college's Residency Standards and Evaluation Committee and its Executive Council — before resident training can commence.

The two-year approval clock is not alternative-specific: by the ACVR Constitution, all supervised residency training programs must be approved by the Executive Council by September 1 two years in advance of the resident's anticipated examination date, which the college glosses as at least 2 years in an approved program to qualify for the preliminary board exam.

An ACVR diplomate is a veterinarian who has undergone advanced training, completed the requirements, and passed the ACVR certification examination, which the college's FAQ describes as written and oral.

The residency pages then name the exam per track: the diagnostic imaging and equine pages both refer to an ACVR Radiology (Written & Oral) Board Certification Examination, while the radiation oncology page names a Radiation Oncology (Written) Board Certification Examination.

The equine track adds a step for newer candidates: after 2023, candidates must have met the minimum requirements of an approved ACVR-EDI specialty residency before taking the ACVR-EDI specialty qualifying examination, and only after passing it can they take the ACVR-EDI certifying examination, which confers ACVR-EDI certification.

Those are the pages' own names — confirm the current format with ACVR before planning around it.

ACVR describes a developmental period for the Equine Diagnostic Imaging subspecialty.

During it, an ACVR diplomate who obtained diplomate status on or before 2023, with an interest in equine diagnostic imaging, is qualified to take the EDI certifying examination; after 2023, candidates must first pass the qualifying examination.

The college also states that developing EDI has no effect on the traditional diagnostic imaging residency: residents in a traditional program are still required to demonstrate minimum competency in equine diagnostic imaging as defined by the residency standards, and the proportion of equine content on the radiology board objectives is unaffected.