Vet Tech Programs in Oregon
AVMA lists 2 accredited veterinary technology programs in Oregon.
Both award an Associate of Applied Science, both carry a plain full-accreditation status line, and neither is on AVMA's distance-education list.
The bigger planning question for an Oregon student sits below the list: the Certified Veterinary Technician license the state issues runs through an AVMA-accredited program or a Board-approved alternative, and the exams after graduation go beyond the VTNE.
Accredited programs
2
Offer an associate degree
2
Offer a bachelor's
0
Status to check
0
Source: AVMA Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA), “Veterinary technology programs accredited by the AVMA CVTEA” and “Distance education programs in veterinary technology accredited by the AVMA CVTEA”, retrieved 2026-09-23. “Status to check” counts programs whose AVMA status line reads anything other than plain full accreditation.
Check the list and the board before you enroll
AVMA-accredited programs in Oregon
AVMA lists 2 accredited veterinary technology programs in Oregon, alphabetically below, with each degree, date and status line exactly as AVMA prints it. A struck-through degree is one AVMA marks as discontinued.
Veterinary Technology Program · Bend, OR
- Associate of Applied Science
Initial accreditation: January 31, 2014 · Next evaluation (as AVMA lists it): 2030
FULL ACCREDITATION
Veterinary Technology Program · Portland, OR
- Associate of Applied Science
Initial accreditation: April, 1989 · Next evaluation (as AVMA lists it): 2030
FULL ACCREDITATION
From AVMA’s CVTEA program list, retrieved 2026-09-23.
Two programs, each awarding an associate degree
Both of Oregon's programs are community colleges, and each awards an Associate of Applied Science: Portland Community College, listed in Portland, and Central Oregon Community College, listed in Bend.
Portland Community College's initial accreditation dates to April 1989; Central Oregon Community College's dates to January 31, 2014.
AVMA pairs each entry with a plain FULL ACCREDITATION status line and a next evaluation of 2030, so no entry on this list carries a caveat to read before you apply.
Anything the list does not print, from schedules to clinical placements, is a question for the school.
No distance-education program is based in Oregon
Neither Portland Community College nor Central Oregon Community College appears on AVMA's distance-education list, so an Oregon resident who wants to study online starts from AVMA's separate list of 13 distance programs, each listed under the state where it is based; they are printed lower on this page.
Distance study still includes supervised clinical hours, so put two questions to any program before applying: whether it admits students living in Oregon, and how it helps arrange clinical hours at a practice near you.
What Oregon's CVT license asks of a program
The Oregon State Veterinary Medical Examining Board licenses Certified Veterinary Technicians.
Its criteria rule (OAR 875-030-0010) asks for a certificate in veterinary technology, or a comparable certificate, from an AVMA-accredited college or another Board-approved program — so every program on the list above satisfies the education requirement.
The rule also carries an experience route built on active out-of-state licensure and admits graduates of a veterinary school outside AVMA accreditation, and the statute itself writes an on-the-job-training branch into its definition of veterinary technician (ORS 686); confirm any of these alternatives with the Board before relying on it.
Graduates then pass the VTNE at a criterion score of 425 or greater, an open-book Oregon Veterinary Practice Act exam at 95 percent or better, and the Board's disease test at 100 percent (OAR 875-030-0020).
The credential is not required to work in an Oregon practice — the rule regulates specific tasks rather than the job itself (OAR 875-030-0050).
Oregon State Veterinary Medical Examining Board (OVMEB)
Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT) — issued by the Oregon State Veterinary Medical Examining Board as a license under OAR chapter 875, division 30; the statute's own definition uses plain "veterinary technician" without the word certified (ORS 686.010(5)).
A certificate in veterinary technology (or a comparable certificate) from an AVMA-accredited college or other Board-approved program, or four years' active out-of-state licensure with notarized competency letters, W-2 employment proof and current CE (OAR 875-030-0010); the statute's own definition adds a four-calendar-year on-the-job-training branch (ORS 686.010(5)).
Three, all mandatory: the VTNE at a criterion score of 425 or greater, an open-book Oregon Veterinary Practice Act exam passed at 95 percent or better, and the Regional Disease Test passed at 100 percent (OAR 875-030-0020).
AVMA’s distance-education list
AVMA names 13 programs on a separate distance-education list. Each is listed under the state where it is based. Whether a program admits students living in Oregon, and how it arranges clinical placements there, is a question for the program.
From AVMA’s distance-education program list, retrieved 2026-09-23.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many accredited vet tech programs are in Oregon?
AVMA's CVTEA list, retrieved September 23, 2026, names 2 accredited veterinary technology programs in Oregon: Portland Community College in Portland and Central Oregon Community College in Bend.
Both award an Associate of Applied Science, and AVMA prints a full-accreditation status line and a next evaluation of 2030 for each.
Accreditation status changes, so check AVMA's own list for the current entry before you apply to either program.
Is there a bachelor's degree vet tech program in Oregon?
No. Both Oregon programs on AVMA's list award an Associate of Applied Science, and AVMA lists no bachelor's program in the state.
Portland Community College and Central Oregon Community College are the state's two entries.
A student set on a bachelor's-level veterinary technology degree would need to look beyond this state's list, and should confirm any out-of-state option's accreditation on AVMA's list before applying.
Can I become a vet tech in Oregon without an accredited program?
Working in an Oregon practice does not require the credential: Oregon's rule lets a person who is not a Certified Veterinary Technician perform every act a CVT may perform, under a licensed veterinarian's supervision, except a short list of reserved acts and conditions (OAR 875-030-0050).
For the CVT license itself, the Board's criteria list an AVMA-accredited program, another Board-approved program, and an experience route built on out-of-state licensure; the rule also admits graduates of a veterinary school outside AVMA accreditation, and the statute adds an on-the-job-training branch (ORS 686).
Confirm any non-program route with the Board.
Are there online or distance vet tech programs for Oregon residents?
Not based in Oregon: neither of the state's programs is on AVMA's distance-education list.
AVMA names 13 distance programs in all, each listed under the state where it is based, and they are printed lower on this page.
Studying online through a distance program still means arranging supervised clinical hours, so ask each program whether it admits students living in Oregon and how clinical placements near a student are handled.
More Oregon Veterinary Technician Resources
Sources
- AVMA CVTEA — Veterinary technology programs accredited by the AVMA CVTEA (Oregon section and status definitions) (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- AVMA CVTEA — Distance education programs in veterinary technology accredited by the AVMA CVTEA (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- OAR 875-030-0010 — Criteria for Becoming a Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT), as summarised on the Oregon requirements page (retrieved 2026-09-16)
Program list: AVMA CVTEA, retrieved 2026-09-23. Page last updated 2026-09-23.