VTS (Anesthesia & Analgesia): Academy of Veterinary Technicians in Anesthesia and Analgesia
The Academy of Veterinary Technicians in Anesthesia and Analgesia (AVTAA) awards the VTS (Anesthesia & Analgesia), and NAVTA lists it among the fully recognized academies.
The requirement to plan around first is the experience floor: 8000 hours and 4 years as a credentialed technician or nurse, with 6000 of those hours spent providing anesthesia care as AVTAA defines it.
The rest of the application, from case logs to the skills list, is built from that anesthesia caseload, so the hours come before everything else.
Credential
VTS (Anesthesia & Analgesia)
NAVTA recognition
Full
Tracks
One
Confirm every requirement with the academy
AVTAA at a glance
The Academy of Veterinary Technicians in Anesthesia and Analgesia (AVTAA) awards VTS (Anesthesia & Analgesia).
NAVTA recognition: full. NAVTA’s list places it under “The following Academies have met the NAVTA CVTS requirements for full recognition.”
NAVTA’s description: “AVTAA promotes patient safety, consumer protection, professionalism and excellence in anesthesia care and pain management. The Veterinary Technician Specialist in Anesthesia and Analgesia is there to provide your pet with exceptional care before, during and after a procedure.”
AVTAA requirements, from the academy’s own pages
Experience
AVTAA applicants need a minimum of 8000 hours and 4 years of work experience as a credentialed veterinary technician/nurse, with at least 6000 of those hours (75%) providing anesthesia care.
The academy’s wording
“You are eligible to apply to the AVTAA after you have completed a minimum of 8000 hours AND a minimum of 4 years of work experience as a credentialed veterinary technician/veterinary nurse. During that time, you must have provided a minimum of 6000 hours (75% of 8000) of anesthesia care as described in the AVTAA definition of anesthesia .”
Credential Requirement FAQ - AVTAACase log
AVTAA requires a minimum of 50 acceptable case logs, with a maximum of 60 that can be submitted.
The academy’s wording
“The application requires that you have a minimum of 50 acceptable case logs. The maximum number of case logs that can be submitted is 60.”
Credential Requirement FAQ - AVTAACase reports
AVTAA case reports must be written on cases that classify as ASA III or higher, demonstrating advanced anesthesia case management.
The academy’s wording
“The case reports should demonstrate your knowledge, skills and abilities in advanced anesthesia case management. The case reports must be written on cases that classify as ASA III or higher.”
Credential Requirement FAQ - AVTAASkills list
AVTAA applicants must demonstrate mastery of 90% of the core-section skills and 50% of the supplemental-section skills on the small animal or large animal combined skills lists.
The academy’s wording
“The applicant must demonstrate mastery of 90% of the skills in the core section and 50% in the supplemental section of the small animal OR large animal combined skills lists by properly describing the skills in the case logs.”
Credential Requirement FAQ - AVTAAContinuing education
AVTAA applicants must show at least 40 hours of continuing education directly related to anesthesia or peri-operative analgesia.
The academy’s wording
“The application requires that you show at least 40 hours of CE. All CE hours for the application must be directly related to anesthesia or peri-operative analgesia.”
Credential Requirement FAQ - AVTAALetters of recommendation
AVTAA requires the working board-certified doctor, board-eligible doctor, or VTS to be willing to write one of the two required letters of recommendation.
The academy’s wording
“The board certified doctor, board eligible doctor or VTS will be required to sign the letter of agreement, skills verification form and must be willing to write 1 of 2 required letters of recommendation.”
Credential Requirement FAQ - AVTAAApplication
AVTAA's pre-application, including the $100 application fee, was due no later than May 31, 2026.
The academy’s wording
“The pre-application documents listed above and the $100.00 application fee are due no later than 11:59:59 pm Eastern Time, May 31 2026.”
Pre-Application FAQs - AVTAAExam
The AVTAA certifying exam consists of up to 200 multiple-choice questions plus a clinical competency portion.
The academy’s wording
“The examination consists of up to 200 multiple choice questions, and a clinical competency portion.”
Exam Information - AVTAARecertification
Active AVTAA members must recredential every 5 years to show they are actively engaged in current standards of veterinary anesthesia and analgesia.
The academy’s wording
“Active members must recredential every 5 years to show they are actively engaged in current standards of veterinary anesthesia and analgesia”
AVTAA Membership ListCredential holders (the academy's own figure)
AVTAA reported a total membership of 298, updated November 26, 2025.
Each requirement is summarised from AVTAA’s own published pages, as retrieved on the dates listed under Sources. Open “the academy’s wording” for the exact text and its source.
What the anesthesia VTS certifies
NAVTA describes AVTAA as promoting patient safety, consumer protection and excellence in anesthesia care and pain management, with the specialist providing care before, during and after a procedure.
AVTAA's own exam page says the credential holder has to understand clinical techniques and how procedures are performed.
In practice this is the credential for a technician whose working day is inducing, maintaining and recovering patients under anesthesia and managing their analgesia.
Its application is built on the complex cases: the case reports must come from patients classified ASA III or higher.
8000 hours, 4 years, and 6000 of them in anesthesia
AVTAA sets two floors that both have to be met: at least 8000 hours and at least 4 years of work as a credentialed veterinary technician or veterinary nurse.
Inside that total, at least 6000 hours, which AVTAA spells out as 75% of 8000, must be anesthesia care as AVTAA defines it.
So a technician who reaches 8000 hours in a mixed role may still be short, because only the anesthesia hours count toward the 6000.
Before starting an application, check your anesthesia hours against AVTAA's own definition of anesthesia care, not against your total time on the floor.
The application: case logs, ASA III case reports, skills and letters
The package is assembled from your own anesthesia cases.
AVTAA asks for at least 50 acceptable case logs and accepts no more than 60.
The case reports must be written on ASA III or higher patients and show advanced anesthesia case management.
The skills list is scored by percentage: mastery of 90% of the core skills and 50% of the supplemental skills on the small animal or large animal combined lists, shown by describing the skills in the case logs.
You also need at least 40 hours of CE directly related to anesthesia or peri-operative analgesia, and one of the 2 letters of recommendation must come from the board-certified doctor, board-eligible doctor or VTS who works with you.
A 200-question exam, then a 5-year recredential cycle
AVTAA's exam consists of up to 200 multiple-choice questions and a clinical competency portion, so passing takes applied judgment as well as recall.
The credential is not permanent: active members must recredential every 5 years to show they are engaged in current standards of veterinary anesthesia and analgesia.
AVTAA's membership page reported a total membership of 298, updated November 26, 2025, which gives a sense of how small the credentialed group is.
Check the current cycle's dates before you start
AVTAA's pre-application page, read on September 23, 2026, gives a May 31, 2026 due date for the pre-application documents and the $100 application fee.
That date belongs to the 2026 cycle.
AVTAA posts each cycle's dates on its own pages, so confirm the current pre-application window and fee with AVTAA before you plan your case-log year around it.
Pay by VTS specialty
Frequently Asked Questions
How many anesthesia hours do you need for the VTS (Anesthesia & Analgesia)?
AVTAA requires at least 8000 hours and at least 4 years of work as a credentialed veterinary technician or veterinary nurse.
Within that, at least 6000 hours, which AVTAA describes as 75% of 8000, must be anesthesia care as AVTAA defines it.
Hours in other roles count toward the 8000 total but not toward the 6000.
What kind of cases can an AVTAA case report be written on?
AVTAA says the case reports must be written on cases that classify as ASA III or higher, and should demonstrate your knowledge, skills and abilities in advanced anesthesia case management.
Routine healthy-patient anesthetics therefore will not carry a case report, so it helps to keep track of your higher-risk cases while you are building your hours.
Who has to write the letters of recommendation for AVTAA?
AVTAA asks for 2 letters of recommendation.
The board-certified doctor, board-eligible doctor or VTS who works with you must be willing to write 1 of the 2, and that person also signs the letter of agreement and the skills verification form.
Line up that person early, since they verify your skills as well as recommending you.
How often does a VTS (Anesthesia & Analgesia) have to recredential?
Every 5 years.
AVTAA says active members must recredential every 5 years to show they are actively engaged in current standards of veterinary anesthesia and analgesia.
The credential is kept through that cycle rather than held for life, so check AVTAA's current recredentialing requirements well before your fifth year.
More VTS Resources
Sources
- NAVTA — List of Approved Academies (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- AVTAA — Credential Requirement FAQ (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- AVTAA — Exam Information (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- AVTAA — Pre-Application FAQs (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- AVTAA — Membership List (retrieved 2026-09-23)
Academy list: NAVTA, retrieved 2026-09-23. Page last updated 2026-09-23.