VTS (Zoo): Academy of Veterinary Zoological Medicine Technicians

NAVTA describes AVZMT as created specifically for veterinary technicians working in zoological medicine, offering zoo technicians the opportunity to demonstrate excellence in the field.

The academy's own about page says it was created for vet techs working in one of the smallest divisions of veterinary medicine, and that technicians who meet the credential requirements and pass the AVZMT examination are designated Veterinary Technician Specialists - Zoo, abbreviated VTS (Zoo).

One more gate sits ahead of the casework: a current Active membership in the Association of Zoo Veterinary Technicians is required to apply, while NAVTA membership is recommended, not required.

AVZMT asks for a minimum of 10,000 hours of work experience in the field of zoological medicine, and every one of them must be completed within the seven years prior to January 1 of the application year.

Read that as a rolling window rather than a career total: as each application year arrives, the reference date moves to that year's January 1, and hours that now fall outside the 7-year span stop counting.

Before committing to a cycle, count backward from the January 1 of the year you intend to apply and check that the zoological medicine hours you can document fit inside it.

AVZMT runs a two-part application.

Part 1 carries a $25 application fee due by March 31 and includes a continuing education summary, letters of recommendation, and a waiver, release and indemnity agreement.

Part 2, due by December 31 with a $50 fee, is where the casework lands: advanced skills lists, a skills list witness agreement, forty to fifty case logs, and five case reports.

The CE bar is its own requirement: a minimum of forty hours of continuing education in zoological medicine or related topics, obtained within the five years immediately prior to January 1 of the application year.

The continuing education summary in Part 1 is where those hours get documented.

The AVZMT exam is offered at the Annual AZVT Conference, and confirmed exam candidates receive the AVZMT Exam Info and Study Aid document along with their acceptance letter.

The current exam format is 100 multiple choice questions given electronically.

What the academy's public pages do not settle is how the credential is kept: the pages read for this page on September 23, 2026 state no recertification requirement, and the site's Members Only forum was not accessible.

Ask AVZMT directly how the credential is maintained rather than assuming a cycle.

Recognized in 2009, AVZMT describes itself on its about page as a small, exclusive family of 20 specialists, slowly yet steadily growing each year.

That figure carries no separate as-of date beyond the site's 2017-2025 copyright footer, so treat the 20 as a snapshot of the page read on September 23, 2026 rather than a dated roster count.

Plan around the timing that follows: the exam is tied to the AZVT annual conference, so the exam calendar and the application calendar have to line up, and the academy's own pages are the authority on anything this page leaves open.