Continuing Education

REQUIREMENTS:

1. During the two-year period preceding license expiration, a licensee shall complete 20 credit hours of Board-approved continuing education, subject to the following:  (NOTE! A law that became effective 4/26/18 requires a veterinarian who is authorized to dispense controlled substances AND who has a valid U.S. DEA registration number to complete a minimum of 3 hours of opioid-related, substance use disorder-related or addiction-related CE for each license renewal cycle. These 3 hours are included in the required 20 hours.  See "Statutes & Rules" tab for more information about the law change.
   1. A maximum of two credit hours in practice management;
   2. One credit hour for each hour of attendance at a veterinary college seminar;
   3. One credit hour for each hour of attendance at a scientific meeting related to veterinary medicine;
   4. One credit hour, to a maximum of five for:
      1. Each hour spent developing or presenting a presentation related to veterinary medicine;
      2. Each hour of study using tapes or CDs, and
      3. Each hour spent reading articles in veterinary journals or periodicals pertaining to veterinary medicine or controlled substances; and
   5. One credit hour for each hour of continuing education obtained at an interactive program, including an interactive program on the Internet.
2. A licensee receiving an initial license in an even-numbered year shall complete 10 credit hours of continuing education before the licensee’s initial renewal date.
3. If the licensee graduated from a veterinary college within 11 months before the license application date, the licensee may apply 10 credit hours of veterinary college course work to fulfill the continuing education requirement at the time of first renewal. {Note! The Board has determined that this provision will apply to all licensees who graduated from veterinary college in 2024}
4. Except as provided in subsection (E), during the two-year period preceding certificate expiration, a certificate holder shall complete 10 credit hours of Board-approved continuing education, subject to the following:
   1. One credit hour for each hour of attendance at a veterinary college seminar;
   2. One credit hour for each hour of attendance at a class at a veterinary technology school;
   3. One credit hour for each hour of attendance at a scientific meeting related to the work of a veterinary technician;
   4. One credit hour, to a maximum of two and one-half, for:
      1. Each hour spent developing or presenting a presentation related to the work of a veterinary technician;
      2. Each hour of study using tapes or CDs, and
      3. Each hour spent reading articles in veterinary journals or periodicals pertaining to veterinary medicine or controlled substances; and
   5. One credit hour for each hour of continuing education obtained at an interactive program, including an interactive program on the Internet.
5. A certificate holder receiving an initial certificate in an even-numbered year shall complete five credit hours of continuing education before the certificate holder's first renewal date.

Administrative Rule: R3-11-402  - Approval of Continuing Education (The CE you take must fall into one of these categories to be used for license/certificate renewal!!):

A.   The following continuing education is approved by the Board:

       1.   For a veterinarian:

 a. Continuing education taught in or under the authority of a veterinary college; 

 b. Continuing education sponsored by the Arizona Veterinary Medical Association,  American Association of Veterinary State Boards, a state or national veterinary association or academy approved by the Board, or continuing education approved according to subsections (B) and (C); or

 c. Continuing education approved by RACE;

       2.   For a veterinary technician:

 a. Continuing education taught in or under the authority of a veterinary technician school or school of veterinary medicine;

b. Continuing education sponsored by the Arizona Veterinary Medical Association or American Association of Veterinary State Boards or approved by RACE;   

c. Continuing education approved by the Board that is sponsored by a state or national veterinary technician association or academy;

d. Continuing education approved by RACE of the American Association of Veterinary State Boards; or

e. Continuing education approved according to subsections (B) and (C).

• For PROVIDERS of Continuing Education: 

• The Board prefers that courses go through the RACE-approval process, as it is best designed to review veterinary CE.  However, if you would like the Board to consider approving your course/conference for CE credit for Arizona veterinarians and CVTs, and your course is not RACE-approved nor fits into any of the other automatically-approved categories (See Administrative Rule R3-11-402(A)), you may request that the Board approve your offering by submitting a request to the Board at least 60 calendar days BEFORE the CE takes place.

• There is no form to complete, but the request must be in writing.  Simply mail, fax, or email a request to the Board office and include the following information, which is required:

1. A description of the course/conference. 
2. The date, time, and place where the CE will take place.
3. The number of credit hours of the CE.
4. The name of each individual providing the CE, if available; and
5. The name of the organization providing the CE, if applicable.

Please do not simply send links to websites or brochures. 

Note that approvals are for the specific dates that you provide.  If you offer conferences, for example, you may want to request approval of all conferences that fall in this particular license renewal cycle (January 1, 2019 - December 31, 2020).  If it is an online course that is offered on-demand, please note that in your submission.

Once the information is received, your request will be scheduled for an upcoming Board meeting.  You will be notified of the Board's decision within 1-2 weeks of the meeting.

Where to send requests:

By fax:  602-364-1039

By mail:  AVMEB, 1740 W. Adams Street, Suite 4600, Phoenix, AZ, 85007

By email:  [email protected].

Questions?  Contact Licensing staff at 602-542-8166