To practise veterinary medicine in British Columbia, you must first be registered with the CVBC.

Classes of Registration

Requirements for registration are established in the bylaws (s. 2.7, 2.12-2.15) and identified in the application form.  The general requirements are similar across all of the registration classes, except for the distinctions between the classes as noted below:

Private Practice – unrestricted license to practice veterinary medicine; requires a Certificate of Qualification from the CVMA-National Examining Board.

Provisional Supervised Active (PSA) Registration – in September 2021, the CVBC introduced Provisional Supervised registration as a subcategory of the Private Practice class. It is available to veterinarians who do not yet have a Certificate of Qualification.  Eligible candidates must have already completed the BCSE and NAVLE exams. PSA registration enables these veterinarians to work under supervision of a CVBC veterinarian while they prepare for and complete the Pre-Surgical Assessment and Clinical Proficiency Exam.  More information on PSA registration can be found below (after the general registration information).

Specialty Private Practice – only available to Diplomates of the American or European Boards of Veterinary Specialties; privilege to practice is restricted to the registrant’s documented area of board certification(s); no Certificate of Qualification is required.

Public Sector – only available to veterinarians employed by the federal or provincial governments, or similar; no Certificate of Qualification is required, but the applicant must provide a copy of their employment contract, must only practice within the scope of their duties within that role, and must cease to practice if/when their contract ends.

Temporary Registration for an External Licensed Veterinarian – a veterinarian who maintains a current equivalent license in another recognized jurisdiction may seek a temporary license to practice in BC (in the Private Practice or Specialty Private Practice area) for a maximum of 30 days (consecutive or non-consecutive within 1 calendar year.  The applicant is not required to complete the bylaw exam or attend a bylaw seminar, but does not have full privileges of registration.  This class is intended for veterinarians based in other jurisdictions who are coming to BC for a short-term contract, or infrequently (eg. locum or visiting specialist services).

Application Requirements

Registration Application Flow Chart

Class-Specific Application Summary and Submissions Checklists:

• Private Practice Checklist
• Provisional Supervised Active (PSA) Checklist
• Specialty Private Practice Checklist
• Public Sector Checklist
• Temporary for External Licensed Veterinarian (TEMP) Checklist

1. Create an Applicant Account and complete the online Application for Registration

To apply for registration, please  create an online “Applicant Account”, after which you will be able to complete the CVBC’s Online Application for Registration.  

Alternatively, you can print and manually complete the pdf-version of the Application Form.

With either format, a hard copy of the completed application must be signed in front of a notary public or commissioner of oaths, then the original document, with all supporting materials (see #2), must be mailed to the CVBC office to the attention of the Registration Coordinator.

2. Provide all additional required documents, as identified within the application form

The requirements of the application form are explained in the CVBC’s bylaws (Part 2 – Registration)

Unless provided to the office as original documents or received by the CVBC office directly from the issuing body, all supporting materials must be submitted as copies that have been “certified true” by a notary public in Canada.

Supporting documents (letters of standing/license verification from other jurisdictions; Dean’s letters of conduct for new graduates; reference letters if required) must not predate the application to the CVBC by more than 1 month.

Notarized copies of diplomas or transcripts will be accepted up to one year after the date of notarization, or the Registrar may accept a copy of a diploma or transcript that is forwarded to the CVBC directly from another regulatory body.

3. Provide payment of Fees:
   
   1. Application for Registration Fee (see “Fees Summary” below)
   2. Bylaw Examination Fee (not required for TEMP registration)
4. Successfully complete the bylaw exam (see below)
5. Provide Payment of annual registration fee (prorated to the quarter of the registration year in which new registration is issued; see “Fees Summary” below).

English Language Proficiency (CVBC Bylaws, Part 2 – Registration, s. 2.12(1)(b))

Any applicant who completed their veterinary education at a veterinary school where instruction was provided in English is considered to have satisfied the CVBC’s requirement for English Language Proficiency.

However, if the applicant completed their veterinary education at a veterinary school where instruction was not provided in English, they will satisfy the CVBC’s registration requirements for proficiency in the English language by providing a verifiable and satisfactory test score from one of the following testing providers:

Internet-Based TOEFL (TOEFL iBT)

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) – Academic version

Canadian Academic English Language (CAEL) Assessment

Required minimum scores for each of these tests are specified in section 2.12(2) of the CVBC Bylaws, Part 2 – Registration.

• Alternative Assessment of English Language Proficiency

Assessment of Currency of Skills & Knowledge

The National Examining Boards assessment examination(s) that result in the issuance of a Certificate of Qualification (CQ) are accepted as the initial assessment of skills and qualification of a veterinarian.  Once a veterinarian has received a CQ, the CVBC’s bylaws set the expectation that skills and knowledge are maintained by a minimum of 12 months of practise in Canada within a 5-year period (bylaw s. 2.12(3)).

Therefore, once a veterinarian has held a CQ for 5 or more years, the CVBC must consider whether the applicant for Private Practice registration has met this minimum requirement.  If an applicant has not practised veterinary medicine in Canada for a minimum of 12 months in the preceding 5 year period, the Registration Committee must make its own assessment of the applicant’s currency of skill and knowledge before making a registration decision.

This assessment is accomplished through a review of recent Continuing Education efforts, the applicant’s resumé and detailed professional history, and letters sought from recent colleagues who are able to attest to the nature and scope of the applicant’s recent veterinary practice experience, and serve as references for the applicant’s skill, knowledge and professional conduct.

• • RC Policy: Assessment of Knowledge, Skills & Competence

Registration Decisions

An application file will be forwarded to the Registrar for decision only when it is complete and includes all of the required documentation and confirmation of payment of required fees. The Registrar must be satisfied that the applicant meets all requirements and is qualified to be registered.

The Registrar may grant registration, may make further inquiries regarding the applicant, or may refer the application to the Registration Committee. Following review of a referred application, the Registration Committee may direct the Registrar to either:

1. register the applicant,
2. seek additional information, or
3. hold a registration hearing.

• • RC Policy – Registration Hearings (Dec 2021)

Contact and Practice Facility Information

All registrants are required to keep the CVBC informed of their current personal contact information and their practice facility affiliations.  At the time of registration, applicants are asked to complete and return the Contact and Practice Information Form:

This form serves several purposes:

1. Opportunity to update/confirm personal contact information (in case it has changed since the initial application was submitted).
2. Provide details about what practice facility(s) a new registrant will be practising at, along with a rough summary of areas of practice.
3. Provide authorization for which practice facility information*the registrant wants the CVBC’s Online Registry to include:
4.  

• Practice facility name, phone number and address, vs.
• Practice facility name and phone number only, vs.
• No practice facility information

*Note: the CVBC does not publish any personal contact information in the online registry; only practice facility information is published.