VTNE Exam: Eligibility, Scoring, and Licensing Costs

The VTNE exam, formally the Veterinary Technician National Examination, is the credentialing test most states and Canadian provinces require before a veterinary technician can be licensed, registered, or certified to practice.¹ The American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB) owns and administers the test, but your state or provincial board issues the actual credential after reviewing your score. The exam costs $375 per attempt, contains 170 multiple-choice questions covering ten clinical domains, and requires a scaled score of at least 425 out of 800 to pass.²

Who Can Take the VTNE

The baseline requirement is graduation from a veterinary technology program accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) or the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA). The AAVSB sets the general eligibility framework, but your state or provincial licensing board has the final say over who qualifies to sit for the test.¹ Confirm your local board’s rules before applying.

Final-Semester Students

If your school participates in pre-graduation testing, you may be able to take the VTNE during your final semester. Your Program Director validates eligibility by uploading a class roster to the AAVSB, and you cannot schedule an exam until your name appears on that roster.² Ask your program early whether it participates.

Graduates of Non-Accredited Programs

If you graduated from a veterinary technology or veterinary nursing program outside the United States and Canada that is not AVMA- or CVMA-accredited, the AAVSB offers the Program for the Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence (PAVE) for Veterinary Technicians, which evaluates whether your education is equivalent to an accredited program’s curriculum. A PAVE certificate is not a license to practice. You still need to pass the VTNE and meet whatever additional requirements the jurisdiction imposes. Acceptance of PAVE varies by board, so contact the licensing authority where you plan to work before starting the process.

Testing Windows and Application Deadlines

The VTNE is offered four times a year, each within a two-month window. The 2026 windows and their application cutoff dates are:²

February 15 – April 15: application cutoff March 15
May 15 – July 15: application cutoff June 15
August 15 – October 15: application cutoff September 15
November 15 – January 15: application cutoff December 15

Apply well before the cutoff. Eligibility review has to finish before you can select a window, and reviews slow down whenever a school’s records aren’t in order.

If you need to move your exam to a different window after submitting your application, you can do so once for a $90 administrative fee. The request must reach vettech@aavsb.org at least 48 hours before your scheduled appointment, or before the window closes if you haven’t yet scheduled. After that single transfer, you cannot move the exam again; you would have to reapply and pay the full $375.³ Not showing up during your assigned window forfeits the entire fee, with no credit toward a future attempt.

How to Apply

Applications go through the AAVSB’s online portal, MyAAVSB, where you create a secure account and enter your educational history and personal information. You will need:

Official final transcripts sent directly from your accredited program to the AAVSB.
A valid, non-expired government-issued photo ID, such as a passport or driver’s license. The name on your ID must match the name on your application exactly.
A current email address, since all correspondence about eligibility, scheduling, and scores is electronic.

Name mismatches between application and ID are one of the most common reasons candidates get turned away at the testing center or experience processing delays. The $375 application fee is nonrefundable, so check every field before you submit.³

Scheduling and Test Day

Once the AAVSB finishes reviewing your eligibility and processes your fee, you receive an email with instructions to set up a PSI account, select a delivery method, and choose your exam date and time.³ You can preview test center availability on the PSI website before you apply if you want to plan around a specific location. Scheduling early within your window gives you the best chance at a convenient site and time.

Bring a valid, non-expired government-issued photo ID that matches the name on your application. Phones, bags, notes, and other personal items are not allowed in the testing room; lockers are typically available. The exam software includes a built-in calculator, so handheld or digital calculators are not permitted unless you have an approved accommodation.³

Testing Accommodations

If you have a documented disability and need accommodations such as extra time, a separate testing room, or assistive technology, submit an Accommodations Application to the AAVSB. The application has two parts: one you complete and one completed by a licensed healthcare provider. You also need supporting documentation dated within the past three years, such as a diagnostic report, IEP, or 504 plan.⁴ Reviews can take up to two weeks. If you didn’t flag accommodations on your initial application, email accommodations@aavsb.org before scheduling, and don’t book your exam until the AAVSB sends a written approval letter.

What’s on the Exam

The VTNE has 170 multiple-choice questions. Of those, 150 are scored and 20 are unscored pilot questions being tested for future forms. You won’t know which is which, so treat every question seriously. You have three hours to finish.⁵

The 150 scored questions are distributed across ten content domains:²

Animal Care and Nursing — 20%, 30 questions
Pharmacy and Pharmacology — 13%, 20 questions
Surgical Nursing — 13%, 20 questions
Anesthesia — 13%, 20 questions
Laboratory Procedures — 9%, 14 questions
Dentistry — 7%, 10 questions
Emergency Medicine and Critical Care — 7%, 10 questions
Pain Management and Analgesia — 7%, 10 questions
Diagnostic Imaging — 6%, 9 questions
Communication and Veterinary Professional Support Services — 5%, 7 questions

Animal Care and Nursing, Pharmacy, Surgical Nursing, and Anesthesia together account for nearly 60% of the scored questions. If any of those four feel shaky, that is where study time pays off most.

Scoring and Getting Your Results

Raw scores convert to a scaled score from 200 to 800, and the minimum passing score is 425.² When you finish at the testing center, the computer shows an unofficial pass or fail indicator. That result is informational only and cannot be used for licensing.

Official scores post to your MyAAVSB portal within three days, and the jurisdiction you selected during your application receives the same report in that time.⁶ Scores are reported only as scaled scores. The AAVSB does not release percentage-correct figures or domain-by-domain performance for anyone, pass or fail.² Candidates who don’t pass have no official roadmap for what to study next, which makes honest self-assessment during preparation especially important.

Your application sends your score to one jurisdiction. If you later want to be licensed in a different state or province, you can transfer the score through the AAVSB’s VAULT Basic Service for $90, with processing in about 14 business days.⁷

If You Don’t Pass

You can retake the VTNE after a minimum 31-day wait. Each retake requires a brand-new application and the full $375 fee; there is no reduced retake rate.⁸

The AAVSB allows up to five attempts. A sixth attempt or beyond requires a written statement describing what you’ve done to prepare, plus a letter from your licensing jurisdiction. The AAVSB Board of Directors reviews these requests, and approvals can take up to 45 days.²

Some jurisdictions are stricter. All Canadian provinces, Indiana, Tennessee, and Missouri require regulatory board approval after just three attempts. Missouri adds another limit: it will not accept scores from a fifth or later attempt, so candidates licensing there effectively have a four-attempt ceiling.²

The Full Cost of Getting Licensed

The $375 exam fee is only one line in the budget. Typical additional costs before you can start work as a credentialed technician include:

VTNE application: $375 per attempt
Window transfer, if needed: $90
Score transfer to an additional jurisdiction: $90
State licensing fee: varies, typically from roughly $65 to $300
Criminal background check or fingerprinting, where required: generally $27 to $104
State jurisprudence exam, where required: $150 to $250

Contact your state board early for an itemized list of what they require so nothing catches you by surprise.

Keeping Your Credential Active

Passing the VTNE is the entry point, not the finish line. Most jurisdictions require continuing education (CE) to maintain a license or registration, with annual or biennial renewal being standard. Specific hour counts and renewal schedules vary by state or province. The AAVSB operates the Registry of Approved Continuing Education (RACE) program, which sets uniform quality standards for veterinary CE courses.⁹ Choosing RACE-approved courses is the safest way to make sure your hours will be accepted, but always verify specifics with your licensing board.

1
American Association of Veterinary State Boards. Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE)
2
American Association of Veterinary State Boards. VTNE Candidate Information Handbook
3
American Association of Veterinary State Boards. VTNE Candidate Information Handbook
4
American Association of Veterinary State Boards. VTNE Accommodations Guide
5
American Association of Veterinary State Boards. Scheduling and Taking the VTNE
6
American Association of Veterinary State Boards. Getting Your VTNE Score
7
American Association of Veterinary State Boards. VAULT Basic Service
8
American Association of Veterinary State Boards. VTNE Candidate Information Handbook
9
American Association of Veterinary State Boards. About Approved CE (RACE)