Veterinarian Accreditation
Newly licensed veterinarians in Missouri must attend a federally sponsored accreditation session outlining state and federal regulations regarding regulatory procedures and animal movement protocols. Upon completion, veterinarians are assigned a specific numeric and alphabetic code for use on official documents, health certificates and blood tubes used in regulatory diagnostics.
Veterinarians must be accredited in the appropriate category, category I or II, for the species in which they are issuing a health certificate. Category I accredited veterinarians may issue health certificates for all animals except food and fiber species, horses, birds, farm-raised aquatic animals, all other livestock species, and zoo animals that can transmit exotic animal diseases to livestock. Category II accredited veterinarians can issue health certificates for all animals.
The following protocol is recommended to complete the requirements to obtain accreditation in Missouri:
| Accreditation Requirements | |
|---|---|
| Step 1 | Obtain Missouri license to practice veterinary medicine Contact: Missouri Veterinary Medical Board www.pr.mo.gov (573) 751-0031 |
| Step 2 | Obtain federal accreditation Contact: United States Department of Agriculture (573) 658-9850 |
| Step 3 | Contact: Missouri Department of Agriculture (573) 751-3377 animal.health@mda.mo.gov |
To maintain accreditation, veterinarians are required to complete 3 to 6 hours of continuing education provided by USDA National Veterinary Accreditation Program depending on the category for which they are accredited. Training modules are available online. In person trainings are also available occasionally.
For more information regarding veterinary accreditation, follow this link https://www.aphis.usda.gov/nvap/area-vet.