Transfer a Veterinary License to Georgia

Verified July 2026 · 22 official sources

Full application, but genuinely easy

Georgia says no reciprocity, and technically everyone files the same application as a new graduate. In practice it's one of the easiest states here: $100, your exam scores never expire, the background check is name-based with no fingerprints, and the state law exam is an 18-question open-book quiz you complete at home and upload with your application.

First year: about $220Renewal: $200 / 2 yrsWait: about 25 business daysWork while waiting: Nonprofit shelter work only ($100 permit)Travel required: None (take-home law quiz)

What carries over to Georgia, and what does not

Comes with you

Your NAVLE (or old NBE/CCT) scores, which never expire
Your degree
Your record (name-based check, no fingerprints)

New for this state

18-question take-home open-book law quiz
Verifications from every state ever licensed
Notarized citizenship affidavit + ID copy

Working in Georgia without a Georgia license

To advise another vet Free, and generous: Georgia's consulting exemption even allows hands-on work under a Georgia vet's direction. Limits: no Georgia office or advertising, and serving the public directly without a licensed vet's direction is capped at 2 days per year.

For visits or one-time work Tight. Work under a Georgia vet's direction is fine, but independent visits cap at 2 days per calendar year, and the $100 six-month temporary license only covers registered nonprofit shelter and sterilization programs. Anything else means the full (thankfully easy) application.

For remote care Effectively impossible. Georgia requires telehealth providers to primarily practice in person inside Georgia, so a purely remote service into the state is off the table, license or not.

Your send-off checklist

YOUCreate a GOALS account and file the application. $100 GOALS portal

YOUDownload the 18-question open-book law exam, complete it at home, and upload it with your application. Law exam (PDF)

YOUSign the name-based background consent (no fingerprints) and the notarized citizenship affidavit. Any notary in any state works.

YOUR SCHOOLYour registrar sends the official transcript directly to the board, even if you graduated decades ago.

STATE BOARDSEvery state where you've ever held a license sends a verification directly. (From Pennsylvania: PALS, $15.) PALS portal

YOUOrder the VAULT score transfer. Your scores never expire in Georgia. $105 AAVSB VAULT

YOUTrack it in GOALS; plan on about 25 business days once documents land.

Where documents go. Everything you file goes through the GOALS portal; paper applications are returned. Third parties mail to the board's Macon office (the board lists two addresses; call 404-424-9966 to confirm which).

The money

Application	$100
Score transfer (VAULT)	$105
VER
TOTAL First year, typical	~$220
Then: renewal every 2 years	$200

Watch out in Georgia

Renewal lands December 31 of even years no matter when you're licensed, so a late-2026 license renews almost immediately. Time your application.
Rabies vaccination is veterinarian-only in Georgia; it can't be delegated to techs.
Any disciplinary history in your file waits for a board meeting, held only every couple of months.
Two board pages disagree on the late-renewal deadline (Jan 31 vs Mar 31). We've flagged it to confirm.

After you are licensed

Renew $200 every 2 years (Dec 31 of even years). CE is 30 hours per cycle including 2 hours on Georgia law; RACE courses count.
Telehealth requires primarily practicing in person inside Georgia, the strictest telehealth posture of any state here.
No facility permit exists, but the board can inspect any practice at any time.

Official links for Georgia

Board. Georgia State Board of Veterinary Medicine (Secretary of State) · Portal. GOALS portal · Phone. (404) 424-9966

Keep going

The veterinary planner, which builds a plan across several states at once.
What transfers when you move a veterinary license, covering NAVLE, VAULT and DEA.
All three professions we cover.

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