LicensedAnywhere

Transfer a Veterinary License to Hawaii

Verified July 2026 · 26 official sources

No endorsement: everyone takes Hawaii's exam, now online

Hawaii has no endorsement, period: every out-of-state vet passes Hawaii's own exam on quarantine law, toxic plants, parasites, and island soil conditions. The modern reality is gentler than it sounds: the exam is a $30 test with LIVE ONLINE PROCTORING, your NAVLE transfers at any age, both foreign-grad programs count, and there are no fingerprints, so the entire license can be earned without leaving home. Long-career bonus: 10 of the last 12 years in practice can replace your degree paperwork entirely.

First year: about $430-$610Renewal: $360 / 2 yrsWait: quarterly board approval gates the examWork while waiting: Only with a same-island supervisor (one per lifetime)Travel required: None (exam online)

What carries over to Hawaii, and what does not

Comes with you

  • Your NAVLE or NBE/CCT, any age (NBE alone works with extra proof)
  • Your degree (AVMA; ECFVG or PAVE), OR 10 of the last 12 years in practice instead
  • No fingerprints, no background check

New for this state

  • Hawaii's state exam: 75% via PSI, live online proctoring ($30)
  • Verifications from every state ever, sent directly
  • Board approval BEFORE you can book the exam (quarterly meetings)

Working in Hawaii without a Hawaii license

To advise another vet Free: an out-of-state vet may practice 'when in consultation with' Hawaii vets, who keep the relationship. Consultation is defined broadly (in person, telephonic, electronic) with no stated time cap.
For visits or one-time work The 2022 relief and courtesy permits are the tools: $265 for 30 days, one renewal, max 60 days per rolling 12 months, with a Hawaii-licensed sponsor who owns the care. Relief sponsors need not be on your island. A third request within 2 years legally presumes you need the full license.
For remote care Hawaii license required (jurisdiction attaches wherever you sit), the relationship requires a recent physical exam or premises visit, and teleadvice and teletriage are the only no-relationship channels.

Your send-off checklist

YOUMail the application at least 60 days before your target exam date; the quarterly board must approve you before you can book. $100
YOUOrder the AAVSB score transfer (any vintage; NBE-only works with colleague affidavits). Long-career alternative: 10 of the last 12 years in practice replaces degree proof entirely. $105 AAVSB VAULT
STATE BOARDSEvery state ever licensed sends VET-04 verifications directly. (From Pennsylvania: PALS, $15.) PALS portal
YOUR SCHOOLYour college sends transcripts or a certified diploma copy directly (skip if using the 10-of-12-years route).
YOUOnce approved, book the state exam with PSI and take it with live online proctoring: 75 percent to pass, 60-day wait to retest. Don't let the file pass 12 months; stale applications are abandoned. $30 Exam (PSI)
YOUPay the issuance fees (timing matters: $180 in odd-year windows, $360 in even) and calendar June 30 of even years. Prescribers add the $115-a-year state drug registration. $180-$360

Where documents go. Paper only for initial licensure: mail VET-01 with a check to DCCA PVL, P.O. Box 3469, Honolulu, HI 96801. Third parties direct: AAVSB (scores), your college (transcripts or certified diploma), every past board (VET-04 verifications). Renewals are online via MyPVL.

The money

Application$100
State exam (PSI, online proctored)$30
Issuance fees (odd-year window $180 / even $360)$180-$360
Score transfer (VAULT)$105
VER
TOTAL First year, typical~$430-$610
Then: renewal every 2 years$360

Watch out in Hawaii

  • The board must approve you BEFORE you can book the exam, and it meets quarterly. File at least 60 days before your target exam date and treat the meeting calendar as the timeline.
  • The umbrella statute abandons applications at ONE year even though the exam-eligibility letter lasts 24 months; don't drift past 12 months without asking where you stand.
  • The rules date to 1986 and contradict the statute all over; official sources give four different answers on when a lapsed license dies. Plan around the website's 2-year rule.
  • The relief and courtesy permits ($265 for 30 days) cap at 60 days per rolling 12 months, and a third request within 2 years legally presumes you need the full license.

After you are licensed

  • Renew $360 by June 30 of even years. CE is 20 hours per cycle with no mandatory topics; RACE courses count.
  • Prescribers add Hawaii's $115-a-year controlled-substance registration on top of DEA; vets are exempt from the prescription database.
  • Relief permits don't need the sponsor on your island, but a temporary permit's supervisor must be. Choose courtesy vs relief carefully; you can't hold both in the same 12 months.

Official links for Hawaii

Board. Hawaii Board of Veterinary Medicine (DCCA PVL) · Portal. paper by mail (online renewals) · Phone. (808) 586-3000

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