Transfer a Veterinary License to Louisiana
No shortcut, but the exam is smaller than its legend
Louisiana grants no endorsement and waives its state exam for no one. The good news: the once-feared state board exam is now 26 questions in 30 minutes with unlimited retakes, takable online. The complications: your national exam score must be under 5 years old unless you can prove 5 years of continuous practice at 20-plus hours a week, with IRS transcripts as evidence, and there are no temporary permits (the statute allows them; the board has never activated them). New Louisiana residents get a 60-day-decision conditional license under the Welcome Home Act.
What carries over to Louisiana, and what does not
Comes with you
- Your NAVLE if within 5 years (or the 5-years-practice waiver, proven with IRS transcripts)
- Your degree (AVMA or ECFVG/PAVE)
- Your license history (verified directly by each state)
New for this state
- Louisiana State Board Exam: 26 questions, 30 minutes, unlimited retakes
- Passport photo + clean-record certifications
- Welcome Home conditional license only if you actually move to Louisiana
Working in Louisiana without a Louisiana license
Your send-off checklist
Where documents go. Register once in the Thentia portal, then apply and PAY FIRST (documents arriving before the application exists can't be tracked). Third parties direct: state boards, AAVSB. Checks by mail to Baton Rouge.
The money
| Application | $100 |
|---|---|
| Original license fee | $250 |
| State board exam | $200 (+$50 online) |
| Score transfer (VAULT) | $105 |
| VER | |
| TOTAL First year, typical | ~$700 |
| Then: renewal every year | $250 |
Watch out in Louisiana
- The NAVLE 5-year recency rule catches mid-career vets; the waiver demands five years of IRS return transcripts, employer letters, and a current pay stub. Start gathering early.
- A lifetime cap of five NAVLE attempts is still on the books even though the national body dropped theirs; the fix is mid-rulemaking.
- Anyone who practiced unlicensed in Louisiana in the year before applying is automatically rejected.
- The application dies at one year; everything, including fees, restarts.
After you are licensed
- Renew $250 every year by September 30 (licenses issued after May 1 skip that summer's renewal). CE is 20 hours a year, at least half in person.
- Moving to Louisiana? The Welcome Home Act conditional license (residents only) forces a written decision within 60 days.
- No facility permits; controlled-substance storage triggers separate federal and state registrations.
Official links for Louisiana
Board. Louisiana Board of Veterinary Medicine · Portal. Thentia portal · Phone. 225-925-6620
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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