Transfer a Veterinary License to South Carolina

Verified July 2026 · 28 official sources

Endorsement gated by exam age, not career

South Carolina's endorsement is cheap ($175) and its law exam is online, open book, available around the clock. The gate is unusual: exam AGE decides your route. A national exam within 5 years uses the examination path with no extra proof; older scores use endorsement, which demands 30 documented CE hours from the last 2 years, 20 of them live. No fingerprints anywhere. And mind the CE later: missing hours at renewal means automatic revocation, the harshest rule in the country.

First year: about $295Renewal: $340 / 2 yrsWait: processed daily; no published totalWork while waiting: One-time $100 employer-tied tempTravel required: None (24/7 online exam)

What carries over to South Carolina, and what does not

Comes with you

Your license in good standing
Your NAVLE (any age via endorsement) or NBE+CCT
Your degree (ECFVG post-1972 / PAVE)

New for this state

30 CE hours from the last 2 years (20 live), documented up front
SC online jurisprudence exam (open book, 24/7)
Verifications from every state; notarized affidavits + SSN card copy + photo

Working in South Carolina without a South Carolina license

To advise another vet Free: statute lets an out-of-state licensed vet act as a consultant WITH a South Carolina vet, no duration cap stated. Independent practice is off the table; keep the SC vet in charge.

For visits or one-time work The $100 temporary license works exactly once in your lifetime, requires a named SC employer who applies alongside you, and runs supervised until the board decides your full application. Beyond that: the full license.

For remote care South Carolina license required (2026 law), and the vet-client relationship may only be established in person, lapsing after a year without seeing the animal. Maintenance telehealth is fine after that; questionnaire-only treatment is banned.

Your send-off checklist

YOUGather 30 sponsor-approved CE hours (20 live) from the last 2 years BEFORE applying; endorsement requires the documentation up front.

YOUApply online with the notarized lawful-presence and signature affidavits, SSN card copy, ID, and 2x2 photo. $175 Apply online

YOUR SCHOOLYour registrar sends the certified transcript directly.

STATE BOARDSEvery state ever licensed sends verification directly. (From Pennsylvania: PALS, $15.) PALS portal

YOUOrder the VAULT score transfer. $105 AAVSB VAULT

YOUWhen approved, take the online open-book jurisprudence exam (available 24/7). Optional: the once-per-lifetime $100 temp license with a named SC employer. $100 optional

Where documents go. Apply online (eservice) or paper to PO Box 11329, Columbia. Third parties direct (email or mail): registrar (transcript), each state board (verifications), AAVSB (scores).

The money

Application (endorsement)	$175
Temporary license (optional, one per lifetime)	$100
Score transfer (VAULT)	$105
VER
TOTAL First year, typical	~$295
Then: renewal every 2 years	$340

Watch out in South Carolina

Endorsement needs 30 sponsor-approved CE hours (20 live) from the last 2 years, documented BEFORE you apply. Vets from no-CE states get caught.
You must have passed a WRITTEN exam in at least one licensing state, a trap for unusual decades-old routes.
The temporary license names your SC employer up front and is issued once per lifetime.
Notarization three times plus a signed Social Security card copy: the most old-school document set in the South.

After you are licensed

Renew $340 every 2 years, and treat CE as sacred: 30 hours (20 live), reported through the mandatory CE Broker system. Missing CE at renewal means automatic revocation.
Telehealth (new 2026 law): SC license required, in-person relationship only, lapsing after a year without seeing the animal.
Only shelters and emergency clinics register facilities; private practices don't.

Official links for South Carolina

Board. SC Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (LLR) · Portal. eservice.llr.sc.gov · Phone. (803) 896-4598

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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