Transfer a Veterinary License to South Dakota

Verified July 2026 · 26 official sources

Endorsement is dormant; the standard lane is easy anyway

The cheapest package in the country: $75 application plus a $100 or $50 license fee depending on the year, then $100 every two years. Any-age NAVLE, no fingerprints, no interview, and the 90 percent law exam is online. The friction is a time capsule of paperwork: a notarized application, an ink-signed photo, and an education certificate signed and sealed by your dean, even mid-career. The endorsement statute on the books is dormant; everyone rides the standard lane, which with no exam-age limits is endorsement-lite anyway.

First year: about $240-$290Renewal: $100 / 2 yrsWait: not publishedWork while waiting: NoTravel required: None (online exam)

What carries over to South Dakota, and what does not

Comes with you

Your NAVLE or NBE+CCT, any age (via AAVSB)
Your degree (AVMA; ECFVG, PAVE, or the Canadian CVMA certificate)
No fingerprints, no interview (the personal-appearance rule died in 2018)

New for this state

Online state law exam, 90% to pass (it tests AVMA ethics too)
Notarized application + ink-signed photo + the dean-signed education certificate
Verifications from every state ever licensed

Working in South Dakota without a South Dakota license

To advise another vet Free and generous: a vet licensed in any state may practice 'in consultation with' South Dakota licensees up to 30 days per year, no specialist requirement.

For visits or one-time work The 30-day consulting window is the only bridge; South Dakota has no temporary, courtesy, or relief permit for licensed out-of-staters. Beyond that, the full license, which is at least the cheapest in the country.

For remote care South Dakota license required, and here's the odd part: no telemedicine rules exist and the state's own relationship definition has no in-person requirement on paper. Federal drug rules and the AVMA ethics the state exam tests still push in-person; we've flagged the board's enforcement stance.

Your send-off checklist

YOUComplete the application: notarized affidavit, an ink-signed photo taken within 5 years, and a diploma copy. $75 Application info

YOUR SCHOOLYour college's dean (or president/secretary) signs and seals the education certificate on the application; start this early.

STATE BOARDSEvery state ever licensed completes the VetVerify form directly. (From Pennsylvania: PALS, $15.) PALS portal

YOUOrder the AAVSB score transfer (any age). $105 AAVSB VAULT

YOUTake the online state law exam: 90 percent to pass, covering South Dakota law AND the AVMA ethics principles.

YOUPay the license fee ($100 in odd years for the full biennium, $50 in even years) and calendar July 1 of ODD years forever. $50-$100

Where documents go. Paper only: mail the notarized application with a check to 411 South Fort Street, Pierre, SD 57501. Third parties direct: origin boards (the VetVerify form), AAVSB (scores), and your dean signs the application's education certificate.

The money

Application	$75
License fee ($100 odd year / $50 even year)	$50-$100
Score transfer (VAULT)	$105
VER
TOTAL First year, typical	~$240-$290
Then: renewal every 2 years	$100

Watch out in South Dakota

The dean's-signature education certificate is the odd document; start that request early.
No temporary or relief permit exists for out-of-state licensed vets; the 30-day-per-year consulting exemption is the only bridge.
The current renewal form contradicts itself on the fee ($100 vs $150); the rule says $100. We've flagged it for the board.
Industry-sponsored CE outside the approved categories earns only HALF credit, a rule we've seen nowhere else.

After you are licensed

Renew $100 by July 1 of odd years ($50 late penalty). The lapse cliff is the gentlest anywhere: under 4 years, just apply and pay; past 4, add $100. No re-exam either way.
CE is 32 hours per 2-year cycle; RACE, VMA, college, and USDA programs count in full.
Incorporating in South Dakota requires every officer, director, and shareholder to be an SD-licensed vet, the strictest ownership rule in our set. Solo clinics need no facility permit ever.

Official links for South Dakota

Board. South Dakota Veterinary Medical Examining Board · Portal. paper by mail (online renewals) · Phone. (605) 773-3321

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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