Transfer a Veterinary License to Tennessee

Verified July 2026 · 28 official sources

Reciprocity with conditions, all of them waivable

Tennessee's reciprocity comes with homework: your first license must have come by examination, you need 3 of the last 5 years at 25 hours a week, and 60 CE hours from the last 5 years. Miss a condition? All of them are waivable by written request. A 2023 law gives the board 60 days to decide once your file is complete, and a $25 supervised temporary license covers you while you wait.

First year: about $430Renewal: $370 / 2 yrsWait: 60-day decision clockWork while waiting: Yes, $25 supervised tempTravel required: None (print card mailed)

What carries over to Tennessee, and what does not

Comes with you

Your license (the first one must have come BY EXAM)
Your practice history (3 of 5 years at 25 hrs/week, waivable)
Your CE history (60 hours in 5 years, waivable)
Your NAVLE or NBE+CCT (no recency limit here)

New for this state

Fingerprints (card mailed to out-of-staters)
Two signed passport photos + notarized application
Verifications from every state ever licensed

Working in Tennessee without a Tennessee license

To advise another vet Free-ish but tightly boxed: you can be called in under a Tennessee vet's direction on a specific case, at the TN VET'S request, fewer than 12 days per calendar year, with the board notified of your name and dates.

For visits or one-time work Two tools: the consulting frame (effectively 11 days a year, supervised), and the $25 temporary license that lets you practice under a Tennessee supervisor while your reciprocity application awaits the board's 60-day decision. Border-state residents may have a statutory exemption; we're confirming the current text.

For remote care Tennessee license required; the vet-client relationship can't be formed electronically and needs a visit within 12 months (we're confirming the exact statutory wording). No telehealth registration exists.

Your send-off checklist

YOUApply in LARS with the notarized application, two signed passport photos, and the citizenship declaration. $285 Apply (LARS)

YOUOut of state? The board mails you a fingerprint card; get printed locally and return it. Results expire in one year. ~$37

STATE BOARDSEvery state ever licensed sends verification directly; a VAULT packet can bundle documents. (From Pennsylvania: PALS, $15.) PALS portal

YOUR SCHOOLYour school sends transcripts directly, even if you graduated decades ago.

YOUOptional: file the $25 supervised temporary license (a Tennessee vet co-signs) and work while the board's 60-day decision clock runs. $25

YOUProvide the practice affidavit (3 of 5 years at 25 hours/week) and 60 CE hours, or written waiver requests for either.

Where documents go. Apply in LARS (or paper PH-2784 to Nashville). Third parties direct: school, AAVSB (or a VAULT packet), state boards, fingerprint vendor.

The money

Application + state fee + reciprocity fee	$285
Temporary license (optional)	$25
Fingerprints (vendor fee, confirming)	~$37
Score transfer (VAULT)	$105
VER
TOTAL First year, typical	~$430
Then: renewal every 2 years	$370

Watch out in Tennessee

Your FIRST license must have been earned by examination; vets first licensed another way need board discretion.
The practice and CE conditions trip part-timers and career-breakers, but written waiver requests exist for both.
Fingerprint results expire after one year; slow files mean re-printing. Two signed passport photos and notarization are still required.
CE runs annually (20 hours per calendar year) even though renewal is biennial, and live webinars count against the 10-hour multimedia cap.

After you are licensed

Renew $370 every 2 years. CE is 20 hours per calendar year including ethics/regulatory hours each cycle.
Opening a practice means Tennessee's premises permit with $200 inspections every two years.
The temporary license requires a Tennessee vet to co-sign as your supervisor until the board decides.

Official links for Tennessee

Board. Tennessee Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners · Portal. LARS portal · Phone. 615-532-5090

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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