Veterinary Continuing Education Requirements

Requirements

State regulations require veterinarians to obtain 18 CE hours every year. RVTs must have 24 CEs over three years. 

For more information, see COMAR Continuing Education Requirements on the Library of Maryland Regulations website.

2023 regulation update

As of March 2023, regulation 15.14.10.05E and 15.14.16.04B5 have been updated to allow all Continuing Education Credits to be obtained online. While the Board strongly encourages some Continuing Education to be earned through in person sessions, they are no longer required. 

About CE approval

Not all CEs require Board approval! If you are attending a CE course that is RACE approved or offered by a state or regional veterinary medical association, the Board will accept those CE credits without Board approval. Please do not submit requests for those CEs. ​

All requests for CE are reviewed once a month during regular Board meetings which are typically held the 4th Thursday of every month. You will hear soon after the meeting whether your request is approved. Please submit early!

For CE providers

If you are a representative of an organization that is requesting to award Continuing Education credits to licensed veterinarians or registered veterinary technicians who attend courses, seminars, presentations, etc. that you are planning to provide, you must submit a request for approval at least 30 days in advance of the event.  

Note: You may receive approval retroactively but you may not advertise the session as “CE approved” until you receive approval.

For individuals

If you are a licensed veterinarian or registered veterinary technician requesting to receive CE credit for an event you plan to attend, you must also submit approval during the fiscal year in which the event takes place and no later than June 1 of every year. 

You must receive approval before you may include it as part of your registration requirement.  

IMPORTANT: APPROVAL DOES NOT AWARD CEs TO INDIVIDUALS. It approves courses and presentations that can be used to obtain CEs. You will have to upload proof of attendance when you renew your license. If you are requesting  more than 2 CEs for a single event, you must attach a copy of the event program or agenda detailing the presentations/event. 

​​​How to submit a CE approval request

Step 1: Check for preapproval 

1. Check for RACE Approval. This can often be found on the Certificate Received for CEs you have already done and is usually advertised on CEs that you plan to take. RACE Approval is a process done by the American Association of State Veterinary Boards(AAVSB) that evaluates them for sufficiency to use for your registration renewals. Maryland Accepts all RACE approved CEs. DO NOT SUBMIT RACE APPROVED CEs for evaluation by the MD SBVME. 
2. Check to see if your CE was provided by a local or regional Veterinary Medical Association. Maryland accepts CEs provided by Veterinary Medical Associations for use during the renewal period. 
3. Check the annual/recurring conference and continuing education lists below. Some CEs have already been reviewed and evaluated for sufficiency during registration. Please note​ the expiration date. CE's are only good for up to 2 years prior to the registration renewal date. This is calculated back from July 1st of the current year. I.E. If you are doing a FY25 renewal in 2024. CEs would be acceptable that were taken for 2 years prior to July 1st, 2024 or July 1st, 2022 through June 30th, 2024. If the CE you are planning to use is on the list below DO NOT SUBMIT for evaluation by the MD SBVME. 

Step 2: Submit for review if not preapproved

If your CE does not fall into the 3 categories above, Submit a Maryland State Veterinary Board Request for CE Approval. 

You'll need to include the the following information:

1. Sponsor's name and contact person's email address and telephone number;
2. Title and/or topic, date(s), and location(s) of course, seminar, lecture, or meeting;
3. Objectives or goals of the course, seminar, lecture, or meeting;  
4. Name of instructor and brief biography (maybe be uploaded);
5. Length of program; 
6. Certificate of Attendance (required)

Please be sure to read all instructions and fully complete the application. Incomplete applications (specifically applications requesting more than 2 credit hours that do not provide a complete syllabus/agenda) will be returned and not reviewed and may delay approval and prevent you from using them for your registration.

NOTE: You must complete your request in one session. You can not save it and come back to it.​

Review process & deadlines

All applications for review for use during registration renewals must be submitted before the May Meeting of each year so they may be approved before Registration Renewal begins on June 1st. In most cases meetings are held on the 4th Thursday of the month. 

Applications are pulled and placed on the Vet Board's Monthly Meeting Agenda two days prior to the meeting. 

Following the Board meeting you will receive an email notification informing you of the results of the review. 

Preapproved CE options

Annual/recurring conferences

The following annual/recurring conferences are approved for use for registration. These conferences may have varying amounts of Continuing Education CE's from year to year. Please ensure that the hours claimed are justified on your participation documentation/certificates. Not all of the CEs at a conference may be considered clinical. At least 12 hours of the 18 required each year must be clinical/scientific topics and 6 may be Nonclinical or related to practice management. Please ensure you are accounting for these appropriately. You should make 2 sepa​rate entries for the clinical and non-clinical CEs even if they were obtained at the same event. 

• American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) National Meeting
• American Association for Lab Animal Science (AALAS) National Capital Area Branch (NCAB) Annual Seminar
• American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) Annual Meeting​
• American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Annual Convention
• American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) Annual Meeting
• American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) Forum​
• American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) Surgery Summit​
• American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP) Annual Meeting
• American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Annual Conference
• European College of Veterinary Medicine (ECVIM) Annual Congress​
• Maryland Veterinary Medical Association (MDVMA) Annual Conference
• Rabies in the Americas (RITA) Annual Meeting

Continuing education courses