What is a Registered Veterinary Technician?

You may have heard the term “registered veterinary technician.” What does this term mean exactly? What is the difference between a registered veterinary technician and an unregistered one? And how do you go about getting registered? This post will answer some of these questions and hit some specific points related to registration as a vet tech so that you know what this is all about.

What is a Registered Veterinary Technician?

To answer this question, we first need to clarify what happens on a state by state basis in terms of credentialing for veterinary technicians. Different states have different credentialing procedures for veterinary technicians. This is something that is determined by state governments rather than some national standard. That said, all states do have some form of credentialing – a process whereby a veterinary technician is examined to see if they are competent to practice in the field.

In some states this credentialing process will be known as registration, while in others it will be known as certification or licensing. These are fundamentally the same sort of process, but they have different specifics. But they share the common feature that the credentialing is granted on the basis of passing an exam. Different states may have different exams for veterinary technician credentialing. Many states use a standardized test called the National Veterinary Technician (NVT) exam. However some use other exams that are state specific.

In the case of registration, the individual, upon passing the examination, is entered into a registry of all the practitioners in the state. They are thus considered legally employable. Their information exists in a database that allows state agencies to oversee the profession as a whole to make sure it is practiced legally and ethically.

Certification is essentially the same, and certification and registration may go hand in hand. The difference is that certification is usually a title associated with a title, such as “Registered Veterinary Technician” or a similar name.

Finally there is licensing. This may accompany registration, certification, or both. Again the difference is somewhat subtle, but a license is usually something that is granted for a period of time and is often accompanied by a card or certificate of some sort. Renewing the license when it expires allows for regulation of the continued professional fitness of a practitioner.

What is an Unregistered Veterinary Technician?

Now that you know the difference between the various credentialing types, you can see for yourself what an unregistered veterinary technician would be. One who either has not taken the state exam in states that use veterinary technician registration? These individuals may or may not be legally employable depending on standards set by the state in question. They may be allowed to do certain sorts of veterinary work but not others, for instance.

How to Get Registered

First you need to find out what your state’s requirements and procedures are. Simply call up your state education or labor department and find the specifics for your state. There is also a lot of information available on the internet concerning this. If your state does have a registration policy for vet techs, they will probably have a number of eligibility requirements for taking the state exam. These may be such things as having a high school diploma, completing an educational program, and have a clean legal background. After insuring you have fulfilled these requirements, simply register to take the state exam, pay any exam fees, schedule a time to take the test, and take it. These exams are often given at testing centers run by independent testing companies around the country, so there will probably be one fairly close to you.

Becoming a registered veterinary technician is something you will have to take off in any state that requires it, so make sure to find out the specifics and get this out of the way early on. This will insure that you are able to apply for the full range of veterinary technician jobs and that you have met professional standards of employability.