CE Policies & Rules for DVMs

Continuing Education Policies for DVMs

CE Requirements | Approved Programs | Proof of Attendance | Late Fees/Fines | Recording CE for Renewal

Continuing Education activity can be recorded throughout the year in real time! After you attend a presentation for CE, simply log into the LBVM License Portal, go to “Continuing Education”, select the current CE Period, enter in the CE activity details, and upload the certificate of completion. All of the CE activity entered throughout the year will promulgate into the renewal once you start it. With each new renewal cycle, you will have access to all past CE activity through the LBVM License Portal.

The Continuing Education requirement in Louisiana was established with the goal of ensuring that the public receive the best possible care from the veterinary community. The Board attempts to achieve this goal by requiring those persons who are LICENSED TO PRACTICE VETERINARY MEDICINE in Louisiana to remain current in subjects related to the practice of the profession. To that end, the following statutes and rules have been created.

If your license/registration/certification was issued prior to May 1st, 2024, you are still required to fulfill all CE hours by June 30th, 2024 in order to renew your license starting July 1st. Additionally, the Board reverted back to its regular rules in April ’22 and in so doing, a maximum of ten (10) hours of credit may be obtained online (which includes interactive Zoom-style meetings).

DVMs Exempt From New DEA Education Requirement — A new opioid-related training requirement for DEA-registered practitioners does not apply to veterinarians, despite appearing as a required checkbox on the DEA’s online registration application, according to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials. Veterinarians who are registering or renewing their DEA registration should simply check the box on the DEA application, in order to continue on in the registration process, the DEA has advised the AVMA. The requirement – to complete a one-time, eight-hour training on treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders – took effect June 27 and applies to all DEA-registered prescribers except veterinarians. Veterinarians were specifically exempted in the federal law that created the requirement, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. However, because veterinarians and other medical professionals use the same DEA registration form, veterinarians registering or renewing their registration must check a box on the application that affirms they’ve “read and understood” the information about the training requirement. For more details, visit www.avma.org/blog/veterinarians-exempt-new-dea-education-requirement.

403 Continuing Veterinary Education Requirements

A. A minimum of twenty (20) actual hours is required each fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) as a prerequisite for annual renewal of a license. Hours may be taken from:

A continuing veterinary education program accepted by another state’s regulatory board of veterinary medicine, a governmental entity, and/or AAVSB, as well as those programs sponsored by AVMA accredited schools of veterinary medicine and/or any professional associations recognized by the board; however, any other programs and/or their participants, including in-house programs, shall be submitted to the board for pre-approval of the units or hours of continuing education in accordance with Rule 409A.3 and 4, respectively.
A maximum of ten hours of credit may be obtained in approved video-taped, self-test programs with third party grading, and/or self-help instruction, including online instruction with third party grading;
The twenty hour requirement for annual renewal of a license may be taken in any combination of the following Board approved programs regarding subject matter content: clinical, alternative, regulatory, practice management, and/or research; however, the actual mediums of approved video-taped, self-test programs with third party grading, and/or self-help instruction, including online instruction with third party grading, are limited to the ten hour maximum set forth in paragraph A.2 of this section.

B. Proof of attendance, which shall include the name of the course/program, name of sponsor, date(s) of attendance, hours attended, and specific subjects attended, shall be attached to the annual re-registration form.

C. All hours shall be obtained in the 12 months preceding the renewal period of the license. Hours taken prior to the 12-month continuing education period will not be accepted. Hours taken after the beginning of the renewal period will require payment of the late fee, and may require the payment of a fine of up to $50, as set forth in §413.D. Hours submitted as the late continuing education, if accepted by the board in accordance with §413.D, cannot be applied to other renewal periods.

D. Employment at an accredited school or college of veterinary medicine will not be accepted in lieu of performance of the required hours of continuing education.

E. Presenters of approved continuing education programs may not submit hours for their presentation of, or preparation for, the program as continuing education.

409 Approved Continuing Education Programs

A. It shall be the duty of the Louisiana Board of Veterinary Medicine to approve all continuing veterinary education programs for which credit shall be given to Louisiana licensed veterinarians as follows:

All units or hours from contact participation programs listed on the pre-approved list of the Board shall be accepted, as well as all units or hours from contact participation from programs accepted by another state’s regulatory board of veterinary medicine, a governmental entity, and/or AAVSB, as well as those programs sponsored by AVMA accredited schools of veterinary medicine and/or any professional associations recognized by the board.
The list of programs for which pre-approval has been granted will be updated as needed and published by the Board on its website, as well as those programs which are accepted by another state’s regulatory board of veterinary medicine, a governmental entity, and/or AAVSB, and those programs sponsored by AVMA accredited schools of veterinary medicine and/or any professional associations recognized by the board.
Additions to the list of pre-approved programs may be requested by writing to the board office and submitting documentation as required by the office. All programs not on the pre-approved list must be submitted for pre-approval at least 14 days prior to the date of the program for the units or hours to be credited. Pre-approval may be obtained by writing or calling the board office during regular business hours.
an in-house continuing education program may be approved by the board if such program’s subject matter content complies with the board’s rules, and the program is open by invitation/advertisement to interested veterinarians in general who are not associated with the in-house practice at issue at least ten calendar days prior to the commencement of the program. The general requirements regarding continuing education, including timely submission for pre-approval of the program by the board, continues to apply.
In order to qualify for board approval, all continuing education programs must be open by invitation/advertisement to interested veterinarians in general.

Please see the LIST OF BOARD-APPROVED CE PROGRAMS – which is updated every two weeks – or call the Board office if you have any questions.

Want to get a Continuing Education program approved by the Board? Pre-approval is required 14 days prior to the CE program. Any program that is RACE-approved does not need additional LBVM-approval. If you are unsure whether or not a CE program is accepted by the Board and/or to have continuing education programs reviewed by the Board, please submit a CE Approval Request to the Board by clicking the link below.

Go to CE Approval Request Form

Failure to obtain pre-approval may result in the denial of CE credit for annual renewal. In summary, at renewal time, hours which are turned in from programs that were NOT SUBJECT TO AUTOMATIC APPROVAL and/or NOT PRE-APPROVED as required by the Board, may be denied. If the program is denied, you will be required to take additional CE in an approved program prior to completing the renewal process and obtaining a current license. Late fees and fines will be imposed accordingly. Furthermore, if the required CE is not timely obtained during the fiscal period (July 1 through June 30), then the license expires on September 30 and you cannot legally practice as a Veterinarian until the renewal process is completed and you are issued a license for the current year.

Employment at an accredited school or college of veterinary medicine will not be accepted in lieu of completion of the required CE hours. Presenters of approved CE programs may not use the hours for program preparation and presentation as CE.

Get up to Six (6) CE Hours Annually by Attending LBVM Board Meetings! At its April 6, 2023 meeting, the Board voted to approve CE hours for any licensee who attends LBVM board meetings. A maximum of three (3) CE hours can be earned from each meeting attendance, and the licensee must be present for at least three hours to earn all three CE credits for that particular meeting attendance. A maximum of six (6) CE hours can be earned annually from board meeting attendance. After each Board meeting, attendees will be emailed a CE Reporting Form. Click here to register if you wish to earn CE hours for attending an upcoming Board meeting.

Proof of Attendance

In accordance with Rule 403.B listed above, proof of attendance (i.e. – certificates of completion) MUST include all of the following details: 1) Licensee’s First & Last Name, 2) Title of the Activity, 3) Name of Sponsor, 4) Specific Date of Attendance/Completion, 5) Total Hours Earned, and 6) Delivery Method. Certificates of Completion from conference attendance MUST include the total number of hours a licensee earned from attendance.

If any of this information is not included on the Proof of Attendance, the CE activity cannot be accepted.

Late Fees and Fines

All licensed veterinarians in the State of Louisiana are required to obtain 20 hours of continuing education per fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) (eff. 07/1/2007) as a prerequisite to renewal. Failure to do so is a violation of the Veterinary Practice Act and may result in a late fee and/or fine being imposed by the Board.

The late fee for renewals is $150.
The late fee for failure to take appropriate CE hours in the proper time frame of July 1 to June 30, is $25, and a fine of up to $50 may be levied.
CE must be taken between July 1 and June 30 to meet the requirement that it be taken as a prerequisite to renewal.
A time period of no less than 90 days will be provided for completion of license renewals and missing/late CE hours.
Partial (incomplete) renewal submissions will not be accepted.
If the required CE is not timely obtained during the fiscal period (July 1 through June 30), then the license expires on September 30 and you cannot legally practice until the renewal process is completed and you are issued a license for the current year.

The LA Veterinary Practice Act Rules associated with the fees and/or fines for late CE are as follows:

Rule 403.A – A minimum of 20 actual hours is required each fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) as a prerequisite for annual renewal of a license.

Rule 403.C – All hours shall be obtained in the 12 months preceding the renewal period of the license. Hours taken prior to the 12-month continuing education period will not be accepted. Hours taken after the beginning of the renewal period will require payment of the late fee, and may require the payment of a fine of up to $50, as set forth in §413.D. Hours submitted as the late continuing education, if accepted by the board in accordance with §413.D, cannot be applied to other renewal periods

Rule 413 – Non-Compliance – D. Failure to obtain the required number of hours in the specified time period shall be considered a violation of the rules of professional conduct. A grace period of no more than 90 days may be granted by petitioning the board for an extension. A late fee of $25 and a fine of up to $50 may be levied.

UPDATING/ENTERING CONTINUING EDUCATION ACTIVITY

Click here for instructions on recording continuing education hours into the LBVM License Portal.

IMPORTANT – All CE activity must be entered in the Continuing Education section PRIOR to starting your renewal process!

If you start your renewal without entering in your CE activity, you will have to back out of the renewal, then enter the CE activity, then continue with the renewal process.

LBVM License Portal

Act 219 of 2018 Session – No CDS CE Required for LA DVMs & CAETs