DVM licenses, RVT certificates and CAET certificates issued prior to May 1st, 2024 but not fully renewed – with all Continuing Education hours completed and submitted along with all proper documentation and required fees paid in full – before September 30th at 11:59pm (central) were expired beginning on October 1st. Expired licenses can still be renewed after September 30; however, late renewal fees are assessed. In accordance with rule §305, even if a renewal application has been submitted, it is still considered incomplete if any continuing education documentation is missing and/or does not include the necessary information. The late renewal fee must be paid and all required, completed CE documentation must be submitted prior to a renewal being considered completed and approved.
| All Proof of Attendance Forms for continuing education activity MUST include all of the following details: 1) Licensee’s Full Name, 2) Title of the Activity, 3) Name of Sponsor, 4) Specific Dates of Attendance, 5) Total Hours Earned, and 6) Delivery Method. Every year hundreds of CE certificates are submitted with much of the required details not included on the documents, From this point forward, if any of this information is not included on the Proof of Attendance, the CE activity will not be approved/accepted in accordance with the Rules of the LA Veterinary Practice Act. Licensees are limited to a maximum number of annual hours (DVM- 10 hrs; RVT- 5 hrs; CAET- 3 hrs) to be obtained online which includes interactive Zoom-style meetings, and hours cannot roll over from previous renewal cycles. |
Practicing veterinary medicine in Louisiana with an expired LA license or certificate is a serious offense for which the Board can take administrative action. In accordance with La. R.S. 37:1531.A, the violation for practicing veterinary medicine without a “currently valid license” results in the exposures to both criminal and civil sanctions – i.e. a misdemeanor with a fine of “not less than fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars . . . or imprisonment for no more than ninety days, or both, and each act of such unlawful practice shall constitute distinct and separate offense.” The law clearly distinguishes between the ability to renew an expired certificate and the prohibition against practicing veterinary medicine during that period of time after expiration and before renewal.
Additionally the Practice Act gives the Board the authority, upon vote by a majority, to subpoena any person who the Board has probable cause to believe has engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine without a currently valid license or temporary permit (La. R.S. 37:1531.B) and “levy a civil penalty of no more than one thousand dollars per offense upon any unlicensed person who, after a hearing . . . is found to have practiced veterinary medicine without benefit of a currently valid license . . . ” (La. R.S. 37:1531.B.3).
In accordance with Rule 305.C, the board may publish and distribute the names of any veterinarians holding an expired license to agencies which may include, but is not limited to, the Louisiana state controlled dangerous substances program, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Food and Drug Administration, the United States Department of Agriculture, drug supply wholesalers, veterinary supply wholesalers, the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy, the Louisiana Board of Wholesale Drug Distributors, the Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association, and any other entity that requests or is entitled to such information.
| The failure to answer all renewal questions truthfully may be a violation of the provisions of La. R.S. 37:1526.A (1) should a license or certificate be renewed, and/or La. R.S. 37: 1526 A (15), subjecting one to further disciplinary action. |
View the full Annual Report to Licensees – Volume 32, No. 1 – Fall ’24 (October).