*** Information found on the official ICVA NAVLE website supersedes all information noted elsewhere in this document pertaining to the NAVLE®. ***
Passage of the NAVLE is required in order to obtain a veterinary license to practice veterinary medicine in North America. Ultimately, it is the students' responsibility to familiarize themselves on what is required to register for the North American Veterinary Licensure Examination (NAVLE). The process to register, schedule, pay, and sit for the NAVLE is summarized here: https://www.icva.net/navle/.
In general, there can be no more than ten (10) months from the end of the testing cycle window and the expected graduation date of a student enrolled in an AVMA-accredited veterinary program.
Students must complete their entire NAVLE application prior to the published deadlines. LMU-CVM does not have the ability to assist students in deadline extension. It is recommended that you start working on your NAVLE and licensing application at least 2 months prior to the deadline.
The LMU-CVM curriculum provides a three-week block of time known as the NAVLE Administration block for students to complete preparations and sit for the NAVLE. It is expected that the student will register and schedule to take the NAVLE during the three-week designated NAVLE block time, so no clinical rotation time is lost due to testing. If a student unable to sit for the examination during the NAVLE Administration block, but takes it during a clinical rotation, the student must request an leave of absence for the date they will take the examination. The procedure to request an absence.
All students are required to take the four-credit NAVLE Preparation course (CVM776). This course is designed to prepare students to take the NAVLE by providing an online preparation program, timed tests, multiple attempts at the ICVA Self-assessment, and review sessions. Details and any other requirements for the course are listed in the CVM776 syllabus.
Some states process their professional licenses directly through the International Council for Veterinary Assessment (ICVA), while others require a reporting of the NAVLE scores to the state board for professional licensing. Depending on the state in which the student wishes to be licensed, the student may need to apply directly to the state for licensing. For those states, two applications are required to apply the NAVLE scores to licensing. The first application is to the ICVA to register for the NAVLE itself. The second application is to the state or state-approved licensing entity (if it is not the ICVA). For more information on individual state requirements or to apply for a license through the ICVA, visit this link: https://www.icva.net/licensing-boards/.