WSR 25-06-092
PROPOSED RULES
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
(Veterinary Board of Governors)
[Filed March 5, 2025, 11:53 a.m.]
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 24-10-093.
Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: Veterinarian and veterinary technician continuing education, examination, and licensure requirements; reducing barriers. The veterinary board of governors (board) is proposing amendments to chapters 246-933 and 246-935 WAC to implement 2SHB 1724 (chapter 425, Laws of 2023), codified as RCW
18.130.077. The board is also proposing general housekeeping by repealing the licensure examination rules that are no longer relevant.
Hearing Location(s): On June 2, 2025, at 9:15 a.m., at the Department of Health, Town Center 2, Room 153, 111 Israel Road S.E., Tumwater, WA 98501; or virtually at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83902481471?pwd=KE86EbyHLC22LRkzb4wb90AdFMudJj.1.
Date of Intended Adoption: June 2, 2025.
Submit Written Comments to: Poppy Budrow, P.O. Box 47852, Olympia, WA 98504-7852, email veterinary@doh.wa.gov, https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/policyreview, beginning the date and time of this filing, by May 26, 2025, at 11:59 p.m.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Poppy Budrow, phone 564-669-0026, TTY 711, email poppy.budrow@doh.wa.gov, by May 21, 2025.
Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: The board is proposing amendments to chapters 246-933 and 246-935 WAC to remove barriers to entering into, remaining in, and returning to the health care workforce. The proposed amendments will streamline and shorten the credentialing process for veterinarians and veterinary technicians and remove WAC that are no longer applicable to the professions.
The proposed amendments: (1) Remove the jurisprudence exam as a requirement for initial licensure for veterinarians and veterinary technicians; (2) add a new section to each chapter requiring, as part of continuing education, successful completion of training in Washington state law respective to their profession, to be completed after initial licensure and prior to the licensee's first renewal; (3) remove the national exam and submitting proof of active practice as a requirement to reactivate a veterinary license that has been expired for three or more years; and (4) repeal WAC that were only applicable when the board administered the licensure examination.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: RCW
18.130.077 directs all disciplining authorities for licensed health care professionals to waive education, training, experience, and exam requirements for applicants who have been credentialed in another state or states with substantially equivalent standards for at least two years immediately preceding their application with no interruption in licensure for longer than 90 days.
The intent of the bill is to make disciplining authorities review and adjust licensure requirements to remove barriers to entering and remaining in the health care workforce, and to streamline and shorten the credentialing process. Rule making is necessary to amend licensure requirements in chapters 246-933 and 246-935 WAC to align and comply with RCW
18.130.077.
Other housekeeping changes are necessary to ensure rules are clear, concise, and up-to-date to be essential to the practice of veterinary medicine, surgery, and dentistry.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Name of Proponent: Veterinary Board of governors, governmental.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation, and Enforcement: Poppy Budrow, 111 Israel Road S.E., Tumwater, WA 98501, 564-669-0026.
A school district fiscal impact statement is not required under RCW
28A.305.135.
A cost-benefit analysis is required under RCW
34.05.328. A preliminary cost-benefit analysis may be obtained by contacting Poppy Budrow, P.O. Box 47852, Olympia, WA 98504-7852, phone 564-669-0026, TTY 711, email
poppy.budrow@doh.wa.gov,
veterinary@doh.wa.gov.
This rule proposal, or portions of the proposal, is exempt from requirements of the Regulatory Fairness Act because the proposal:
Explanation of exemptions: The proposed changes only apply to the credential holder, not the business.
Scope of exemption for rule proposal:
Is fully exempt.
March 5, 2025
Andrea Sanchez-Chambers, DVM, Chair
Veterinary Board of Governors
OTS-5868.2
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 22-11-062, filed 5/16/22, effective 6/16/22)
WAC 246-933-250Examination and licensure requirements.
To qualify for licensure ((in this state, a candidate must))as a veterinarian, an applicant shall:
(1) Successfully complete either the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) or the National Board Examination for Veterinary Medical Licensing (NBE); and
(2) ((Successfully complete the Washington state jurisprudence examination; and
(3))) Be a graduate of a program that is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association. A person who is a graduate of a college of veterinary medicine not accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association must:
(a) Successfully complete the American Veterinary Medical Association's Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates program (ECFVG); or
(b) Successfully complete the American Association of Veterinary State Board's Program for the Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence (PAVE).
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 07-20-036, filed 9/25/07, effective 10/26/07)
WAC 246-933-270Examination results.
The board accepts the following minimum passing score for licensure examinations.
(1) The minimum passing score for the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) is the criterion-referenced passing score established by the National Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.
(2) The minimum passing score before December 1982 for the National Board Examination for Veterinary Medical Licensing (NBE), and the Clinical Competency Test (CCT) is 1.5 standard deviation below the mean of the criterion population. From December 1992 through April 2000 the minimum passing score is the criterion referenced passing score required by the National Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.
(((3) The minimum passing score on the Washington state jurisprudence examination is ninety percent.))
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 14-06-067, filed 2/28/14, effective 3/31/14)
WAC 246-933-275Reactivation of an expired veterinary license.
(1) To reactivate a veterinary license that has been expired for three years or less, the veterinarian must meet the requirements of chapter 246-12 WAC((, Part 2)).
(2) To reactivate a veterinary license that has been expired for more than three years, the practitioner must((:
(a)))submit verification of unrestricted licensure in another state or jurisdiction((; and
(b) Submit documentation of two hundred hours of active practice within each of the previous three years within that state or jurisdiction)).
For purposes of this subsection, documentation of licensure ((and active practice)) in a foreign country is acceptable if there is an American Veterinary Medical Association accredited school or college of veterinary medicine in that country.
(3) To reactivate a veterinary license that has been expired for more than three years, when the veterinarian has not held ((an unrestricted))a license and has not been in active practice, the veterinarian must:
(a) ((Successfully complete the current North American Veterinary Licensing Examination as provided in WAC 246-933-250(1); and
(b))) Meet the continuing education requirements of WAC 246-12-040 and chapter 246-933 WAC; and
(b) Complete an additional 15 hours of continuing education which meet the defined requirements in WAC 246-933-445 (1)(a).
NEW SECTION
WAC 246-933-438Veterinarian jurisprudence continuing education.
A licensed veterinarian shall complete a board-approved, one-time training in Washington state jurisprudence, which will count as one credit hour toward meeting applicable continuing education requirements. Training must include Washington state veterinary law.
(1) This training must be completed after initial licensure and prior to the veterinarian's first license renewal.
(2) The board accepts only courses that are listed on the board's website.
REPEALER
The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed:
WAC 246-933-265 | Scope of Washington state jurisprudence examination. |
OTS-5867.2
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 08-11-099, filed 5/20/08, effective 6/20/08)
WAC 246-935-070Examination for licensure as a veterinary technician.
(1) ((All applicants))To qualify for licensure as a veterinary technician, an applicant shall ((be required to)) successfully complete the veterinary technician national examination as approved by the board((, and the Washington state examination that consists of questions pertaining to the laws and rules regulating technicians)).
(2) The passing criteria or score is((:
(a)))the criteria-referenced passing score on the national examination.
(((b) Ninety percent on the Washington state examination.))
NEW SECTION
WAC 246-935-308Veterinary technician jurisprudence continuing education.
A licensed veterinary technician shall complete a board-approved, one-time training in Washington state jurisprudence, which will count as one credit hour toward meeting applicable continuing education requirements. Training must include Washington state veterinary technician law.
(1) This training must be completed after initial licensure and prior to the veterinary technician's first license renewal.
(2) The board accepts only courses that are listed on the board's website.
REPEALER
The following sections of the Washington Administrative Code are repealed:
WAC 246-935-090 | Examination review procedures. |
WAC 246-935-110 | Examination procedures. |
WAC 246-935-120 | Frequency and location of examination. |