Certification
The American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) is the AVMA-recognized veterinary specialty organization™ for certification of veterinarians in large animal surgery and small animal surgery. AVMA is the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Pathway to Certification
The official credential of a board-certificated veterinary surgeon is Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons, often presented as DACVS or ACVS Diplomate.
Veterinarians interested in pursuing ACVS board certification and animal owners interested in learning about the training of a veterinary surgeon are encouraged to check out the pathway to certification illustration below. It provides a high-level overview of the steps a veterinarian takes to become an ACVS Diplomate. Additional details follow the illustration.
New veterinary surgery residents should review instructions to register themselves with ACVS on the Your Veterinary Surgery Residency page.
Pathway Details
- Graduate from an AVMA-accredited veterinary school; have an Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates certificate; or have a current veterinary license.
- Complete a one-year, rotating veterinary internship or equivalent
- Be accepted by an ACVS registered residency training program
- Complete training requirements (minimum three-year residency)
- Pass the Phase I Surgical Knowledge Examination
- Have an accepted manuscript
- Submit a credentials application
- Pass the Phase II Surgical Competency Examination
- Pursue Fellowship training (optional)
- Maintain your certification (five-year cycle) via Maintenance of certification
- Dual certification (optional)
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