Veterinarians License in District of Columbia

The District of Columbia requires continuing education, completion of a specific course, and passage of a third-party examination including the NAVLE for veterinary licensure. The DC Board of Veterinary Medicine, under the Department of Health, regulates the profession. Washington, DC has no veterinary school, and its entirely urban environment means veterinary practice is almost exclusively companion-animal focused, with a high concentration of small-animal clinics, emergency hospitals, and specialty referral centers serving the district's affluent neighborhoods. The district's dense population of professionals, diplomats, and government workers supports a robust and high-spending market for pet care services. Veterinarians in DC often collaborate with federal agencies, including the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the CDC, and the National Zoo (Smithsonian's National Zoological Park), which employs veterinary specialists in exotic and zoo animal medicine. The proximity to the USDA and FDA headquarters, as well as the AVMA's Government Relations Division, creates unique regulatory, policy, and public health career pathways unavailable in most other jurisdictions.