How to become a vet tech in North Dakota

Last checked October 25, 2026 against the sources listed below. Information, not legal advice: confirm with the board before you apply or take on a task.

North Dakota vet techs hold the Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT) license, a state license issued by the North Dakota Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. The law requires a license to practice veterinary technology and to use a title that suggests you are authorized to practice it. It also says a veterinarian's employee doing duties under the veterinarian's direction or supervision is not practicing veterinary technology, so unlicensed staff may work, but may not perform surgery, diagnose, give a prognosis or prescribe. To get licensed, you graduate from an accredited vet tech program, pass the VTNE, and pass the Board's North Dakota laws and rules exam.

North Dakota vet tech credential at a glance

Item	North Dakota
Title	Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT)
Issued by	North Dakota Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, a state board
Type	State license
Required to work as a tech	Yes, with conditions A license is required to practice veterinary technology or use a title implying it. A veterinarian's employee working under direction or supervision is not treated as practicing veterinary technology.
Education	Graduate of a program accredited by the AVMA CVTEA or the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. A graduate of a nonaccredited vet tech program needs Board approval to take the exams.
Exams	VTNE, plus the Board's online, open-book exam on North Dakota laws and rules. The passing score is 80 percent.
Renewal and CE	Every year by December 31. 12 CE hours in the 24 months before each even-year renewal, at least 9 in person or live virtual. The Board requires 8 hours for the 2026 renewal.
Moving from another state	No separate reciprocity route found. Use the standard application, have your VTNE score sent, provide verification of any vet tech license from another jurisdiction, and pass the state exam.

How to get your LVT in North Dakota

Graduate from a veterinary technology program accredited by the AVMA Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA) or the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. If you graduated from a vet tech program without that accreditation, you must get Board approval before taking the VTNE and the state exam.
Apply for the VTNE through the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB), which owns and runs the exam. For North Dakota licensure, you may take it for the first time no earlier than six months before your expected graduation date.
Have your VTNE score sent to the Board. If you listed North Dakota on your VTNE application, the Board receives your official score report. If not, you request and pay for a score transfer through AAVSB.
Complete the Board's online veterinary technician application. The Board asks for a recent photograph and a copy of your diploma. The rules also require verification of any vet tech license issued by another jurisdiction and a signed statement that you have read and will follow the state's laws and rules.
Pay the fees. As listed by the Board as of October 2026, the application fee is $40 and the annual license fee is $30.
Pass the state board exam, an online, open-book test on North Dakota laws and rules, with a score of at least 80 percent. If you fail, you may retake it after 30 days by paying the application fee again. The Board may also ask you to complete an oral interview.

What a credentialed tech can do, and what an assistant can do

North Dakota's law does not give a task-by-task list for technicians or assistants, and it does not assign a supervision level to each task. It says a licensed technician provides medical care, monitoring or treatment "on the basis of written or oral instructions from a veterinarian." A veterinarian's employee who performs duties "under the direction or supervision" of the responsible veterinarian is not treated as practicing veterinary technology. The table below covers only what the statute names.

Task	Credentialed tech	Veterinary assistant
Medical care, monitoring and treatment	Yes, with conditions: on a veterinarian's written or oral instructions. The law names no supervision level.	Yes, with conditions: as a veterinarian's employee, under the veterinarian's direction or supervision.
Give medication or treatment a veterinarian prescribed	Yes, with conditions: on a veterinarian's written or oral instructions.	Yes, with conditions: the law exempts a person who gives medication or treatment as prescribed by a veterinarian.
Assist a veterinarian in surgery	Yes, with conditions: only as a surgical assistant to a veterinarian.	Not addressed The employee exception bars performing surgery; it does not mention assisting.
Perform surgery	No	No
Diagnose, give a prognosis or prescribe	No	No
Teleadvice and teletriage	Yes, with conditions: an LVT may do this without a veterinarian's instructions. Teleadvice is general guidance not meant to diagnose, prognose or treat a specific animal.	Not addressed

Veterinary assistants in North Dakota

North Dakota has no state permit or registration for veterinary assistants that we could find in the practice act or the Board rules. An unlicensed employee of a veterinarian may perform duties under the veterinarian's direction or supervision. The law bars such an employee from performing surgery, diagnosing, giving a prognosis or prescribing. The exception covers performing duties; it does not let an unlicensed person use a title that suggests they are authorized to practice veterinary technology.

The Board may refuse, suspend or revoke a veterinarian's or technician's license for employing unlicensed people to do work that only licensed people may lawfully do. Practicing veterinary technology without meeting the law, or falsely claiming to hold a license, is a class B misdemeanor.

Renewal and continuing education

An LVT license expires every December 31. The Board sends renewal notices by email by December 1, and renewal is done online. As listed by the Board as of October 2026, the renewal fee is $30, and renewals received after December 31 add a late fee of 50 percent of the fee. You can renew an expired license within five years by paying the current and past-due fees and completing the required CE. After five years, you must apply for a new license.

Under the rules in effect since April 1, 2026, you need 12 hours of Board-approved CE in the 24 months before each even-year renewal. At least 9 of the 12 hours must be in person or live virtual. No more than 4 hours may come from practice management, no more than 4 from the veterinary exchange program (time learning at another practice, with a written report), and no more than 4 from attending a Board meeting in person. Because the new rules arrived partway through the cycle, the Board says 8 hours of CE will be required at the 2026 renewal.

Recent changes

2025 practice act rewrite: Senate Bill 2129 (2025 Session Laws, chapter 397) revised Chapter 43-29. It set the current definitions of veterinary technology and supervision, the technician licensing requirements, the exceptions for employees and others, and the teleadvice and teletriage rules. It also repealed the older section on veterinary technician services, emergency services and prohibited services.
New Board rules, April 1, 2026: the Board's rules implementing the bill took effect April 1, 2026. For technicians they raised the application and license fees, added the 80 percent state exam passing score and retake rules, moved CE into its own chapter, raised the two-year CE requirement to 12 hours and set limits by delivery method. The Board also repealed its separate rules on the practice of veterinary medicine, saying the topic is now defined in statute.
2026 CE transition: the Board says 8 CE hours will be required at the 2026 renewal because the new rules were approved partway through the cycle.

FAQ

Can I work in a North Dakota clinic without a vet tech license?

The law does not treat a veterinarian's employee doing duties under the veterinarian's direction or supervision as practicing veterinary technology. Such an employee may not perform surgery, diagnose, give a prognosis or prescribe, and may not use a title suggesting they are a licensed tech.

Does North Dakota have reciprocity for vet techs from other states?

We found no separate reciprocity or endorsement route. Out-of-state techs use the standard application, have their VTNE score sent, provide verification of any license from another jurisdiction, and pass the North Dakota laws and rules exam.

Is the North Dakota state exam hard?

It is an online, open-book exam on North Dakota laws and rules, and the Board provides copies of the rules and practice act. You need 80 percent to pass.

How many CE hours do North Dakota vet techs need?

The rules require 12 hours in the 24 months before each even-year renewal, with at least 9 in person or live virtual. For the 2026 renewal only, the Board says 8 hours are required.

Can a North Dakota LVT do teletriage?

Yes. The law lets a licensed veterinary technician perform teleadvice and teletriage without instructions from a veterinarian. Technicians still may not diagnose, give a prognosis or prescribe.

Sources

Rules change and boards apply them case by case. If your situation is unusual, ask the North Dakota Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners directly.

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