Earning Your CVPM

Who Can Apply for Certification?

Individuals actively involved in Veterinary Practice Management who meet the four qualifications may apply to the Certification Board for the CVPM designation.

Qualifications to sit for the exam include:

Active employment as a practice manager for a minimum of three (3) years within the last seven (7)*
Eighteen (18) college semester hours in management related courses**
Forty-eight (48) hours of continuing education courses, seminars, etc., specifically devoted to management
Four (4) letters of recommendation

The CVPM application will explain in further detail the required qualifications.

The VHMA and Certification Board subscribe to all federal and state regulations that prohibit discrimination. All applications are considered regardless of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital status or class. Reasonable accommodations will be made for program candidates with disabilities.

* To fulfill the active employment qualification, candidates must have been responsible for twenty-six (26) of the thirty (30) duties enumerated in the application for a minimum of three years, they include: staff (development, maintenance, computer training, communication, interaction, records, safety, benefits, payroll); accounts receivable; income reconciliation; credit policies; accounts payable; inventory; financial reporting; budgeting; purchasing; fee setting; patient medical records; medical knowledge; hospital medical logs; client service; client communication; client interaction; client grief protocol; client education; client education programs; client/patient/staff comfort; professional liaison; and community involvement.

** To fulfill the formal education qualification, candidates must have completed at least eighteen (18) college semester hours in management related courses such as:

accounting;
economics/finance;
computer science;
marketing; management;
labor relations/human resources;
law/taxation.

If you have a copy of your college or university transcript and are unsure what courses can be applied, submit your transcript for review by one of our certification program staff here.

Three Part Process

The Application

VHMA and CVPM subscribe to all Federal and State regulations that prohibit discrimination. All applications are considered regardless of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other legally protected status or class. Reasonable accommodations will be made for program candidates with disabilities.

The application documents your professional and educational background, achievements and veterinary management leadership experience. Certain documentation is required and explained when necessary. The Certification Board reserves the right to require additional documentation or explanation of any question or section of the application.

Applications will not be processed until the examination fee is paid. The examination fee is $675 for VHMA members and $825 for non-members. Incomplete or unacceptable applications will be returned to the applicant along with a refund check. There will be a $100 processing fee deducted.

Once approved, the application is active for two (2) years from the date of acceptance. Candidates have two (2) years to earn the CVPM certification before their application expires. Candidates that do not earn certification prior to their application's expiration must reapply to continue to qualify to take the examination.

When the application has been approved by the Certification Board, the candidate can schedule to take the examination. The examination is scheduled in advance in various locations throughout the United States and Canada.

A program candidate may appeal in writing to Certification Board for review of the final determination of a candidate's non-eligibility or non-admittance to the Certification Program. Details for appeal are provided here and can also be found in the CVPM Procedures document which can be found on the Documents & Resources page.

A sample PDF application form is available to assist you in understanding the program requirements and identifying the documentation you will need to complete the online application. Order the sample application here.

The Examination

The examination is composed of true-false and multiple-choice questions about relevant management knowledge in Human Resources, Law and Ethics, Marketing, Organization of the Practice and Finance. The majority of the questions are traditional knowledge-based multiple-choice questions; some will be scenario-based multiple-choice questions. For the scenario-based questions, the question stem will contain a scene or setting along with several possible behavioral responses to the situation.

The total number of questions on each examination may vary, but the maximum number of points on any examination will be two hundred (200). Some questions will be worth one (1) point each while others like scenario-based questions may be worth up to two (2) points each. You will have three and one-half (3 1/2) hours to complete the examination.

An appeals process is made available to all program candidates who, upon receipt of their exam results, choose to contest these results. Details for the appeals policy and process are provided here and can also be found in the CVPM Procedures document which can be found on the Documents & Resources page.

Recertification

To maintain certification, the Certified Veterinary Practice Manager must accumulate forty-eight (48) continuing education hours and submit documentation along with the $225 recertification fee every two (2) years. Professional credits for recertification may be accumulated in a wide variety of ways. Certified Veterinary Practice Managers involved in the profession have no difficulty maintaining certification.