Frequently Asked Questions

To enrol as a Resident of an EBVS-recognised College an applicant must:

• be a graduate of an EAEVE-approved veterinary school, unless relieved of this obligation by the College,
• have completed a minimum of 1-year internship ( EBVS Policies & Procedures Appendix 1.17), and
• be practising, licensed or eligible to be licensed to practise in a European country. Applicants may be relieved of this requirement in exceptional cases.

An internship is a flexible rotating clinical training in veterinary medicine beyond the professional degree, as defined by the College’s Education Committee. An internship:

• lasts a minimum of a one-year
• provides practical experience in applying knowledge gained during formal professional education, and
• offers an opportunity for recent graduates to obtain additional training in the clinical and basic sciences. (See EBVS Policies & Procedures, Appendix 1,17)
• A Residency is a programme of advanced training in a speciality of veterinary medicine which may or may not lead to certification by the College. An approved residency programme must be conducted under the direct supervision of a practising Diplomate of the College.

An EBVS-recognised College can allow the training to take place on a part-time basis as long as the total time is equivalent to at least three years, and does not exceed six years.

In case of maternity (leave), illness or under exceptional circumstances a prolongation is possible. The duration of the prolongation is agreed with the College's Credentials and Education committees.

Internship: at least 1 year
Residency: at least 3 years

A Resident is a veterinarian who, after completing an internship, has enrolled in a standard or alternate residency programme. A candidate is a veterinarian who has completed his/her residency, and his/her credentials to sit the examination have been approved by the Credentials Committee, therefore he/she may sit the certifying examination.

Before sitting an examination, the applicant’s credentials must be evaluated by the Credentials committee.

Candidates must submit their credentials for approval within 2 years of completion of an approved Residency, and must pass all parts of the examination within 8 years of the completion of their residency programme. Failure to satisfy any of these requirements necessitates that the candidate goes through the credentials process again and additional periods of training and/or experience may be requested by the Credentials Committee.

The time between final credentials decisions and the examination date must be sufficient to permit consideration of possible appeals against a decision of denying acceptance of credentials.

Only certified Diplomates of a College may supervise residency programmes of that EBVS-recognised College. Under circumstances where there are insufficient European Diplomates, if a College so wishes, a non-EBVS recognised Diplomate may co-supervise a residency programme under the circumstances described in the EBVS Policies & Procedures (Policies II.G). A non-certified Diplomate may co-supervise a resident, but may not serve as the main supervisor.

A resident supervisor shall have no more than two (2) residents following standard residency programmes; under exceptional cases three (3) such residents can be allowed, for a restricted time period.

Colleges must only accept Residents that received their veterinary qualification from an EAEVE-approved establishment unless relieved of this obligation by the Education Committee of a College.

Veterinarians who have successfully completed a residency programme (standard or alternate) and their credentials have been accepted by the Credentials Committee.

Veterinarians who are internationally recognised in the College's field, at the discretion of the Credentials Committee and the Executive Committee of the College.

To be allowed to sit the College’s examinations a candidate should be practising, licensed or eligible to be licensed to practise in a European country.

Founding Members
Members of the Interim Executive Committee (ex Invited Specialists)
De facto Diplomates
To become a Founding Member, with or without sitting the College’s examinations, one must be practising in a European country.

Non-EBVS recognised Diplomates, provided they meet the following minimum conditions (EBVS P&P, Policies II.I):

• Have credentials, in relation to training, publications and contributions to the subject, equal to those required to sit the examination of European Diplomate;
• have passed an examination of equal rigor, and covering the same material as that of the equivalent European Diplomate;
• pass the European College’s re-certification process;
• are practising in a European country, and intends to remain so for the foreseeable future. Applicants may be relieved of this requirement in exceptional cases.
• Colleges may impose more stringent requirements if they so wished.

Candidates may apply to re-take all parts of the examination three (3) times (i.e. four (4) times in total), and that all parts of the examination must be passed within eight (8) years of completion of the residency programme. The parts of the examination may be taken separately and do not need to be taken all at the same time.

To become a Diplomate one must:

Have passed the College’s examination:
after completing an approved residency programme of the College, or
College may allow veterinarians to sit the College’s examinations without completing a residency, when they are judged to be internationally recognised in the College’s field by the Credentials Committee and the Executive Committee.
Applicants of both categories (1a and 1b) must be practising or licensed or eligible to be licensed to practise in a European country.

Be accepted without sitting the College’s examination:
after being appointed as a Founding Diplomate (member of the Interim Executive Committee or de facto Diplomate), during the first 5 years after provisional recognition of the College by the EBVS;
when their credentials, in relation to training, publications and contributions to the subject, are equal to those required to sit for the examination of European Diplomate, and they have passed an examination of equal rigor, and covering the same material as that of the equivalent European Diplomate (for details see EBVS P&P, Policies II, section I).
Applicants of both categories (2a and 2b) must be practising in a European country, and intend to remain so for the foreseeable future. The non- EBVS recognised Diplomates, but not applicants for Founding Diplomate status, may be relieved of this requirement in exceptional cases.

Both Founding Diplomates and de facto Diplomates are Founding Members, also called Diplomates. Initially, some (7-10) specialists are accepted without examinations and approved by the EBVS. These Founding Diplomates form the Interim Executive Committee (previously known as Invited Specialists) of the College.During the first five (5) years after provisional recognition of the College, the Interim Executive Committee may appoint a small number of additional de facto Diplomates, who are also “Founding Diplomates”. For more information see the EBVS Policies & Procedures, Policies II.A.5.b-c.

A Diplomate is a veterinarian who has been awarded a Diploma by an EBVS-recognised College.

A European Veterinary Specialist is a practising Diplomate who has been awarded this title by the EBVS and is allowed to use the title “Specialist” in their discipline.

All certified Diplomates are awarded the title EBVS® European Veterinary Specialist and are allowed to use the logo associated with this protected title. A Diplomate may choose in which speciality he/she wants to be a specialist.

Non-certified or retired Diplomates, Associate members, and Honorary members are not allowed to use the title or logo of European Veterinary Specialist.

To be “certified”, a Diplomate must spend at least 60% of their time practising their speciality, based on a normal working week of 40 hours. They also have to re-certify as practising every five years.

The term “Non-certified” is applied to a Diplomate who (i) has not practised the speciality for two continuous years or the equivalent of two (2) years during the previous five (5) years or (ii) has not fulfilled the requirements for the re-certification procedure or (iii) has not attended an Annual General Meeting for three (3) years without previous dispensation from the College.

Non-certified Diplomates are not allowed to use the title or logo of European Veterinary Specialist.

A non-certified Diplomate seeking to revert to full Diplomate status needs to satisfy the Credentials Committee of the College.

Diplomas are awarded for life, with the exception of those that are awarded to non-EBVS recognised Diplomates who have not sat the College’s examinations, when the conditions under which the Diploma was awarded no longer exist, e.g.

relocation of a Diplomate of a non-EBVS college to a country outside Europe;
failure to re-certify

Normally members of a College Executive Committee should not be a member of any other College Committee. This is particularly important to avoid potential conflict of interest. For example, in case of an appeal, the Executive Committee of the College will check that the Appeals Committee has followed the Appeals Procedure and, if this has been followed correctly, accept its recommendation(s). Therefore, no member of the College Executive Committee may in any way, directly or indirectly, be involved in the activities of a Committee whose decisions may result in the submission of an appeal. This avoids the situation where those that have made a decision are sitting in judgement on themselves.

Diplomates who are registered as a EBVS® European Veterinary Specialist by the EBVS can get permission to use the EBVS® European Veterinary Specialist logo by reading and acknowledging by signature the regulations for use of this logo. To request permission to use the logo contact the EBVS Secretariat by email (info@ebvs.eu) and follow the instructions received from the Secretariat.

Certified Diplomates may use the title “Diplomate of ... (the applicable College)” abbreviated to “Dip. ECVX” … or “Dipl. ECVX’..

Non-certified or Retired Diplomates are not allowed to use the title Diplomate, but may use the title Diplomate (non-certified) or Diplomate (Retired), or abbreviation thereof, respectively.

No, these terms cannot be used as an indication of a special qualification. It is potentially misleading to the public and therefore must not be used in any public communication or other solicitation.

On communicating an adverse decision, a College must notify the affected party (or parties) of the procedure for appealing against that decision. This notification must be included with the communication that gives notice of the adverse decision.

Colleges must provide for Appeals to be made on the grounds that:

the College failed correctly to apply its own or the EBVS’s published rules, procedures or criteria relevant to the decision in question;
the College’s published rules, procedures or criteria were not compliant with the Policies and Procedures of the EBVS; or
the College imposed a sanction that was disproportionate to the gravity of the adverse decision against the Appellant.

For quality assurance purposes, the time between final credentials decision and the examination date must be sufficient to permit consideration of possible appeals against a decision of denying acceptance of credentials. These cases are not usually very complicated and may be finalised in a short period. Therefore, if there are a few months between the final decision on the credentials and the examination date, most probably it will be possible to complete the entire process in time.

For this reason, an appeal against a decision of denying acceptance of the credentials may be submitted after a minimum of one (1) week and a maximum of three (3) weeks.

The appointment of individuals with a potential conflict of interest to any committee that may face an appeal against an adverse decision by an affected party (or parties) should be avoided.

Submission should be no later than the dates stated:

Annual report submission (online) - 15 January
Submission of topics for AGM agenda - At least 10 weeks prior to the EBVS Annual General Meeting (AGM - usually held in April) -
Distribution of invitation and relevant documentation for EBVS AGM to Board Members - At least 6 weeks before the AGM
Payment of College subscription to EBVS - 1 April
Draft minutes will be electronically distributed to all EBVS Board members (also known as College representatives) for comments - Within 30 days of the end of the EBVS AGM
Approval of AGM Minutes - Within 15 days of distribution of the final minutes of the EBVS AGM
Application for EBVS recognition of a College - 1 October
Application of provisionally recognised Colleges to EBVS for full recognition - 1 November
Submission of College 5-year Detailed Report - 15 November
Appeals to a College - at least 60 days but no greater than 90 days after the postmarked date of the letter communicating the relevant adverse decision.
Appeals to the EBVS Secretariat - within 60 days of the date on which the outcome of an Appeal was communicated to the Appellant by the College.

The EBVS Executive Committee consists of the officers of the Organisation (President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Senior Vice-President). The Executive Committee of the EBVS is elected from the ranks of the Board Members.

The EBVS Board consists of representatives of all the EBVS-recognised Colleges.

The Annual General Meeting or AGM is a meeting of the Board Members of the EBVS that is held once per annum in Brussels, Belgium, usually in April. The Board Members of the EBVS are representatives of each of the EBVS-recognised Colleges.

A Board member of the EBVS is a Diplomate who is representing their College at the Board meeting (Annual General Meeting) of the EBVS. A Board member and a College representative are synonymous. Each College is also entitled to have a second representative at the EBVS Board meeting who represents the College on the EBVS Board if the primary representative is not present.

A National representative of the EBVS is a Diplomate who represents EBVS in his/her country. National representatives of the EBVS are appointed by the EBVS Executive committee.