Required CE

Per the Colorado State Board of Veterinary Medicine

All veterinarians in Colorado must complete 1 hour of CE on substance use prevention training and 2 hours of CE on Colorado Veterinary Practice Act jurisprudence for license renewal. These CE courses from CVMA cover all of the required topics.

Available Courses

These courses are included in all CVMA memberships for FREE! Click the button below to log into your portal and access the courses. Not a member? These courses are available for purchase individually or as a package; bundle both courses to save!

  • CVMA Members
  • Non-Members
Courses CVMA MembersNon-Members
Courses
Substance Use Prevention Training (individual course) FREE$90
Veterinary Practice Act 101/102 (individual course) FREE$150
Substance Use Prevention Training AND Veterinary Practice Act 101/102 (both courses) FREE$210
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Interested in getting these courses for FREE?

CVMA members get these courses for FREE as a part of their membership! Join now and receive both courses for free as part of your membership dues.

Refund Policy: No refunds will be provided after product has been purchased. If you purchase these courses and then decide to become a member to get the courses for free as a part of membership, please contact CVMA prior to signing up for a membership; CVMA will be happy to apply the value of the courses as a credit to the cost of your membership.

Please note that CVMA will release fresh versions of these courses each licensing cycle (even-numbered years). CVMA regularly refreshes its educational content to ensure information is accurate, up-to-date, and relevant to practitioners. Once a new version of this course is made available, the previous course will no longer be accessible and the new course will need to be purchased.

About CE – FAQs

Helping veterinarians succeed in Colorado is a key part of the CVMA mission. To help Colorado veterinarians navigate the CE requirements for Colorado veterinarian license renewal, CVMA has created a list of frequently asked questions.

The substance use prevention training CE provides 1 hour of CE that can be applied toward your total 32 hours needed for license renewal.

The practice act jurisprudence CE provides 2 hours of CE that can be applied toward your total 32 hours needed for license renewal.

Make sure you are logged in to your member profile on the CVMA website — the courses appear automatically in your member portal! Click “State-Required CE” at the top of your portal when you are logged in, and the courses will appear in the dropdown menu.

No! This CE is available to all CVMA members as a part of their membership dues, and is available to non-members for a fee. Non-member veterinarians may become CVMA members to get this CE for free.

This CE is available on demand as recorded webinars on the CVMA website. “On demand” means that you can watch the CE as a webinar recording anytime that is convenient for you — there is no scheduled time for viewing. If you are not a current CVMA member, access instructions will be emailed to you after you register for the CE; if you are a CVMA member, the CE is automatically available to you in your member portal.

Yes. The state requires training on substance use prevention and practice act jurisprudence be completed EACH licensing cycle. CVMA has released new course material to ensure the most relevant and accurate information is included.

The substance use prevention training CE offered by CVMA is unique in that it meets ALL four key topic areas required by the State Board of Veterinary Medicine for CE on substance use prevention training, all in one CE session. CVMA is not aware of other options for the veterinary practice act jurisprudence CE.

You will be prompted to fill out a form at the end of each video; after completing the form, your CE certificate(s) will be emailed to you.

The Colorado State Board of Veterinary Medicine requires this CE to be verifiable. CVMA verifies completion of this CE by asking every veterinarian to complete the registration process so that we can track who has completed the CE. To receive a CE certificate, each veterinarian must have his or her own registration; only one CE certificate will be issued per registration.

About Colorado Requirements – FAQs

While we love to be as helpful as we can, unfortunately CVMA does not manage Colorado veterinary licenses and is unable to help with specific questions related to licensing. Licensing is managed by DORA. DORA has a list of FAQs on their account login page that references some helpful steps related to licensing. Specific licensing questions can be directed to [email protected].

No. The 1 hour of CE on substance use prevention and 2 hours of CE on practice act jurisprudence are included in the 32 hours of CE already required by the State Board of Veterinary Medicine.

The state requires veterinarians to complete these trainings EACH licensing cycle.

No. These licensing requirements are a result of legislation that was passed in Colorado. CVMA is assisting veterinarians in obtaining the required CE by offering it virtually to veterinarians looking to renew their Colorado licenses.

  • The rules are based on SB19-228 (Substance Use Disorders Prevention), which was passed during the 2019 Colorado legislative session. The law requires the State Board of Veterinary Medicine to adopt rules on substance use prevention training for prescribers; the new rules went into effect on November 30, 2019. Read more about the background of the bill and CVMA’s input on the new rules.
  • Veterinarians can find more information on the requirements in Rule 1.2(G) on page 9 of the new Rules.
  • The rules went into effect on November 30, 2019 and require any veterinarian who is seeking a license renewal, reactivation, or reinstatement to complete at least one hour of CE per licensing cycle related to all of the four following topics:
    • (1) Best practices for opioid prescribing, according to the most recent version of the Division’s Guidelines for Prescribing and Dispensing Opioids;
    • (2) Recognition of substance use disorders;
    • (3) Referral of patients with substance use disorders for treatment; AND
    • (4) Use of the Electronic Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.
  • To the extent the statutorily required training pertains to the practice of human medicine, this training does not authorize veterinary medicine practitioners to engage in the practice of human medicine, nor does it require the veterinary medicine practitioner to refer human beings to treatment for suspected substance abuse disorders.
  •  The requirements exempt any veterinarian who meets the following criteria:
    • Maintains a national board certification that requires equivalent substance use prevention training; or
    • Attests to the board that the health care provider does not prescribe opioids.
  • This requirement is based on a change that was made to the Colorado Veterinary Practice Act. In 2022, the Colorado Veterinary Practice Act underwent a scheduled sunset review. As a result, a new requirement was added regarding continuing education.
  • The new requirement requires veterinarians to receive 2 hours of jurisprudence CE on the veterinary practice act per license renewal period.
  • The new requirement also allows veterinarians to receive up to 16 hours of credit toward relicensing on non-scientific topics such as client communication, management, leadership, wellbeing, and developing a highly functional veterinary workforce.
  • The jurisprudence requirement applies to all veterinarians holding a Colorado license; there are no exemptions.
  • Read more about the sunset review process and CVMA’s input on the review.

For more information about the new requirements, please contact the State Board of Veterinary Medicine at [email protected]. For additional questions about this CE offered by CVMA specifically, please contact CVMA at [email protected].