Applicants seeking a General, Restricted, Academic and Post-graduate and Resident Licence in Ontario are required to successfully complete the Jurisprudence Examination. In conjunction with other licensing requirements, the Jurisprudence Examination is used by the College to verify the readiness of applicants to practice veterinary medicine, in a safe and professional manner, in Ontario by evaluating their ability to apply the Ontario legislative framework governing veterinarians (including legislation, regulations, practice standards, policy statements and position statements).
The Jurisprudence Examination provides assurance that applicants at point of entry have a sound level of understanding of the legislative framework that is in place to reduce the risks that exist in veterinary practice and the privileges, responsibilities and obligations associated with licensure and public protection.
Testing Windows in 2024
The Jurisprudence Exam will be available to applicants in four testing windows in 2024.
- Resources are provided by the College to support applicants in preparing for the exam. Applicants should thoroughly read and review the below guides in preparation for the exam.
- The Jurisprudence Examination Candidate Resource Guide - version February 2024 provides an overview of applicable legislation, regulations, College standards, guidelines and policies.
- The Jurisprudence Examination Candidate Instruction Guide - version February 2024 contains information about applying to sit the exam, test locations, format, blueprint, scoring and policies.
2024 Exam dates & deadlines
Window 1: April 15, 2024 – April 29, 2024
- To become eligible for this exam window, applicants must submit a licence application and pay the exam fee by Friday March 29, 2024.
- Applicants taking the exam during this window will not receive exam results until mid-May. Applicants who are successful in their exam attempt will not be able to have a licence issued to them and will not be able to begin practising veterinary medicine until mid-May.
Window 2: July 15, 2024 – July 29, 2024
- To become eligible for this exam window, applicants must submit a licence application and pay the exam fee by Friday June 28, 2024.
Window 3: September 3, 2024 – September 17, 2024
- To become eligible for this exam window, applicants must submit a licence application and pay the exam fee by Friday August 16, 2024.
Window 4: November 4, 2024 – November 18, 2024
- To become eligible for this exam window, applicants must submit a licence application and pay the exam fee by Friday October 18, 2024.
The College understands that these changes may result in questions or concerns. We encourage current and potential applicants to contact the licensure team directly with these questions and/or concerns as we would be pleased to discuss it further with you.
- The fee to write the exam is $175 + HST. The exam fee is applicable to every attempt.
- The duration of the exam is a maximum of three hours.
- The pass score is a scaled score of 475 on a scale of 200 to 600.
- Candidates are responsible for scheduling the date and location of the exam after receiving notification from the College that they are eligible to take the exam.
- Candidates may only attempt the exam three times. A candidate who has failed the exam two times will not be able to take their third attempt until they have completed a remediation session.
1. Candidates must submit the following to become eligible to take the Jurisprudence Exam:
- Completed application for licensure form
- Proof of identity
- Completed exam confidentiality agreement
- Licence Application fee
- CVO Jurisprudence Exam fee
2. Receive email confirming eligibility to schedule and take Jurisprudence Exam.
3. Review Jurisprudence Exam materials.
4. Schedule the Jurisprudence Examination.
5. Take the Jurisprudence Examination.
A candidate who seeks testing accommodation must provide a written request no less than six weeks before the exam. This request is to be submitted by email to licensure@cvo.org. For more information about making an accommodation request, see the Jurisprudence Examination Candidate Instruction Guide.
