Overseas students
If you are studying veterinary science overseas and want to register with us, you will need to follow our normal registration process. You can read more about that on our registration page.
Massey University students
To practise as a veterinarian in New Zealand you must be registered with the Veterinary Council of New Zealand (VCNZ) and hold a current practising certificate.
Note: If you are a Massey University veterinarian who has previously been registered to work in Aotearoa New Zealand and have been working overseas, you will need to renew your Annual Practising Certificate (APC), arrange for a letter of good standing to be sent directly to VCNZ from each registration body you have been registered with in the last 10 years, and complete a fitness to practise declaration. Contact us for more information.
To ensure that we can process your application quickly, please make sure that you supply all of the details requested and that the application and all of the accompanying documents are certified as true copies of the original by the same person. A Justice of the Peace, solicitor or authorised court official can do this.
Confirmation of Bachelor of Veterinary Science certificate degree
Massey University will notify us of the final examination results directly after the examiners’ meeting. If you register within six months of completing your programme, you do not have to provide us with proof that you have completed your degree.
Other academic qualifications
If you hold academic qualifications other than a veterinary degree and you wish for these to be listed in the Register of Veterinarians, please supply either the original qualification form or a copy which has been certified by a Justice of the Peace, Notary Public or solicitor.
Change of name
If the name on your degree parchment or any other document needed for registration is different from that in which you wish to be registered, you will need to send us proof of your name change e.g. Marriage Certificate or Deed Poll Certificate. We need an original or certified copy.
Payment of fees
To register with us for the first time, you will need to pay for your registration application as well as your Annual Practicing Certificate (APC). The registration application fee is a once off payment and the APC charge is reduced for your first year of practice.
Annual Practising Certificate (APC) must be renewed annually
The practice year runs from 1 April to 31 March. In late January or early February, veterinarians will be invited to apply online to renew their Annual Practising Certificate for 1 April of that year to 31 March the following year.
Please include an address on your application form so that we can contact you if you have left university. Registered vets are required by law to inform VCNZ of change of address details.