How to Become a Veterinary Technician Specialist (VTS): Academies, Requirements and Whether It Pays

After a few years as a credentialed veterinary technician, many technicians ask the same question: what next? For those who love one area of medicine, such as anesthesia, emergency and critical care, dentistry or internal medicine, the answer is often the Veterinary Technician Specialist credential, or VTS.

The VTS is the technician's equivalent of a veterinarian becoming board certified. It is demanding, it takes years, and it is recognized throughout the profession. It also has some misunderstood limits. This guide explains what the credential is, how to earn it, and what it does and does not change.

What a VTS is

A Veterinary Technician Specialist is a credentialed veterinary technician who has been certified by a specialty academy recognized by the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA). NAVTA's Committee on Veterinary Technician Specialties (CVTS) reviews the academies, and each academy must have the support of the matching veterinary specialty college.

The VTS is rare. AAHA reported in 2022 that there were fewer than 1,500 VTSs worldwide, even though the first academy was founded more than 30 years earlier. That rarity is part of its value.

The academies

NAVTA lists the following academies as fully recognized:

• Emergency and Critical Care (Academy of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Technicians)
• Dental (Academy of Veterinary Dental Technicians)
• Internal Medicine (Academy of Internal Medicine Veterinary Technicians), with subspecialties in cardiology, equine internal medicine, neurology, oncology, production animal internal medicine and small animal internal medicine
• Anesthesia and Analgesia (Academy of Veterinary Technicians in Anesthesia and Analgesia)
• Zoological Medicine (Academy of Veterinary Zoological Medicine Technicians)
• Clinical Practice (Academy of Veterinary Technicians in Clinical Practice), in canine and feline, avian and exotic, and production animal categories
• Clinical Pathology (Academy of Veterinary Clinical Pathology Technicians)
• Nutrition (Academy of Veterinary Nutrition Technicians)
• Surgery (Academy of Veterinary Surgical Technicians)
• Behavior (Academy of Veterinary Behavior Technicians)
• Equine Nursing (Academy of Equine Veterinary Nursing Technicians)

NAVTA also lists academies with provisional recognition, including laboratory animal medicine, dermatology, diagnostic imaging and physical rehabilitation. Recognition is reviewed regularly, so check NAVTA's current list before you commit to an academy.

The Clinical Practice academy is worth noting for general practice technicians. It recognizes broad, advanced expertise across disciplines within a species group, rather than one narrow field, which suits technicians in busy general or mixed practices.

Typical requirements

Each academy sets its own requirements, so always read your academy's current application handbook. Across academies, the pattern is similar:

• A current technician credential. You must be a credentialed technician to apply.
• Years of experience. Generally three to five years as a credentialed technician.
• Time in the specialty. Most of your working hours in that specialty, often 70% or more, over the qualifying period. For example, AAHA described the anesthesia academy as requiring 75% of total work hours in anesthesia over a five year period.
• A case log. A detailed record of cases you managed in the specialty, often dozens of cases with specific requirements for case types.
• Case reports. Several in depth written case reports demonstrating advanced knowledge and nursing judgment.
• A skills list. Advanced skills, signed off by a credentialed specialist or a veterinarian board certified in the field.
• Continuing education. A required number of hours in the specialty within a set period.
• Letters of recommendation, often including one from a board certified veterinarian or an existing VTS.
• The examination. After the application is accepted, you sit the academy's certifying exam.

Applications are often rejected for incomplete case logs or case reports rather than for lack of experience, so many candidates spend a year or more building their application. Some academies run mentorship programs that pair candidates with existing VTSs.

What a VTS changes, and what it does not

What it does not change: your legal scope

This is the most misunderstood part. In most states a VTS can legally do no more than any other credentialed technician. AAHA's 2022 overview put it plainly: from a legal perspective there is no difference in allowed tasks, just as a board certified veterinarian is not legally allowed to do anything a general practitioner cannot. Your state's practice act, not your specialty, sets your scope.

A few states have begun to recognize the credential in law. AAHA noted that Tennessee and California acknowledge VTSs in their practice acts, and that California's update gave title protection to "veterinary specialist" and "board certified" for VTSs and diplomates. Some states have discussed expanding what VTSs may do, but those changes are not law in most places.

What it does change: your role and your options

• You become the hospital's expert. VTSs manage complex cases, build protocols, train other technicians and veterinarians, and raise the standard of care in their field.
• Specialty and emergency hospitals seek you out. Referral centers value VTSs on their teams.
• New doors open. Teaching, speaking, writing, consulting, industry and research roles often favor VTSs.

What about pay?

The honest answer: the VTS has not historically brought a large automatic raise. AAHA cited two studies, from 2016 and 2020, that found only modest increases in hourly pay for VTSs, alongside greater income potential from speaking, writing and consulting. Many VTSs describe the credential primarily as professional growth.

That makes negotiation important. If you are a VTS or a candidate, show a prospective employer what your specialty adds: protocols, training, fewer complications, the ability to support more complex cases. Practices that understand that value are the ones that pay for it.

Is a VTS right for you?

A VTS tends to suit technicians who:

• already spend most of their time in one specialty and love it,
• enjoy teaching and building protocols,
• are willing to keep detailed case records for years,
• want to work in specialty, emergency, teaching or industry settings.

It may not suit you if you prefer the variety of general practice (although the Clinical Practice academy is built for that), or if your current job does not let you spend most of your time in one specialty.

Getting started

1. Pick your academy and download its current candidate handbook.
2. Check the experience and percentage of time you will need, and whether your current job gives you that.
3. Start a case log now, in the academy's format, even before you are eligible.
4. Find a mentor, ideally an existing VTS in your specialty.
5. Plan your continuing education to meet the academy's requirements.
6. Talk to your employer. Many practices support VTS candidates with time, case access and fees.

If your current practice cannot give you enough time in the specialty, that is a reason to look at hospitals that can. See vet techs in general practice, emergency and specialty.

How Zuse helps

On Zuse Talent you can browse vet tech jobs near you, including emergency and specialty roles, with the pay shown, and say what kind of work you want next. Practices on Zuse Hire can see credentialed technicians nearby and what each is looking for.

Sources

• NAVTA, List of Approved Academies and Veterinary Technician Specialties
• AAHA, Veterinary Technician Specialists, Trends Magazine, October 2022

Academy requirements change. Always use your academy's current candidate handbook.

FAQ

What is a VTS in veterinary medicine?

A Veterinary Technician Specialist: a credentialed veterinary technician certified in a specialty, such as anesthesia, emergency and critical care, dentistry or internal medicine, by an academy recognized by NAVTA.

How long does it take to become a VTS?

Generally at least three to five years as a credentialed technician, most of it in the specialty, plus the time to build the case log, case reports and skills list, and to pass the academy's exam.

Can a VTS do more than a regular vet tech?

In most states, no. A VTS has the same legal scope as any credentialed technician in that state. The difference is expertise, responsibility and the roles it opens.

Does a VTS earn more?

Not automatically. Studies cited by AAHA found modest hourly increases, with more income potential through teaching, speaking and consulting. The value depends on finding an employer who uses and pays for the specialty.

How many VTS academies are there?

NAVTA lists eleven fully recognized academies and several more with provisional recognition. Check NAVTA's current list, as recognition is reviewed regularly.