TL;DR: The Veterinarian Licensure Exam (VLE) is the PRC board exam for Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) graduates, covering eight subjects across three exam days. You need a general weighted average of at least 75% to pass. The exam fee is ₱900, the PRC scheduled the 2026 VLE for November 4-6, and the most recent administration (October 2025) had a 77.32% passing rate, with UP Los Baños posting the top school passing rate.
Introduction
The Veterinarian Licensure Exam, or VLE, is administered by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) through the Professional Regulatory Board of Veterinary Medicine. Passing it is required to register and legally practice veterinary medicine in the Philippines — to diagnose, treat, and perform surgery on animals, and to use the title "DVM" as a licensed veterinarian.
The profession is governed by Republic Act No. 9268, the Philippine Veterinary Medicine Act of 2004, which established the current licensure framework and repealed the older Republic Act No. 382. The Act's stated policy is to upgrade veterinary practice to protect the country's animal population through proper diagnosis, treatment, and surgery.
This guide walks through eligibility, the eight-subject exam coverage, fees, the 2026 schedule, recent passing rates, and a study plan for the VLE.
Note: Fees, schedules, and passing statistics change with each administration. Always verify current figures directly with the PRC (prc.gov.ph) before finalizing your plans.
Who Can Take the VLE
To qualify for the VLE, you generally need to:
- Be a Filipino citizen, or a foreign national whose country grants reciprocity to Philippine veterinary graduates.
- Hold a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree from a CHED-recognized school, college, or university — built on a prior four-year undergraduate degree.
- Be of good moral character, without disqualifying criminal history under PRC rules.
Confirm your program's specific eligibility and any pre-veterinary coursework requirements with your school and the PRC Board of Veterinary Medicine, since accreditation details can vary between veterinary programs.
How Much Does the VLE Cost?
| Item | Approximate Cost |
|---|---|
| PRC examination fee (complete, first-time) | ₱900 |
| PRC examination fee (conditioned/removal) | ₱450 |
| Online payment service fee | Small additional charge (varies by channel) |
| Documentary stamps, photos, NBI clearance | Separate incidental costs |
Figures based on PRC's published examination fee schedule. Fees are revised periodically — verify the current amount on prc.gov.ph or through LERIS before filing.
What Documents Do You Need to Apply?
Applications are filed online through PRC's LERIS (Licensure Examination and Registration Information System) portal, with document verification done in person at a PRC regional or satellite office. Typical requirements include:
- PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) birth certificate
- Transcript of Records with a scanned photo and the remark "For Board Examination Purposes"
- Marriage certificate (for married female applicants using their married name)
- Valid NBI clearance
- Passport-sized photo with white background, per PRC specifications
- Payment of the ₱900 (or ₱450 conditioned) examination fee
Bring original documents to your verification appointment even after uploading them online — PRC checks physical copies before releasing your Notice of Admission.
What Does the VLE Cover?
Starting with the October 2025 administration, PRC set the VLE's eight subjects into a fixed three-day order, each carrying its own weight toward the overall score:
| Day | Subjects | Approx. Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Veterinary Anatomy, Veterinary Physiology, Zootechnics | 10% / 10% / 12% |
| Day 2 | Veterinary Pathology, Veterinary Pharmacology, Veterinary Medicine | 10% / 10% / 14% |
| Day 3 | Veterinary Microbiology and Public Health, Veterinary Parasitology, Veterinary Surgery | 14% / 10% / 10% |
Each subject is administered in a two-hour block. Veterinary Medicine and Veterinary Microbiology and Public Health carry the heaviest individual weight at 14% each, so they deserve proportionally more review time than the lighter subjects.
Zootechnics — covering animal behavior, animal production, and environmental/herd health — is a subject unique to the VLE that many examinees underprepare for, since it gets less classroom time than clinical subjects like Medicine or Surgery.
Veterinarian Licensure Exam 2026 Schedule
Per the PRC's official 2026 schedule of examinations:
| Item | Date |
|---|---|
| Exam dates | November 4-6, 2026 |
| Application opens | August 6, 2026 |
| Application deadline | October 5, 2026 |
| Result release | Typically within a few working days of the last exam day, based on recent VLE administrations |
The PRC has generally administered the VLE once a year (the regular local exam is distinct from the Special Professional Licensure Examination, or SPLE, held separately for Filipino veterinarians abroad in select international testing centers). Cross-check current dates against our 2026 board exam schedule, and confirm directly with PRC before booking travel or blocking off review time — schedules are occasionally revised.
Recent Passing Rates
| Administration | Passed | Total Examinees | Passing Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2025 | 1,108 | 1,433 | ~77.32% |
Source: PRC official result announcement (prc.gov.ph), October 2025 Veterinarians Computer-Based Licensure Examination. The exam was administered on October 27-29, 2025, across testing centers in NCR, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Legazpi, Lucena, Palawan, Pampanga, Rosales, and Tuguegarao.
In that same administration, the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) posted the top school passing rate among institutions with 50-99 examinees, at 94.38% (84 of 89 passing), per post-exam performance reporting. The overall topnotcher was a Central Luzon State University (CLSU) graduate with a 91.04% rating, followed closely by a fellow CLSU graduate at 90.64%. School-level rankings come from post-exam reporting rather than an official PRC leaderboard, so treat specific percentages as indicative of that administration rather than a permanent ranking.
How to Apply Through PRC LERIS
- Create or log in to your LERIS account at online.prc.gov.ph and complete your profile.
- Upload your compliant ID photo and supporting documents.
- Select the Veterinarians Licensure Examination, your preferred testing center, and confirm your appointment.
- Visit a PRC regional or satellite office for in-person document verification within the application window.
- Pay the examination fee (₱900 complete, or ₱450 conditioned) through an accredited LERIS channel.
- Download your Notice of Admission (NOA) once approved and confirm your assigned room and schedule.
File early in the application window — the deadline does not extend, and popular testing centers can fill up as the deadline approaches.
Review and Study Tips
1. Weight your review time to match subject weight
Veterinary Medicine and Veterinary Microbiology/Public Health each carry 14% of the score — the heaviest of the eight subjects — so they merit more review hours than 10%-weighted subjects like Anatomy or Parasitology.
2. Don't skip Zootechnics
It's easy to treat Zootechnics as a minor topic since it gets less clinical classroom time, but it still carries a 12% weight — enough to matter for your overall average.
3. Build subject-by-subject timed practice, not just reading review
With eight distinct subjects tested across three days, timed practice sets per subject help you gauge readiness and manage exam-day fatigue across a multi-day sitting.
4. Connect Pathology and Medicine, and Pharmacology and Surgery
These subject pairs overlap clinically — reviewing them close together in your schedule reinforces both instead of treating them as isolated blocks.
5. Use recent case exposure from clinical rotations
Real caseloads from your clinical years anchor Medicine, Surgery, and Pathology topics far better than pure memorization, especially for less common presentations.
For more general review planning, see our post on how long to review for a board exam, and if you're weighing a formal review program, our review center cost guide breaks down typical pricing. Browse veterinary-focused programs on our review centers directory.
Is a Review Center Worth It for the VLE?
| Approach | Best For | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Self-review | Strong students confident across all eight subjects, especially Zootechnics and Public Health | No structured timed mocks across the three exam days |
| Review center | Examinees wanting organized coverage of the full eight-subject spread and past-exam-style practice questions | Added cost on top of exam and application fees |
| Targeted refresher (weak subjects only) | Repeaters or those with one or two consistently low subjects | Requires accurately knowing which subjects to prioritize |
A review center isn't required to pass — many DVM graduates review independently using school notes and clinical rotation experience — but the eight-subject spread across three days is a common reason examinees seek structured review support.
After You Pass: Renewing Your License
Passing the VLE registers you as a licensed veterinarian, but your PRC license still requires periodic renewal along with continuing professional development (CPD) units to stay active. See our PRC license renewal guide for the current process and requirements.
Ready to find the right school? Browse schools or compare tuition and reviews across hundreds of Philippine schools on SchoolFinderPH.
Sources
- Professional Regulation Commission (prc.gov.ph) — 2026 Schedule of Examinations
- PRC — Adjustments in the Order of Subjects to be Administered Starting the October 2025 VMLE
- PRC — October 2025 Veterinarians Computer-Based Licensure Examination Results Released
- Republic Act No. 9268 (Philippine Veterinary Medicine Act of 2004), via PRC / LawPhil
- Filcil.com — Veterinarian Licensure Board Exam application requirements and coverage
- TheSummitExpress.com / ResultsPH.com — October 2025 VLE top-school and topnotcher performance reporting
