Veterinarian License in Iowa

Iowa requires a DVM degree from an AVMA-accredited school, passage of the NAVLE, and a state jurisprudence examination. The Iowa Board of Veterinary Medicine regulates the profession under the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ames is the state's premier veterinary program, one of the oldest in the nation (established 1879), and a major research institution particularly renowned for food-animal medicine, public health, and biomedical sciences. The school's Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center serves as both a teaching hospital and regional referral center. Iowa's agricultural powerhouse economy, dominated by hog production (Iowa leads the nation in pork), corn, soybeans, and cattle, creates enormous demand for food-animal and large-animal veterinarians across the state. Many rural Iowa communities face critical veterinary workforce shortages as practitioners retire and fewer graduates choose large-animal practice. The Iowa Veterinary Medical Association and the state's legislature have actively promoted rural veterinary incentive and loan repayment programs to address this growing gap in essential agricultural infrastructure.