Persons who hold primary qualifications in veterinary medicine may apply to the Council for registration with limited registration under Section 45 of the Veterinary Practice Act 2005, as amended (“the Act”).
To submit a registration application or for any queries relating to registration with the Veterinary Council please email registration@vci.ie or phone our office on 01 6684402.
The Council must be satisfied of the need to effect registration under Sc. 45 of the Act (limited registration).
The need for registration under Sc. 45 must be for one of the following purposes:
- To participate in a disease eradication programme (being measures operated by or on behalf of a Minister to prevent, reduce risk of, control or eradicate a disease defined in Section 2 of the Diseases of Animals Act 1966).
- To participate in the provision of approved programmes of education or further education
- To be registered under Sc. 45 an applicant must fulfil the following requirements:
- They must satisfy the Council that they have the requisite knowledge and skill for the purposes of subsection 2 (i or ii above).
- They must be of good character and repute and must not be an undischarged bankrupt
- They must have sufficient English language proficiency
- They must not have been convicted of any offence triable on indictment in Ireland or elsewhere or have been prohibited or suspended from the practice of veterinary medicine by reason of conviction or offence, or serious misconduct in connection with their practice as a veterinary practitioner.
On determining to register a veterinary practitioner with limited registration for the purposes outlined above, the Council may determine to make that registration subject to conditions as it may consider appropriate such as:
- The duration of the registration.
- The place where the person registered may practise veterinary medicine.
- The class or classes of treatments or procedures that may be carried out by the registered person.
- Attendance at a specified programme of further education (CVE) following registration.
- That the person registered must be supervised in their practise of veterinary medicine by a specified veterinary practitioner for a specified period of time.
- The Council may at any time during the registration of a person under Sc. 45 amend the conditions attached to the registration where it is deemed appropriate to do so.
- Conditions imposed will be entered to the Register. Persons registered with limited registration are not permitted to put themselves forward for election onto the Council, nor are they permitted to vote in respect of an election for Council members, unless they have been registered for 3 consecutive years.
The Council will consider an application for limited registration and make a determination in respect of that application. The Councils decision will be notified to the applicant as soon as possible after it is made.
Apply for Limited Registration
You may apply for limited registration by completing a limited registration application form and emailing it to registration@vci.ie. In order to complete the registration application process, you will need to provide notarised copies of the requested documents.
The following documents must accompany an application for limited registration:
| Documents Required | Limited Registration |
| Registration Application Form | VP Limited Registration Application Form (click to download) |
| Academic Qualification | Notarised Copy of Degree |
| Final Year Transcripts | Notarised Copy of Results |
| Identification | Notarised copy of ID Page of Passport or Drivers Licence |
| Letter of Good Professional Standing | Notarised original letter/certificate of current professional standing from all Competent Authorities you are or have previously been registered with. Letters cannot be more than 3 months old on the day of your registration with the Council. |
*Please Note: Any international document presented for registration must be submitted as a notarised copy
Authenticating your registration documents
You are required to authenticate any copies of original documents submitted to the Council for the purpose of registration. Documents that are authenticated incorrectly will not be accepted, and this may cause a delay in your application to register.
Please find below information on how to correctly notarise your documents.
Notarised Documents
If your original qualification and transcripts were produced in a language other than English, then you are required to provide notarised translations of these documents in your application for registration. If your original qualification and transcripts were issued by an authority or body outside of Ireland, then you are also required to provide notarised translations of these documents in your application for registration.
A notarised document is one that has been authenticated by a notary public. A notary public is a public officer who serves the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with foreign or international documents. Documents notarised by a notary public are acceptable for use internationally.
Please click here for an infographic on how to notarise a document
A notary public must certify with a seal/apostille the execution in their presence of the authentication of a document. When you meet a notary, you will be required to prove your identity and place of residence. A notary public may only notarise documents in the country where their principal office is located, as appointed, for example in Ireland, a Notary Public is appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ireland, for a specific geographical location, i.e. Dublin, Meath, Wicklow etc.
Further information on finding a notary public in Ireland is available on website http://www.notarypublic.ie/, and in greater Europe on https://notaries-europe.com/.
Evidence of good professional standing is required
Where an applicant for registration holds or has held registration as a veterinary practitioner in another State or jurisdiction with any licensing or registration veterinary practitioner body, the applicant is required to provide in respect of each registration:
- i) Details of such registration in another State or jurisdiction as a veterinary practitioner, including registration numbers where applicable;
- ii) Evidence of his or her good standing or current professional status held in relation to each registration(s) in another State or jurisdiction;
The evidence referred to in point (ii) above shall be in the form of formal certification or a letter addressed to the Veterinary Council from the relevant licensing or registration body, which is not older than three (3) months.
Please note: if an applicant has not registered in any other jurisdiction since their qualification was awarded, they must confirm this in writing with their application.
English Language Requirement
Applicants for registration with the Veterinary Council of Ireland who have obtained their qualification outside of Ireland are required to satisfy the Council that they have the necessary knowledge and competency in English to communicate effectively in the practise of veterinary medicine and veterinary nursing, in the interests of animal health and welfare, public health and public interest.
For further information on the current VCI English language requirements for registration, please click here.
Please be advised that degree programmes delivered and completed wholly in English would be deemed as sufficient evidence in meeting VCI language proficiency requirements.
An applicant for registration shall not be registered in the Register unless he or she provides acceptable evidence of language competence.
To submit a registration application or for any queries relating to registration with the Veterinary Council please email registration@vci.ie or phone our office on 01 6684402.