Authorised Private Veterinary Practitioners for Trade

Duties Carried Out

A private veterinary surgeon cannot carry out any export functions until they are authorised as an aPVP. At present the scope of aPVP authorisation includes the following range of export certification duties:

• export of ruminating animals and swine
• export of cats, dogs and certain other mammals
• export of equine animals
• export of semen embryos
• export of birds, poultry and hatching eggs
• export of certain animal products/by-products
• export of materials (including skins and hides)
• export of laboratory animals
• export of zoo animals
• export of table eggs to third countries (only by those aPVPs who have attended the additional training related to the export of products of animal origin to the EU)

Conditions for Authorisation

To satisfy the conditions of authorisation as an aPVP, a person must:

• be a UK Practising or Southern Irish member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, practising in Northern Ireland
• satisfy the Department that he/she is aligned with an established practice of which at least one of the Principals is an authorised aPVP
• confirm that they satisfy the RCVS requirement in the Guide to Professional Conduct to have sufficient insurance indemnity for the work they undertake
• attend and satisfactorily complete the appropriate training courses and exercises, as required for initial authorisation and for maintenance of authorisation.

Authorisation training pathway for aPVPs.

To become authorised as an aPVP there is a specific training pathway which must be adhered to based on completion of generic certification training and commodity specific certification training. Please see link below.

• Training Pathway for private veterinarians wishing to become authorised as aPVPs or for existing aPVPs who wish to expand their range of authorisations

Applying to become an aPVP

Please follow the link below to access Certifying Officer Authorisation (COA) Online service to submit your application:

• Apply to become an aPVP

DECS and Authorised Export Certification Duties – A Users Guide

 A significant number of veterinary practices are using the DAERA Export Certification Service (DECS) to provide authorised Export Health Certification services on behalf of the Department.

Follow the link below for further information on interacting with DECS when conducting authorised certification duties:

•  Authorised Veterinary Practice (AVP ) Portal

Keeping Up To Date

Follow this link to view the updates and briefing notes issued to aPVPs;
aPVP Updates and Briefing Notes

More useful links

• Exporting Animals and Animal Products from Northern Ireland
• EU Pet Travel Scheme - How to Complete Pet Passports
• AVP Portal

Related articles

• Information on TRACES