Official Controls Qualification
(Veterinary) OCQ(V)


You are here:  Home

Welcome to the Official Veterinarian training website

provided by Improve International, on behalf of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)

What is an OV?

The term Official Veterinarian (OV) is used to describe private practice veterinarians who perform work on behalf of the UK Government.

You can view the Policy for Authorisation of OVs (OV13) here. All OVs must be familiar with the content of this document as it is the policy under which they are authorised.

On this site, you will find all the information you need to train for any of the OCQ(V)s and become an OV. 

Once you have registered, you will be able to enrol on the online training courses to achieve the relevant OCQ(V). If you need to revalidate, you do not need to re-register, just log in and enrol.

What are OCQ(V)s?

OCQ(V) stands for Official Controls Qualification (Veterinary). These are qualifications that APHA requires vets to hold in order to act as an OV. The term OCQ(V) is followed by two letters, which indicate the work area covered by each specific qualification.

You can train for and hold any OCQ(V)s, irrespective of whether you currently work in the field covered by the qualification or not.

Please see the questions below to help you decide which qualification(s) may be appropriate for you, or click here for further information on the courses available.

If you have any questions or require further information about OV training or registration, please read our FAQs or contact us.

What would you like to do?

To view more options, please go to the ‘Qualifications’ tab above

For Animal Health Paraprofessional training, please visit:

APHA's OV Instructions have moved and are now hosted by Improve International. They can be accessed using the links below:

Counts of OVs Authorised by APHA in GB

START A NEW OCQ(V)

REVALIDATE

ONLINE LEARNING SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE

Independent, confidential and free help for everyone in the veterinary community

Registered users: