Official Controls Qualification
(Veterinary) OCQ(V)


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OVs Authorised by APHA in GB

The counts in the table below will be updated on the 1st of each month between 10.00 and 10.30am.


Qualification England Wales Scotland Total
OCQ(V) - AX (Avian Exports) 164 22 52 210
OCQ(V) - CA (Companion Animals) 5677 486 679 6608
OCQ(V) - EQ (Equine Exports) 645 64 65 699
OCQ(V) - ES (Essential Skills) 3825 765 868 5065
OCQ(V) - EX (Exports General) 2664 360 507 3282
OCQ(V) - FA (Farm Animal Exports) 68 15 17 99
OCQ(V) - GX (Germinal Products Exports) 99 12 13 118
OCQ(V) - LX (Laboratory Animal Exports) 11 1 5 15
OCQ(V) - PX (Product Exports) 1205 168 251 1508
OCQ(V) - SS (Statutory Surveillance) 469 138 356 918
OCQ(V) - SX (Small Animal Exports) 340 49 95 464
OCQ(V) - TT (Tuberculin Testing) 1406 435 333 2054
OCQ(V) - UX (Ungulate Exports) 347 63 124 517
OCQ(V) - ZX (Zoo Animal Exports) 20 7 5 24
Total authorised OVs 9081 1160 1406 11049

Please note:

The total number of OVs with each qualification will not always be the sum of the OVs holding that qualification in England, Wales and Scotland. This is due to some OVs being registered in more than one country (e.g. working across the border in both England and Wales).

The figures in the 'Total authorised OVs' row will not be the sum of all OVs authorised in each qualification. This is due to the fact that some OVs hold more than one qualification. 

The OCQ(V) - TT count gives the number of fully authorised OVs. It does not include the number of OVs with conditional status who are still in training.

OVs must revalidate their qualifications every four years, at which point a certain percentage may choose not to continue with the work. Therefore, there will occasionally be noticeable changes to counts caused by groups of OVs sharing the same revalidation due date. For example, the number of OVs authorised for the OCQ(V) - AX (Avian Exports) dropped in April 2022, as the revalidation date for a group of AX OVs fell in March 2022 and a number of these OVs chose not to revalidate.

As of September 2023, the counts include OVs authorised for both OCQ(V) - ES (Essential Skills) and OCQ(V) - EX (Exports General). This will account for any jump in the number of authorised OVs between August 2023 and September 2023.

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Counts of OVs Authorised by APHA in GB

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