DACVS Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

Which Credential This Pass-Rate Question Is About

The acronym DACVS is shared by several unrelated credentials, which is one reason pass-rate searches return confusing results. This article concerns exactly one of them: the Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons pathway, specifically the Phase I Surgical Knowledge Examination administered by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS). Figures, fees and pass statistics belonging to any other "DACVS" do not apply here, and none are used below.

If you are still orienting yourself, the explainers on what DACVS is and what DACVS stands for give the background. Here, the focus is narrower: what the available evidence says about how candidates fare on Phase I, and what can honestly be concluded from it.

What Pass-Rate Data Actually Exists

Candidates searching for a headline percentage will be disappointed by the honest answer: no current issuer-wide Phase I pass rate has been verified for this credential. There is no fixed numerical pass mark published either. What does exist is more limited and needs to be read carefully.

The published 2017-2021 survey of small-animal residency programs is genuine peer-reviewed research, but it describes a past period and a particular slice of programs. It is not a live statistic for the 2027 examination, and it should not be projected onto the large-animal form at all.

Why There Is No Verified Phase I Pass Rate

Several structural features of this examination make a single clean pass rate hard to define, even before asking whether one is published.

• Two forms. The Phase I exam retains both small-animal and large-animal forms, each with its own blueprint weights. A blended rate would obscure form-level differences.
• Equated standards. Because the passing standard is equated across years rather than fixed as a raw score, year-to-year comparisons of "difficulty" do not translate neatly into pass-rate comparisons.
• Self-selected, residency-embedded cohort. Candidates are residents who sit when their programs and advisers consider them ready, which shapes who appears in any cohort.
• Flexible timing. Residents may sit at any time during residency, optimally in the second year, so first-attempt and repeat-attempt candidates sit side by side.

How the Passing Standard Works

The more useful question than "what percent pass?" is "how is passing decided?" The answer is a criterion-referenced standard: experts set the bar based on what a minimally competent candidate should know, and that bar is equated across years so that a candidate in one sitting is held to the same standard as a candidate in another. Two consequences follow.

1. You are not competing against the cohort. A criterion-referenced standard is not a curve. In principle, everyone sitting could meet it or fall short of it.
2. The standard cannot be raised after the exam. Once the examination has been administered, the bar is not moved upward in response to how many candidates did well.

Because no fixed numerical pass mark has been verified, preparation should target breadth and reliability across the whole blueprint rather than a guessed raw-score threshold. The companion article on the DACVS passing score goes deeper into what can and cannot be stated about scoring.

Who Sits Phase I and Why That Shapes Outcomes

Phase I is not open to the general public. Eligibility requires an ACVS resident in good standing, without applicable probation or sanctions, together with an adviser attestation and the candidate's own training and study-readiness attestation submitted through CERT. Entry to the training pathway itself requires veterinary qualification and a twelve-month rotating internship or equivalent experience.

Timing is flexible: residents may sit at any point during residency, optimally in the second year, and must pass within six years of starting residency. That window matters for interpreting any outcome data. A candidate sitting early in a program, one sitting in the optimal second-year window, and one sitting late after a prior unsuccessful attempt are all in the same pool, yet they are in very different positions.

Format, Fees and Logistics for the 2027 Sitting

Understanding the mechanics helps you interpret the exam's demands. Per the September 2026 information pamphlet for the 2027 sitting:

Several rules affect how you pace yourself. Review is permitted within a part, but you cannot return to the first part after the break. The clock keeps running during unscheduled breaks. Books, notes, phones and information aids are prohibited, candidates remain at the test center during breaks without access to study materials, and laminated note paper is provided. For the full cost picture beyond the exam fee, see the DACVS certification cost breakdown, and for scheduling specifics see DACVS exam dates.

Where the Points Are: Blueprint Weights

The revised ACVS Phase I Examination Blueprint, effective April 2026 and applying to the 2027 examination after the 2024-2025 Job Task Analysis, prints approximate knowledge-area weights separately for each animal form. It does not print aggregate percentages for the four main disciplines, so any "Domain X is 30% of the exam" claim is not something the blueprint supports. The small-animal entries total 98% as printed and the large-animal entries total 100%; neither is normalized here.

Anatomy is the single largest knowledge area on both forms. The table also shows why choosing the right form-specific preparation matters: general anesthesia carries 6% on the small-animal form but 3% on the large-animal form, while intrasynovial therapy appears as its own 3% line only on the large-animal form.

The Four Examination Disciplines

The blueprint organizes content into four main disciplines. These are official examination headings, not a preparation curriculum, and they map to the exam domains used throughout this site. For a deeper walk-through, see the complete guide to all four DACVS content areas.

One scope point causes frequent confusion: Phase I addresses surgical fundamentals and basic science, and the current Examination FAQ excludes clinical diseases and their specific treatment. Phase II journal-review and specific-procedure requirements should not be substituted when building your Phase I outline.

Scheduling Preparation Around the Blueprint

Since no pass-rate figure can tell you how much margin you need, the practical response is to sequence preparation by weight and by what is hardest to cram. One short, blueprint-driven plan is below; adapt it to your form and your program's calendar, and see the DACVS study guide for the wider approach.

What Passing Phase I Does and Does Not Give You

Passing Phase I is one requirement on the path to the Diplomate credential, not the credential itself. Full DACVS certification additionally requires completion of at least a three-year/156-week approved residency, including 110 weeks of surgical training, an accepted scientific publication, approved credentials, and both Phase I and Phase II. For a plain-language overview, see what DACVS certification is and the certification overview.

Once the credential is earned, maintenance begins. For Diplomates certified in 2016 or later, the initial certificate expires on the sixth December 31 after the examination, and subsequent cycles last five years. Maintenance of Certification requires 100 qualifying activity points, at least 70 of them within the certified animal specialty, continued good standing and CERT submission by November 1 of the expiry year. The current MOC page specifies no submission fee.

For readers weighing the longer-term picture, the articles on whether the certification is worth it and DACVS jobs cover careers, and the DACVS training overview covers the residency pathway.

Frequently Asked Questions