Guidance for prospective candidates

1. The election process for follows the RCVS Council Election Scheme made by the Privy Council under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, a new version of which was approved in 2024.  
   • A copy of the Scheme is available to download.
2.  Every candidate for election to the Council must be a member who resides outside the Republic of Ireland or a member who resides in the Republic of Ireland and to whom the provisions of the Veterinary Surgeons (Agreement with the Republic of Ireland) Order 1988 do not pertain or who has retained their right to vote under that Order. 
3. In most electoral years three elected RCVS Council members will retire and need to be replaced. Every fourth year sees four elected RCVS Council members retire.

4. The election is run on behalf of the RCVS by Civica Election Services (CES), which undertakes the ballot and election administration for a number of professional bodies and trade unions.
5. You are welcome to contact the Returning Officer, Clare Paget ([email protected]), the CEO, Lizzie Lockett ([email protected]) or RCVS President Tim Hutchinson ([email protected]) for more information about the role of the College and/or RCVS Council members. 
6. Two RCVS Council meetings will be taking place during the candidate nomination period –on Thursday 5 November 2026 and Thursday 21 January 2027 (remote meeting). If you wish to attend either of these as an observer, please contact Dawn Wiggins ([email protected]), RCVS Council Secretary. 
7. Furthermore, the RCVS organises and attends events throughout the course of the year – with stands at major veterinary conferences and congresses, as well as our own events such as our popular Regional Question Times and various online webinars and workshops. Find out more on our events webpage or contact the team on [email protected].
8. The provisional timetable for the 2027 election is:
   • Closing date for submission of nominations – no later than 5pm, Sunday, 31 January 2027
   • Posting of voting papers to members (approx.) w/c Monday, 8 March 2027
   • Closing date for receiving votes 5pm, Friday, 23 April 2027
   • Candidates informed of results Monday, 26 April 2027
   • Main induction for joining members Thursday, 1 July 2027 (subject to veterinary school graduation dates that might require a date change as president required elsewhere)
   • New members join RCVS and VN Council Friday, 2 July 2027 (RCVS AGM)
   • Please note: any nominations received after 5pm on Sunday 31 January 2027 will not be accepted. It is recommended that you submit your nomination at least a week in advance of the deadline in case of any issues.
9. As soon as possible following the date when CES sends the results to the RCVS, the Executive Office will contact all candidates individually to pass on the results; candidates are therefore asked to let the office know where and how they can best be contacted on that day. Once all the candidates have been told the results they will be published.

Documentation

10. Those wishing to stand for election should download, fill in and return their completed Nomination Form, by email, to Dawn Wiggins, RCVS Council Secretary, at [email protected], ensuring that it reaches the RCVS by the date/time stated above. Please note: 
    • We require electronic signatures from candidates and their two proposers upon submission of the form. These signatures can either be added to the nomination form itself or attached as electronic picture files (preferably JPEGs) to an email when you submit your nomination form. 
    • Candidates standing are required to sign against the specific declarations included on the forms so, if electronic picture files are sent, please ensure that the declarations are included.
    • Forms received after the closing date/time will not be accepted. Unsigned forms will also not be accepted.
11. The two proposers must be members of the RCVS and include their registered address in the nomination form. 
    • Please note, the registered address for both proposers and candidates will not be published externally, but will be used for identification purposes.  Before filling in the nomination form, we recommend contacting our Registration Department on 020 7202 0707 to double check your registered address as this may be different from your correspondence or practice address. Proposers may not be members of RCVS Council, but must be a member who resides outside the Republic of Ireland or a member who resides in the Republic of Ireland and to whom the provisions of the Veterinary Surgeons (Agreement with the Republic of Ireland) Order 1988 do not pertain or who has retained their right to vote under that Order.
12. No proposer may nominate more than one candidate. The nomination form must be accompanied by:  
    • the Candidate Information Form containing:
    • full name, title, and qualifications;
    • at least one set of contact details of the candidate’s choice which will be published externally. These contact details could include a postal address, an email address, a telephone number, a website URL and/or a social media handle. Please note: unless the candidate indicates otherwise, the registered address will not be published; and,
    • candidate biography and answers to the three questions in the candidate statement section of the information form. Please note: all three questions must be answered and candidates’ answers will be published on both the RCVS website and the voting site on the secure voting website (see ‘Candidate biography and statement’ paragraph).
    • a recent colour photograph in digital format (at highest resolution possible, i.e. minimum of 300dpi at 100%).
13. Forms and photographs must be submitted in electronic format and via email to Dawn Wiggins, RCVS Council Secretary, at [email protected]
14. All statements and photographs supplied will be published on the RCVS website prior to the start of the election period. Candidate statements and photographs will also be included on the secure voting website so that voters can read them before casting their votes. Photographs and statements may also be made available for publication in the veterinary press.
15. All nominations will be acknowledged, and the RCVS will confirm that the names and addresses of the candidates and proposers conform to those in the RCVS Register.

16. The biography should be no more than 200 words and the answer to the three questions in the candidate statement section should be no more than 200 words for each separate section. If you write fewer than 200 words for one question, this does not mean you can write more for another question. 
    • Please note – there is an additional section where candidates can add any further information that they do not feel was covered by the biography or the three questions. These will be published on both the RCVS website and the secure voting website. Standard Microsoft Word formatting is acceptable, but please avoid the use of underlining as the system will reject it.
17. The biography should contain information about a candidate’s education and training, previous and current employment, relevant achievements, membership of other organisations, interests and hobbies etc., but it should not contain any testimonials. Candidates should also declare any relevant conflicts of interest in this section.
18. The candidate statement section consists of three questions - each of which must be answered. These are: 
    • Why are you standing for Council?  
    • What can you bring to Council in terms of your insights and skillsets?
    • What relevant experience do you have?
19. The aim of these questions is to give the candidates the opportunity to clearly set out how they think they will contribute in enabling the College to fulfil its mission and carry out its core functions. You might like to mention, for example, any voluntary or governance positions you’ve held in relation to veterinary societies or associations, charities or primary/ secondary schools, if appropriate. 
20. We expect all candidates to have both read and understood the information we provide on the role and function of the RCVS and Council members and the candidate information form will ask for your signature to confirm this. Accordingly, we expect candidate statement answers to be reflective of the remit of the RCVS and to stay within the confines of the role of RCVS Council Member.
21. Candidate statements need to be legal, decent, honest and truthful. Candidates should therefore ensure that their election statements do not contain claims that are inconsistent with the legal position of the RCVS and should be aware that the Election Scheme gives the returning officer power to delete any material that she considers to be defamatory or, the publication of which, would be unlawful or factually misleading.
22. Hyperlinks or web addresses are not permitted in either the candidate biography or candidate statement. Any such details included in either paragraph will be removed. A web address or hyperlink to a campaign website, such as a Facebook, LinkedIn or X (formerly Twitter) account, is permitted in the contact details.
23. Candidates who are currently involved in the investigation of a complaint against them which has been, or might be, referred to the Disciplinary Committee, Charter Case Committee, or the RCVS Conduct Panel (in the case of complaints made against a current Council or committee member under the Council Code of Conduct), or who are otherwise engaged in any activity or behaviour that would be likely to bring the profession into disrepute or undermine public confidence in the profession, are particularly asked to consider whether standing for election might be inappropriate and represent a conflict of interest until the matter is resolved.
24. Candidates wishing to submit statements should ensure they are received by the RCVS by 5pm on 31 January 2027. No late submissions will be accepted and those exceeding the word count will not be included unless adjustments can be made before the closing date.

25. Candidates may canvass members as part of their election campaign. The RCVS will supply a single set of names and postal addresses of all members in electronic format to any candidate upon request. 
    • Please note, however, this information will not be available before the names of the members standing have been announced. It is expected that any communications to members will be legal, decent, honest, and truthful, and that election expenses will be kept to a reasonable level.