North Carolina Vet X-Ray Registration and Radiation Safety

Registration or machine control

North Carolina veterinary x-ray equipment is regulated through the DHHS Radiation Protection Section / Radiology Compliance Branch. NCVMB links identify the DHHS Radiation Protection Section as the place for steps to install x-ray equipment and register a facility. ¹

Register BEFORE the facility operates — the current rules front-load the paperwork. Under the registration rules readopted effective October 1, 2025, a Business Application form "shall be submitted prior to the operation of a facility or providing services in this State," and registration of the first radiation machine constitutes registration of the facility. For new installations of radiation machines for veterinary use (and structural modifications of existing installations), the floor plans, shielding specifications, and equipment arrangement must be reviewed by a registered service provider prior to construction, the shielding design must be submitted to the agency for review, and "[a] radiation machine shall not be installed until the applicant has received acknowledgment of the shielding design from the agency". Veterinary radiation machines must have an agency-acknowledged shielding design and a Radiation Machine Application form submitted within 30 days of use. (Shielding designs are not required to be submitted for mobile or portable radiographic and fluoroscopic machines used in more than two locations.) Drafted sequence: (1) Business Application before the facility operates; (2) registered-service-provider shielding review and agency acknowledgment before the machine is installed; (3) Radiation Machine Application within 30 days of use. ^{2 3}

Safety procedures and operator duties

Veterinary-specific x-ray rules — 10A NCAC 15.0610. North Carolina has a radiation rule written specifically for veterinary medicine radiographic installations. Equipment requirements: a protective tube housing of the diagnostic type; diaphragms or cones collimating the useful beam to the area of the image receptor; total permanent filtration in the useful beam of not less than 0.5 mm aluminum equivalent up to 50 kVp, 1.5 mm aluminum equivalent between 50-70 kVp, and 2.5 mm aluminum equivalent above 70 kVp; a device to terminate the exposure after a preset time or exposure; and a dead-man exposure switch with an electrical cord long enough that the operator can stand out of the useful beam and at least six feet from the animal during all x-ray exposures, or behind an adequate protective barrier. Structural: wall, ceiling, and floor areas must be equivalent to or provided with the primary and secondary protective barriers required by the chapter. Operating procedures: the operator stands well away from the useful beam and the animal; no individual other than the operator may be in the x-ray room during exposures unless that individual's assistance is required; when an animal must be held in position, mechanical supporting or restraining devices shall be used — and if an animal must be held by an individual, that individual must be protected with appropriate shielding such as protective gloves and apron, positioned so no part of the body is struck by the useful beam, and the exposure of any staff used for holding "shall be monitored and permanently recorded". Build the holder-dosimetry step into the x-ray SOP: badge anyone who holds, and file the recorded readings with the radiation file. ⁴

Therapeutic radiation machines are licensed separately. If the practice operates a veterinary therapeutic (external-beam) radiation machine — e.g., for radiation therapy — 10A NCAC 15 Section.2000 ("Veterinary Uses of Therapeutic Radiation Machines") establishes separate licensing and use requirements, in addition to Sections.0100,.0200,.0900,.1000, and.1600 of the chapter, with use authorized by a licensed veterinary practitioner meeting the training criteria of Rule.2003(b). Typical diagnostic-only practices are not affected; the diagnostic x-ray rules above govern them. ⁵

Related workplace-safety context

North Carolina operates an OSHA-approved State Plan through the North Carolina Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Division. OSHA's state-plan page says NC OSH covers private-sector workplaces in the state, except listed areas retained by federal OSHA, and that federal OSHA covers issues not covered by the North Carolina State Plan. For a private veterinary clinic, use North Carolina OSH as the enforcement agency for workplace safety unless the practice falls into a listed federal-retained category. ⁶

The NC OSH Division has adopted OSHA standards and also has unique standards in listed areas, including general industry, hazardous waste operations and emergency response, bloodborne pathogens, and non-ionizing radiation. Practice policy: keep the federal OSHA written programs in this kit as the floor, route inspections/complaints/recordkeeping questions to NCDOL OSH, and confirm any North Carolina-specific bloodborne-pathogens, hazardous-drug, communication-tower, or non-ionizing-radiation standard before relying on the federal baseline alone. ⁶