# California dental license pathways

> Every 2026 route to a California dental license compared — licensure by credential (BPC §1635.5, no exams), ADEX examination, residency (BPC §1634.1), and the international fork — with fees, timelines, document checklists, and the exact statute for each requirement.

URL: https://dentovio.com/california/dental-license-pathways

Last verified: 2026-07-28

Educational reference only, not legal advice. The Dental Board of California decides individual applications — confirm current requirements with the Board before acting.

## Direct answer

- California has four dentist licensure routes: credential (BPC §1635.5, no exams), ADEX examination, residency (BPC §1634.1), and — for non-CODA foreign graduates — an advanced-standing degree first.
- Licensure by credential is the only exam-free route: five years of practice immediately preceding the application, a clean 5-year exam record, 50 CE units, $525 fee, realistic 3–5 months.
- ADEX and residency candidates both take the California Law & Ethics exam ($125 + $27.23 PSI, in person at PSI centers); only the clinical exam is waived by a residency.
- SB 1453 (effective 2025-01-01) repealed the portfolio pathway and rewrote the credential experience test — guides quoting "5,000 hours in 5 of 7 years" are out of date.
- Testing in 2026? The ADEX series changes August 1, 2026: the DSE OSCE sunsets, the DLOSCE replaces it, and the clinical periodontal section becomes required.

## The four pathways at a glance

| | Credential | ADEX exam | Residency | International |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Who it fits | Experienced U.S.-licensed dentists | New CODA grads; out-of-state dentists without the credential record | Dentists with a 1-year CODA GPR/AEGD | Non-CODA foreign graduates |
| Clinical exam | None | ADEX (5-year score validity) | None (waived) | Follows the chosen pathway after the degree step |
| California Law & Ethics exam | Not required (BPC §1635.5 licenses "without examination") | Required ($125 + $27.23 PSI) | Required ($125 + $27.23 PSI) | Required with the eventual pathway |
| INBDE | Not required | Required | Required | Required (also for program admission) |
| Core experience test | 5 years of practice immediately preceding (BPC §1635.5(a)(3)) | — | CODA GPR/AEGD ≥1 year, certified within 2 years | 2-academic-year advanced-standing DDS/DMD first |
| Application fee | $525 | $400 | $800 | Pathway fee after the degree step |
| Realistic timeline | 3–5 months | 2–4 months post-ADEX | 2–4 months post-certification | 3–5+ years |

## Licensure by Credential (BPC §1635.5)

Experienced dentists holding an active, unrestricted U.S. license — the only pathway with no clinical exam and no California Law & Ethics exam.

- Application fee: $525 (non-refundable)
- Realistic timeline: 3–5 months end to end
- Exams required: None
- Waived: ADEX clinical exam, California Law & Ethics exam

- **Active, unrestricted U.S. license**: License from another U.S. state, district, or territory, not subject to current or pending disciplinary action (revocation, suspension, or probation). Every state where you hold or held a license must send an Out of State Certification Form — accepted only when emailed directly by the licensing agency or delivered in a sealed, unopened envelope. A foreign-trained dentist who holds a qualifying U.S. license can use this pathway; the degree's origin is not disqualifying here. (BPC §1635.5(a)(2); DBC LBC instructions)
- **Five years of practice immediately preceding the application**: Active clinical practice, OR full-time non-clinical practice requiring an active dental license in a federal, state, or local public-health program, for at least five years immediately preceding the application; OR full-time faculty in an accredited dental-education program plus at least 5,000 hours of clinical practice within the past five years. SB 1453 rewrote this test effective 2025 — older guides still describe the repealed "5,000 hours in five of seven years" standard. (BPC §1635.5(a)(3))
- **Residency credit option**: A CODA-accredited residency (GPR, AEGD, or a recognized specialty program) credits 1,000 hours per year, up to 2,000 hours, toward clinical practice. (BPC §1635.5(a)(3)(A))
- **Alternative service contracts if practice history falls short**: Commit to 32+ hours/week for two years in a qualifying primary-care clinic (pending clinical practice contract), or 40+ hours/week for two years teaching or practicing in a Board-approved accredited dental-education program. Qualifiers under these routes can receive a two-year temporary restricted license valid only at those facilities. (BPC §1635.5(a)(3)(B)–(C), §1635.5(e))
- **Clean exam record for five years**: No failed state, regional, or national dental licensure exam within five years before applying; a later pass of the same exam cures a prior failure. The Certification of Non-Failure of Licensure form is mandatory even if you never took a clinical exam. (BPC §1635.5(a)(6); DBC LBC instructions)
- **Discipline history + NPDB/DEA release**: No disciplinary action in any licensing state (the Board reviews any history case by case), plus a signed release for National Practitioner Data Bank disclosure and DEA registration verification. (BPC §1635.5(a)(4)–(5))
- **50 CE units within two years of applying**: Must include the Board's mandatory coursework: BLS (max 4 units — live, in-person skills session required; online-only BLS is rejected), California Infection Control (2 units, Board-registered provider), California Dental Practice Act (2 units, Board-registered provider), and Schedule II opioid-prescribing responsibilities (2 units). Practice-management courses are rejected. (BPC §1635.5(a)(8); §1645(b); DBC LBC instructions)
- **Application (form LBC1), photo, fingerprints**: BreEZe or paper LBC1 application with the $525 fee, a passport-style color photo, and classifiable fingerprints — Live Scan in California, or FBI FD-258 hard cards with a $49 processing fee from out of state. Do not fingerprint (or mail cards) before the paid application is on file; the Board cannot process early prints. (BPC §1635.5(a)(1); DBC LBC instructions)

Watch-outs:

- Practice-hours documentation (forms LBC3(a)/(b)/(c); solo owners file both LBC3(a) and LBC3(c)) is where applications stall most.
- The five-year practice window has no published tolling — Board materials show no COVID, parental-leave, or hardship flexibility. If the record falls short, the routes are the §1635.5(a)(3)(B)–(C) service contracts, ADEX, or residency.
- There is no practicing while you wait: the standard credential route has no temporary license, and clinical work before your California license number issues is unlicensed practice. (The narrow §1635.5(e) temporary restricted license exists only for clinic-contract and teaching qualifiers.)
- License verifications routed through third-party clearinghouses are rejected — they must come directly from the licensing agency.

## Licensure by ADEX Examination

New CODA-school graduates and out-of-state dentists who do not qualify for the credential pathway.

- Application fee: $400 (non-refundable, 16 CCR §1021(a))
- Realistic timeline: 2–4 months after ADEX results, longer around the June–August graduation peak
- Exams required: INBDE, ADEX clinical examination, California Law & Ethics exam

- **Qualifying degree**: DDS/DMD from a CODA-accredited or Board-approved dental school, proven by a Dean-signed certification with the university seal sent directly to the Board. (BPC §1632; DBC ADEX application instructions)
- **INBDE passage**: Proof of passing the JCNDE's National Board examination (INBDE; older NBDE Part I/II results also qualify), reported to the Board. (DBC ADEX application instructions; jcnde.ada.org)
- **ADEX examination sections, passed within five years**: Diagnostic skills (DSE OSCE — sunsets August 1, 2026, when the ADA's DLOSCE replaces it in the series), prosthodontic (manikin), endodontic (manikin), restorative (patient or CompeDont manikin), and periodontal scaling — the clinical periodontal section becomes a required series component on August 1, 2026. Manikin-based exams have been accepted since the Board's May 28, 2020 decision. All sections must be passed within the five years preceding the application (BPC §1632(c)), and the ABDE requires the full series within 18 months of the first attempt. (BPC §1632(c); ABDE 2026 candidate manual)
- **California Law & Ethics exam**: Separate $125 application plus $27.23 PSI seat fee; can be taken up to one year before graduation and runs in parallel with the main application. In-person only at PSI centers — 20 California cities plus 22 out-of-state cities. (DBC L&E examination page; 16 CCR §1021)
- **Fingerprints and BLS**: Live Scan (in California) or FBI hard cards (out of state, $49 processing fee). You may sit the L&E exam pending fingerprint clearance, but no license issues until clearance arrives. (DBC application instructions)

Watch-outs:

- Retake math: after three failed attempts at the §1632 exam, BPC §1633 requires 50 hours of remediation education per failed subject (at a CODA-approved school, within one year of the third failure) before further re-examination. A score of 85%+ in a subject exempts you from re-testing that subject for two years.
- The 2026 series transition is dated: DSE OSCE registration ends June 2026, the DLOSCE replaces it and the clinical periodontal section becomes required on August 1, 2026 — budget for the current bundle price ($2,795–$2,995) and check the ABDE manual before scheduling.
- Legacy WREB scores (exam retired December 31, 2022) stay usable only within the five-year score-validity window — the last WREB cohorts support applications only into late 2027.
- Licensure by Portfolio no longer exists — SB 1453 repealed it effective January 1, 2025. Older checklists still list it.

## Licensure by Residency (BPC §1634.1)

Dentists who completed a CODA-accredited GPR or AEGD of at least one year — the clinical exam is waived, the Law & Ethics exam is not.

- Application fee: $800 (non-refundable)
- Realistic timeline: 2–4 months once the residency certification is in hand
- Exams required: INBDE, California Law & Ethics exam
- Waived: ADEX clinical exam

- **Qualifying degree**: Graduation from a dental school accredited by CODA or by a Board-approved national accrediting body. A non-CODA foreign degree alone does not qualify — internationally trained dentists reach this pathway through an advanced-standing DDS/DMD, or under a legacy Board-approved foreign school until its sunset date. (BPC §1634.1(b))
- **Clinically based GPR or AEGD, minimum one year**: A clinically based advanced education program in general dentistry (AEGD) or general practice residency (GPR), at minimum one year in duration, accredited by CODA or a Board-approved national accrediting body. The program may be in any U.S. state — California is not required. Specialty residencies (ortho, perio, OMFS, pedo, endo) do not qualify under this section. (BPC §1634.1(c))
- **Certification and completion within two years**: The Board-approved Certification of Clinical Residency Completion is executed after you finish the program (you can start the application, fee, and fingerprinting during residency), and both the certification and program completion must fall within the two years before the application date. (BPC §1634.1(c); DBC licensure-by-residency instructions)
- **INBDE + Law & Ethics exam**: National Board passage (BPC §1634.1(d)) and the California Law & Ethics examination (BPC §1634.1(e)) are both statutory requirements — the L&E application is a separate $125 filing. Only the clinical exam is waived. (BPC §1634.1(d)–(e))
- **Clean exam record for five years**: The non-failure rule applies here too: no failed state, regional, or national dental licensure exam within five years before applying, with a later pass curing a prior failure. A residency does not erase a recent ADEX failure. (BPC §1634.1(f))

Watch-outs:

- The residency paradox: some federal/VA residencies require an active dental license going in — those programs cannot supply your first license.
- The two-year certification window is unforgiving: finish a residency, wait three years, and this pathway closes.
- Specialty residencies do not qualify — BPC §1634.1(c) names clinically based AEGD/GPR programs only. (A CODA specialty residency does still credit up to 2,000 hours toward the credential pathway under §1635.5(a)(3)(A).)
- Fingerprint sequencing: Live Scan results that arrive before your paid application is on file are rejected — wait for the Board's emailed Live Scan request after the fee posts.

## International route (non-CODA degree)

Dentists whose original degree is from a school that is neither CODA-accredited nor Board-approved — the pathway decision comes after an education step.

- Application fee: Pathway fee applies after the education step
- Realistic timeline: 3–5+ years including the advanced-standing program
- Exams required: INBDE, Then the pathway you qualify for (ADEX or residency) + California Law & Ethics exam

- **Credential evaluation**: Course-by-course evaluation of the foreign degree. The Dental Board recognizes ECE; some programs also accept WES, but an ECE report is the safe default (≈$199, 3–4 weeks once your file is complete — sourcing sealed foreign transcripts and translations is the real delay, often months). (DBC foreign-graduate guidance; ECE)
- **INBDE**: Required both for advanced-standing program admission and for eventual licensure. (IDP program admission requirements; DBC application instructions)
- **Advanced-standing DDS/DMD (international dentist program)**: A two-academic-year (24–36 month) CODA-accredited international dentist program. Six California schools run IDPs — UCSF, UCLA, USC, University of the Pacific, Loma Linda, and Western University of Health Sciences — with published 2026–27 tuition roughly $115K–$134K per year (total cost with living expenses commonly $250K–$400K). Applications run through ADEA CAAPID ($264 first program, $115 each additional), with per-school supplemental applications and deadlines from early June to late July for 2027 starts. (ADEA CAAPID program pages; school bulletins (2026–27))
- **Then choose a licensure pathway**: With the advanced-standing degree, the ADEX and residency pathways open on the same terms as for U.S. graduates. The Law & Ethics exam can be taken up to one year before program graduation — most IDP candidates test in their final year. (BPC §1632; BPC §1634.1)

Watch-outs:

- A GPR/AEGD does not bypass the advanced-standing program — the residency pathway itself requires a CODA/Board-approved degree first.
- The last legacy Board-approved foreign school has sunset: De La Salle Bajío's (Mexico) approval expired in May 2026 — the Board's own pages cite both May 16 and May 31, 2026 as the cutoff for eligible graduates. Since January 1, 2020 no new non-CODA foreign schools have been approved, and approval now requires CODA accreditation.
- AB 1952 (Berman, 2026) would open a separate route for internationally trained dentists to license as dental hygienists (RDH) under the Dental Hygiene Board — but it is a pending bill held in Appropriations as of May 2026, not law. Guides describing it as a live route are ahead of the Legislature.
- L&E score validity is two years — visa and OPT timing rewards testing late in the program, not early.

## Fees (2026)

| Item | Amount | Applies to | Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Licensure by Credential application | $525 | Credential pathway | DBC LBC application instructions |
| Licensure by Residency application | $800 | Residency pathway | DBC LBR application instructions |
| Licensure by ADEX application | $400 (pending rulemaking proposes $490) | ADEX pathway | 16 CCR §1021; DBC proposed rulemaking |
| Law & Ethics exam application | $125 (pending rulemaking proposes $180); buys a 2-year eligibility window | ADEX, residency, and legacy-WREB pathways | 16 CCR §1021; DBC proposed rulemaking |
| Law & Ethics PSI seat fee | $27.23 per sitting | Each L&E attempt (raised effective 2025-01-01) | DBC fee alert |
| Fingerprint hard-card processing | $49 | Out-of-state applicants (Live Scan runs ~$49–$75 in California) | DBC application instructions |
| Initial license issuance | Prorated up to $650 | All pathways — billed on approval; prorated by months between payment and your next birth month | 16 CCR §1021 |
| BreEZe card surcharge | 2.3% per online transaction | All online fee payments (effective 2025-01-02) | DBC BreEZe notice |
| INBDE | $890 (+$435 non-CODA processing fee for international graduates) | ADEX, residency, and international pathways | JCNDE 2026 fee schedule |
| ADEX dental examination series | $2,795–$2,995 bundled (2026); host-site facility fees extra | ADEX pathway | ABDE (adextesting.org) 2026 fees |

## Timeline

- Board processing goal: 30 days from a COMPLETE application (sunset-review average: 38 days). Applications process in strict date order; the clock starts only when the file is complete. Cured deficiency documents rejoin the BOTTOM of the queue — the clock restarts.
- Deficiency notification: 22–28 days on average. The Board's average time to tell you the file is complete vs deficient (sunset-review statistics). Correspondence is email-only — watch spam.
- Law & Ethics application to exam seat: 6–8 weeks. ≈4 weeks of Board processing, then PSI eligibility and scheduling. Runs in parallel with the main application.
- Credential pathway end to end: 3–5 months. Rate limiters: out-of-state hard-card fingerprints (DOJ processing reportedly 8–12 weeks vs days for Live Scan) and direct-from-agency license verifications.
- Graduation-season peak: May–August. New-graduate and relocation filings cluster here; processing and deficiency responses reportedly stretch to 6–10 weeks (community reports).
- After approval: ≈48 hours. Your license number appears in the DCA license search about two days after the issuance fee posts; the pocket license follows by mail.

## Document folder

### Education

- Dean-certified proof of DDS/DMD (Certification of Dean form or sealed Dean's letter, sent directly to the Board)
- Foreign applicants: course-by-course credential evaluation (ECE/WES) and advanced-standing program documentation
- Residency pathway: Certification of Clinical Residency Completion signed by the program director, with educational seal

### Examinations

- INBDE (or legacy NBDE I/II) results reported through JCNDE
- ADEX section results (valid five years) or legacy WREB scores within their validity window
- Law & Ethics exam: separate application, $125 + $27.23 PSI — file it in parallel, then self-notify the Board after passing

### Licensure history (credential pathway)

- Out of State Certification Form from EVERY state where you hold or held a license — sent directly by the licensing agency
- Certification of Non-Failure of Licensure form (mandatory even if you never sat a clinical exam)
- Practice verification: LBC3(a) clinical practice, LBC3(b) faculty employment, LBC3(c) solo practice (solo owners file both (a) and (c))

### Identity & background

- Passport-style color photo on a plain background
- Fingerprints: Live Scan in California; Board-provided hard cards + $49 fee from out of state
- Signed NPDB disclosure release and DEA registration verification (credential pathway)

### Continuing education (credential pathway)

- 50 CE units completed within two years of the application
- Inside the 50: BLS with live in-person skills session (max 4 units), California Infection Control (2 units, Board-registered provider), California Dental Practice Act (2 units, Board-registered provider), Schedule II opioid prescribing (2 units)

## Common mistakes

- **Planning around the repealed portfolio pathway or a five-year-old checklist** — SB 1453 repealed Licensure by Portfolio effective January 1, 2025, and rewrote the credential pathway's experience test the same day. Work only from the Board's current application packages.
- **Assuming an out-of-state or foreign license transfers** — California has no reciprocity. An out-of-state license opens the credential pathway only if you meet every §1635.5 element; a foreign license alone opens nothing without the education step.
- **Practicing while the application is pending** — No general temporary license exists. Clinical work before your California license number issues is unlicensed practice — it can end the application and worse.
- **Fingerprinting before the Board asks for it** — Live Scan results that arrive before your paid application is on file are rejected and discarded. Submit the application and fee first, then use the Live Scan request form (with its ORI code) the Board emails you.
- **Letting a deficiency sit** — Under 16 CCR §1004, an application not completed within the Board's abandonment window is legally abandoned — you restart from zero, potentially with fresh fingerprints. Cured documents also rejoin the bottom of the processing queue, so respond fast and completely the first time.
- **Online-only BLS certification** — The Board rejects it. Your BLS course needs a live, in-person skills session, a skills test, and a written exam.
- **License verifications routed through a clearinghouse** — Electronic verifications count only when emailed directly from the licensing agency to the Board. Order them early — they gate file completion.
- **Skipping the Certification of Non-Failure form because you never took a clinical exam** — It is mandatory for credential applicants regardless of exam history.
- **Missing a deficiency email** — Effective April 1, 2026 the Dental Licensing Unit corresponds by email only — no hard-copy letters. Whitelist dbc.ca.gov addresses and check spam weekly; a missed deficiency email stalls files indefinitely.
- **Taking the Law & Ethics exam too early — or buying the wrong exam's prep** — A passing L&E score is valid two years; IDP candidates especially should test late. And California runs three different dental "law and ethics" exams (dentist, RDH, RDA) — dentist candidates need the DBC dentist exam, not RDH or RDA materials.
- **Fee math without the add-ons** — Budget the 2.3% BreEZe card surcharge, the prorated up-to-$650 issuance fee, and $27.23 per L&E sitting on top of headline application fees.
- **Counting on a federal/VA residency for a first license** — Some of those programs require an active license going in — confirm before matching if the residency pathway is your licensure plan.

## What changed recently

- 2026-04-01: Dental Licensing Unit moved to email-only correspondence for application status — hard-copy letters ended.
- 2026-08-01: ADEX series change: the DSE OSCE sunsets (DLOSCE replaces it) and the clinical periodontal examination becomes a required series component. Individual DSE OSCE registration ends June 2026.
- 2026-05: De La Salle Bajío (Mexico) legacy approval sunset — the Board's pages cite both May 16 and May 31, 2026 as the graduate cutoff; later graduates need the advanced-standing route. No new non-CODA foreign-school approvals since 2020.
- 2025-09-01: CDCA-WREB-CITA and ADEX merged into the American Board of Dental Examiners (ABDE) — candidate manuals and registration now live at adextesting.org.
- 2025-01-01: SB 1453 effective: Licensure by Portfolio repealed; credential pathway experience test rewritten (five years immediately preceding, faculty 5,000-hour option, non-clinical public-health option); residency credit codified at 1,000 hrs/yr up to 2,000.
- 2025-01-01: PSI seat fee for the Law & Ethics exam rose to $27.23.
- 2026-05-14 (pending): AB 1952 (Berman) — the bill that would let internationally trained dentists pursue RDH licensure under the Dental Hygiene Board — was held in Assembly Appropriations. It is NOT law; treat any guide describing an active AB 1952 route as premature.
- 2025-01-02: BreEZe added a 2.3% card surcharge on online fee payments.
- 2022-12-31: WREB retired. California accepts ADEX; legacy WREB scores work only inside the five-year validity window (through ~2027 applications).
- 2020-05-28: Board accepted manikin-based (CompeDont) clinical exams — no live patient required.

## FAQ

### Does California have reciprocity for dental licenses?

No. California has no reciprocity or endorsement route that accepts another state's license by itself. The closest equivalent is licensure by credential under Business & Professions Code §1635.5, which licenses experienced out-of-state dentists without examination — but only after proving five years of practice immediately preceding the application, a clean five-year exam record, 50 recent CE units, and direct-from-agency license verifications.

### Which California pathway requires no exams at all?

Licensure by credential (BPC §1635.5). The statute authorizes the Board to license a qualifying applicant "who has not taken an examination before the board" — no ADEX, no INBDE requirement, and no California Law & Ethics exam. Every other pathway requires the Law & Ethics exam, and the examination pathway adds ADEX.

### How long does a California dental license take in 2026?

The Board's goal is processing a complete application within 30 days, in date order. Realistic end-to-end time is 3–5 months on the credential pathway (fingerprint hard cards and license verifications are the slow steps) and 2–4 months after ADEX results or residency certification on the exam and residency pathways. June–August graduation season runs slower.

### How much does a California dental license cost?

Board fees: $525 credential / $400 ADEX-pathway / $800 residency application, plus the prorated initial license fee up to $650, fingerprints ($49 hard-card fee out of state), and the 2.3% BreEZe card surcharge. Exam-pathway candidates add INBDE ($890; $1,325 with the non-CODA processing fee), the ADEX series ($2,795–$2,995 bundled in 2026, plus host-site facility fees), and the Law & Ethics exam ($125 + $27.23 PSI). A new-graduate total commonly lands near $5,000 before CE and travel costs — and a pending Board rulemaking proposes raising the $400 and $125 application fees, so verify current amounts before budgeting.

### Did SB 1453 change the 5,000-hour requirement for licensure by credential?

Yes. Effective January 1, 2025, BPC §1635.5(a)(3) requires active clinical practice (or qualifying full-time non-clinical public-health practice) for at least five years immediately preceding the application; the 5,000-hour figure now attaches to the full-time-faculty option (5,000 clinical hours within the past five years). Older guides still quote the repealed "5,000 hours in five of seven consecutive years" standard.

### Can I get a California dental license with a specialty residency instead of a GPR or AEGD?

Not through the residency pathway — BPC §1634.1(c) limits it to clinically based AEGD and GPR programs of at least one year, so specialty residencies (orthodontics, periodontics, OMFS, pediatrics, endodontics) do not qualify. A CODA specialty residency does credit hours toward the credential pathway: 1,000 per year, up to 2,000, under §1635.5(a)(3)(A).

### Does a foreign-trained dentist have to repeat dental school in California?

Not the full four years — but a dentist whose degree is from a non-CODA, non-Board-approved school must complete a two-academic-year advanced-standing international dentist program (IDP) before any licensure pathway opens. Six California schools run IDPs: UCSF, UCLA, USC, University of the Pacific, Loma Linda, and Western University of Health Sciences. A GPR/AEGD residency does not substitute for the degree step.

### Is the WREB exam still accepted in California?

WREB has not been offered since December 31, 2022. California accepts ADEX; a legacy WREB score works only within the five-year score-validity window, which closes for the last WREB cohorts around the end of 2027.

### Do credential-pathway applicants take the California Law & Ethics exam?

No. The Board's licensure-by-credential requirements list no examination of any kind, §1635.5 authorizes licensure "without examination," and the Board's own sunset review states "there are no national- or California-specific examinations required if applying through the LBC pathway." ADEX-pathway, residency-pathway, and legacy-WREB candidates all must pass it.

### Do military spouses get faster California dental licensing?

Yes. Under BPC §115.5, spouses and domestic partners of active-duty service members stationed in California get mandatory expedited processing, and application and initial license fees are waived.

### Can I work as a dentist while my California application is pending?

No — clinical practice before your license number issues is unlicensed practice. The only exception is the narrow two-year temporary restricted license under §1635.5(e) for applicants on a primary-care-clinic contract or dental-school teaching commitment, valid solely at those facilities.

### What is the fastest way for an internationally trained dentist to work in California dentistry?

The DDS/DMD route runs 3–5+ years (evaluation → INBDE → two-year IDP → licensure pathway). A dentist already U.S.-licensed in another state may test the credential pathway once they meet its five-year practice record. A proposed shortcut — AB 1952, which would allow RDH licensure for internationally trained dentists — was held in Assembly Appropriations in May 2026 and is not law.

### When can I take the California Law & Ethics exam?

Up to one year before graduating from a qualifying dental program, and any time after. It is a standalone application ($125 + $27.23 PSI) that runs in parallel with your main licensure application. You get two years to pass from application receipt, and a passing score is valid for two years.

### How many times can I retake the California Law & Ethics exam?

There is no published attempt limit. After a fail you wait 7–10 business days, reschedule with PSI, and pay the $27.23 seat fee again — no new Board application is needed inside your two-year eligibility window. If the window lapses without a pass, the application is abandoned and you refile the $125 application.

### Is Licensure by Portfolio still an option in California?

No. SB 1453 repealed the portfolio pathway effective January 1, 2025, after the state's Office of Professional Examination Services flagged validity problems. Work completed toward an unfinished portfolio did not transfer to another pathway. Guides that still list five pathways predate the repeal.

### Can a De La Salle Bajío graduate still get a California dental license?

Only graduates who finished by the Board's May 2026 cutoff (the Board's pages cite both May 16 and May 31, 2026) remain eligible under the school's legacy approval. Later graduates are treated as non-CODA foreign graduates and need the advanced-standing (IDP) route. A pending bill (AB 2625) proposes extending approval for pre-2020 schools that applied to CODA — it is not law; check current status before relying on it.

### Can an internationally trained dentist work as a dental hygienist in California instead?

Not yet under a dedicated route. AB 1952 (Berman, 2026) would create an RDH licensure pathway for internationally trained dentists under the Dental Hygiene Board, but the bill was held in Assembly Appropriations in May 2026 and is not law. Until it (or a successor) passes, internationally trained dentists follow the same RDH licensure requirements as any other applicant.

## Primary sources

- [Business & Professions Code §1635.5 (licensure by credential, as amended by SB 1453 eff. 2025-01-01)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=1635.5)
- [Business & Professions Code §1634.1 (licensure by residency)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=1634.1)
- [Business & Professions Code §1632 (examination requirement, ADEX)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=1632)
- [Dental Board of California — Licensure by Credential pathway (clinical practice)](https://www.dbc.ca.gov/applicants/pathways/clinical_practice.shtml)
- [Dental Board of California — Licensure by Residency](https://www.dbc.ca.gov/applicants/licensure_by_residency.shtml)
- [Dental Board of California — dentist applicant hub](https://www.dbc.ca.gov/applicants/dentists/)
- [SB 1453 (Ashby, Stats. 2024, ch. 483) — repealed portfolio pathway, rewrote credential requirements](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1453)
- [American Board of Dental Examiners (ADEX; formerly CDCA-WREB-CITA, merged 2025-09-01) — ADEX dental examination](https://adextesting.org/)
- [ADEA CAAPID — centralized application for international dentist programs](https://www.adea.org/caapid/)

## Related

- [How to pass the California Dentistry Law and Ethics exam](https://dentovio.com/guide/california-dentistry-law-ethics-exam/how-to-pass/index.html.md)
- [California dental license requirements summary](https://dentovio.com/dental-license-requirements/california/index.html.md)
- [Foreign-trained dentist licensure by state](https://dentovio.com/foreign-trained-dentist-licensure/index.html.md)
- [California dental license lookup](https://dentovio.com/dental-license-lookup/california/index.html.md)