Florida dental hygiene licensure · Laws & Rules examination

The Florida Dental Hygiene Laws and Rules Exam, in plain terms.

A closed-book, 90-minute exam on Florida's dental hygiene laws — up to 64 questions, 75% to pass. It is a separate exam from the dentist FDLR.

Last verified: August 26, 2026 · Primary sources below

This page was drafted with AI assistance and is not inheriting the study corpus's approval. Separate study-corpus review: Source-cited, and every in-scope file carries a current exact-digest sign-off by Mahtab Mansour, DDS across approvals dated 2026-07-27 through 2026-08-27.

The exam at a glance

  • Up to 64 items in 90 minutes — including up to 5 unscored field-test items, computer-based at Prometric test centers.
  • Closed book— no statute or rule text is provided or permitted. Florida's supervision rules must be memorized.
  • 75% or higher to pass — pass/fail only: provisional on screen at completion, official in 2-3 business days.
  • A separate exam from the dentist FDLR — its own rule (64B5-2.0135), item count, and fee.

Fees, clocks, and cohort

$105

Per attempt — initial and each retake

3%

Cap on Chapter 456 content, by rule 64B5-2.0135(2)(c)

2 years

Until registration credits expire, from payment

1,767

Initial FL hygienist licenses in FY 2024-25 — vs 1,380 dentist

Fees and format per the 2026 ADEX Candidate Guide and rule 64B5-2.0135, F.A.C., current version effective June 1, 2026. License counts from the Florida MQA annual report.

Verified exam facts

The FHLR format, fact by fact

The FHLR format is set by rule 64B5-2.0135, F.A.C., and the 2026 ADEX Candidate Guide. Every row below traces to those primary sources, verified August 26, 2026.

FactValueDetail
QuestionsUp to 64 multiple-choice itemsIncluding up to 5 unscored field-test items. Answer every question as if it counts — you cannot tell which items are unscored.
Time90 minutesRoughly 84 seconds per item at the full 64-item count.
Passing mark75% or higherPass/fail only — a provisional result on screen at completion, with the official result posted in 2-3 business days. No numeric score breakdown is published.
Fee$105 per attemptInitial attempt and each retake alike. Registration credits expire 2 years from payment; no attempt limit is published.
DeliveryComputer-based at Prometric test centers, closed bookAdministered by ADEX/CDCA under contract with the Florida Department of Health. A separate exam from the dentist FDLR — different rule, item count, and fee.
ScopeChapter 466 F.S. + Division 64B5 F.A.C., with Chapter 456 capped at 3%Rule 64B5-2.0135(2)(c) caps Chapter 456 content at 3%, so at least 97% comes from the Dental Practice Act and the Board's rules. Florida publishes no narrower topic weights.

Scope emphasis

Why the FHLR is a supervision-and-delegation exam

Chapter 456 is capped at 3%

Rule 64B5-2.0135(2)(c) caps Chapter 456 (general health-professions law) at 3% of the exam. At least 97% therefore comes from Chapter 466 — the Dental Practice Act — and Division 64B5, the Board's own rules.

Dentovio maps the profession-specific rules

Florida publishes no narrower topic weights. Dentovio emphasizes the hygienist scope, supervision, delegation, and remediable-task rules found in Chapter 466 and Division 64B5. Florida's supervision vocabulary is its own — another state's terms will mislead you on a closed-book exam.

Recordkeeping and charting duties are rule text

Patient-record and charting obligations sit in the Dental Practice Act and the Board's rules — exactly the dense, citable rule text a closed-book, 75%-mark exam draws from.

Rule current as of June 1, 2026

Rule 64B5-2.0135, F.A.C., has a current version effective June 1, 2026. The written exam requirement and the 75% mark were unchanged by that amendment. Chapter 64B27 appeared only in the legacy 2019 booklet and is not in the live scope.

Read the law yourself: Chapter 466, Florida Statutes on the Legislature's site, and the Board's dental hygienist licensing page.

Not the dentist exam

A separate exam, on purpose

Its own rule

The FHLR is set by rule 64B5-2.0135, F.A.C. — not the dentist rule 64B5-2.013.

Its own item count and fee

Up to 64 items (vs up to 67) and $105 per attempt (vs $135). Both exams share the 90-minute, closed-book, 75% format at Prometric.

A cohort-specific study path

Dentovio's FHLR path filters out dentist-only assessment items and foregrounds hygienist scope and supervision. Florida publishes no narrower per-topic weights.

Every pathway to a Florida dental hygiene license includes the FHLR — Florida has no general reciprocity, so hygienists relocating from other states sit it too. The FHLR is standalone: the ADEX 18-month completion window covers the clinical examination parts, not this exam. No pass rate is published; judge difficulty from the closed-book, 75%, 90-minute structure.

Study path

Start with the free practice test. The full prep is a one-time $79.

The free practice test uses original exam-style questions — never recalled exam items — with instant results and no signup. The paid prep, built for Florida dental hygiene candidates, adds statute-cited study modules on hygienist scope, supervision, and delegation under Chapter 466 and Division 64B5, a question bank with rationales, and a full-length practice exam at a one-time price. Access to the study materials is provided for 180 days from the date of purchase. Candidates can pace the work to their own exam date. Source-cited, and every in-scope file carries a current exact-digest sign-off by Mahtab Mansour, DDS across approvals dated 2026-07-27 through 2026-08-27. Dentovio makes no outcome claim.

Exam FAQ

Florida Dental Hygiene Laws and Rules Exam questions, answered

How many questions is the Florida Dental Hygiene Laws and Rules Exam, and how long is it?

Up to 64 multiple-choice items — including up to 5 unscored field-test items — in 90 minutes, computer-based at Prometric test centers. The exam is closed book: no statute or rule text is provided or permitted.

Is the FHLR the same exam as the dentist FDLR?

No. The Florida Dental Hygiene Laws and Rules Exam is a separate examination under its own rule, 64B5-2.0135, F.A.C., with its own item count (up to 64 vs up to 67) and its own fee ($105 vs $135). Dentovio's FHLR path filters out dentist-only assessment items and foregrounds the hygienist-role rules; Florida publishes no narrower per-topic weights.

What score do I need to pass the FHLR?

75% or higher. Results are pass/fail only — a provisional result on screen at completion, with the official result posted in 2-3 business days. No numeric score breakdown is published.

What does the FHLR cover?

Chapter 466, Florida Statutes (the Dental Practice Act) and Division 64B5 of the Florida Administrative Code, with Chapter 456 content capped at 3% by rule 64B5-2.0135(2)(c). Florida publishes no narrower topic weights; Dentovio organizes the profession-specific material around scope, supervision, delegable and remediable tasks, and recordkeeping duties.

How much does the FHLR cost, and how do retakes work?

$105 per attempt — the initial sitting and each retake cost the same full fee. Registration credits expire 2 years from payment, and no attempt limit is published in the rules or the Candidate Guide.

How many times can you fail the Florida dental hygiene laws and rules exam?

Neither rule 64B5-2.0135, F.A.C., nor the 2026 ADEX Candidate Guide publishes an attempt limit for the FHLR. The Candidate Guide does set a 10-day waiting period between the date of failure and any re-attempt, retake registration opens only after the official result posts, and every attempt costs the same full $105 fee.

How long can a patient go without a dental exam in Florida?

Florida sets no general interval for how often a patient must see a dentist. The 13-month rule in s. 466.024(2)(f)2., F.S., is narrower: when a dental hygienist removes calculus deposits, accretions, and stains in a health access setting without a prior dentist examination, a dentist must examine that patient within 13 months, and further oral hygiene services under that provision require a clinical examination by a dentist. This provision sits inside the FHLR's published scope (Chapter 466, F.S.), so know its exact boundaries rather than a generalized version of it.

Who has to take the Florida Dental Hygiene Laws and Rules Exam?

Every pathway to a Florida dental hygiene license includes it — Florida has no general reciprocity, so hygienists relocating from other states sit this exam too. Hygienists are also the larger Florida cohort: 1,767 initial dental hygienist licenses vs 1,380 dentist licenses in FY 2024-25, per the Florida MQA annual report.

What is the pass rate for the FHLR?

Florida does not publish a pass rate for this exam, and any specific figure you see elsewhere is unsourced. Judge difficulty from the structure instead: closed book, a 75% mark, 90 minutes, and delegation rules dense enough that another state's supervision vocabulary will mislead you.

How should candidates prepare?

Because the exam is closed book with a 75% mark, preparation should emphasize recall and application of current rule text — not open-book lookup practice.

Primary sources

Last verified August 26, 2026. The material rules on this page trace to these primary sources:

Dentovio is an independent publisher. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Florida Board of Dentistry, ADEX, CDCA, or Prometric, and this page is not legal advice.

This page summarizes publicly available Florida dental law as of the last verified date shown. Laws change. Confirm current requirements with the Florida Board of Dentistry or a licensed healthcare attorney before acting.

Dentovio provides independent educational preparation using original exam-style material. It does not reproduce recalled exam questions, and this content is for educational purposes only — it does not constitute legal advice.

This page was drafted with AI assistance, and its rules were checked against the primary sources listed here. Review of the currently served Florida study corpus is a separate state: Source-cited, and every in-scope file carries a current exact-digest sign-off by Mahtab Mansour, DDS across approvals dated 2026-07-27 through 2026-08-27. Florida publishes no pass rate for these examinations, and Dentovio makes no outcome claim.