Florida dental hygiene licensure · Laws & Rules examination
The Florida Dental Hygiene Laws and Rules Exam, in plain terms.
The Florida Dental Hygiene Laws and Rules Exam (FHLR) is a closed-book, 90-minute examination of up to 64 multiple-choice items, administered by ADEX/CDCA under contract to the Florida Board of Dentistry at Prometric test centers, with a 75% passing mark and a $105 fee per attempt. It is a separate exam from the dentist FDLR — built almost entirely on the Dental Practice Act and the Board's rules, where hygienist scope, supervision, and delegation live.
Last verified: July 26, 2026 · Primary sources below
Drafted with AI assistance and verified against the primary sources below. The Florida study content is pending credentialed review.
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 — results are pass/fail only, 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 July 26, 2026.
| Fact | Value | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Questions | Up to 64 multiple-choice items | Including up to 5 unscored field-test items. Answer every question as if it counts — you cannot tell which items are unscored. |
| Time | 90 minutes | Roughly 84 seconds per item at the full 64-item count. |
| Passing mark | 75% or higher | Results are reported pass/fail only, in 2-3 business days. No numeric score breakdown is published. |
| Fee | $105 per attempt | Initial attempt and each retake alike. Registration credits expire 2 years from payment; no attempt limit is published. |
| Delivery | Computer-based at Prometric test centers, closed book | Administered by ADEX/CDCA under contract to the Florida Board of Dentistry. A separate exam from the dentist FDLR — different rule, item count, and fee. |
| Scope | Chapter 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 nearly the whole exam is the Dental Practice Act and the Board's rules — scope, supervision, and delegation. |
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. Nearly everything you are tested on comes from Chapter 466 — the Dental Practice Act — and Division 64B5, the Board's own rules.
Scope, supervision, and delegation carry the exam
Chapter 466 and Division 64B5 are where hygienist scope of practice, supervision levels, and delegable and remediable tasks live. 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.
Its own content emphasis
Dentist-exam prep over-weights dentist-only duties and under-weights hygienist scope and supervision — the material the FHLR actually leans on.
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, with 180 days of access at a one-time price. Candidates typically prepare 4-6 weeks. The Florida study content is pending credentialed review, and 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). Prep written for the dentist exam over-weights dentist-only duties and under-weights hygienist scope and supervision.
What score do I need to pass the FHLR?
75% or higher. Results are reported pass/fail only, 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). In practice that means the exam lives in hygienist scope of practice, supervision levels, 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.
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 long do candidates usually prepare?
Candidates typically prepare for 4-6 weeks, and exam volume clusters in April through July around graduation. Because the exam is closed book with a 75% mark, the preparation is memorization of current rule text — not open-book lookup practice.
Primary sources
Last verified July 26, 2026. The material rules on this page trace to these primary sources:
- ADEX/CDCA — Florida Laws and Rules examination page (exam vendor, under contract to the Florida Board of Dentistry)
- 2026 ADEX Candidate Guide, v20251024 (exam vendor — fees, item counts, scheduling, credit expiration)
- Rule 64B5-2.013, F.A.C. — Licensure Examination for Dentists (Florida Administrative Code, current version effective June 1, 2026)
- Rule 64B5-2.0135, F.A.C. — Licensure Examination for Dental Hygienists (Florida Administrative Code, current version effective June 1, 2026)
- Florida Board of Dentistry — Dentist licensing page (state regulator)
- Florida Board of Dentistry — Dental hygienist licensing page (state regulator)
- Chapter 466, Florida Statutes — the Florida Dental Practice Act (state legislature, Online Sunshine)
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 every rule on it was verified against the primary sources listed here. The Florida study content is pending credentialed review: no reviewer has signed off yet, and no reviewer claim is made. Florida publishes no pass rate for these examinations, and Dentovio makes no outcome claim.