# Foreign-trained dentist license in Utah

> Utah pathway signal for internationally trained dentists: Advanced-standing route required.

URL: https://dentovio.com/foreign-trained-dentist-license/utah

Last verified: 2026-07-08

Research confidence: high

Educational summary only, not legal or immigration advice. Dental licensure rules change and the details vary; confirm current requirements directly with the Utah board before acting.

## Pathway

Advanced-standing CODA DDS/DMD only. Utah Code §58-69-302(1)(c) requires 'satisfactory documentation of having successfully completed a program of professional education preparing an individual as a dentist as evidenced by having received an earned doctor's degree in dentistry from a dental school accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association.' The licensure statute contains no non-CODA or GPR/AEGD-residency alternative pathway for initial dentist licensure, so a foreign-trained dentist must obtain a CODA-accredited DDS/DMD (advanced-standing program). (Note: a recent Utah immigrant-professional/endorsement initiative may create case-by-case flexibility, but that is not a codified foreign-graduate licensure route — verify current status with DOPL.)

## Required exams

National Board — NBDE Parts I & II or the iNBDE (JCNDE); plus a regional clinical licensure exam covering perio, endo, operative, class 2/3 restoration, and prosthodontics — Utah accepts CDCA, SRTA, CRDTS, CITA (and formerly WREB, retired Dec 31, 2022). Utah jurisprudence requirement applies.

## Notes

Utah's dentist licensure statute admits only a CODA-accredited DDS/DMD degree — no GPR/AEGD residency pathway for a non-CODA degree. A foreign grad must complete a CODA advanced-standing DDS/DMD. Watch Utah's newer immigrant-professional endorsement rules for possible future flexibility; confirm with DOPL.

## Official board source

- Utah Dentist and Dental Hygienist Licensing Board (DOPL, Dept. of Commerce): <https://dopl.utah.gov/dentistry/>

## References

- Source 1: <https://dopl.utah.gov/dentistry/>
- Source 2: <https://www.ada.org/en/resources/licensure>
- Source 3: <https://commerce.utah.gov/dopl/dentistry/>

## Related

- [Foreign-trained dentist licensure by state](https://dentovio.com/foreign-trained-dentist-licensure/index.html.md)
- [Utah dental license requirements](https://dentovio.com/dental-license-requirements/utah/index.html.md)
- [Utah dental license reciprocity](https://dentovio.com/dental-license-reciprocity/utah/index.html.md)
- [Utah dental licensure exams](https://dentovio.com/dental-licensure-exams/utah/index.html.md)
- [Utah foreign-trained dentist residency pathway](https://dentovio.com/foreign-trained-dentist-license/utah/residency-pathway/index.html.md)
- [Foreign-trained dentist licensure matcher](https://dentovio.com/tools/foreign-dentist-license-eligibility)