INBDE retake calculator
Enter your attempt history and get your earliest eligible retest date under the JCNDE's published rules, plus the full fees due with your next application. It computes eligibility under the rules as printed — the JCNDE's own determination controls.
Your attempt history
Count every seating, including the most recent. The guide caps administrations at four per one-year period.
INBDE attempts only — prior NBDE attempts are counted independently for the 5 Years/5 Attempts rule.
Earliest eligible retest date under the published rules
Enter your dates to compute it
Enter the date of your most recent attempt (or your result date) to compute your earliest eligible retest date.
Eligibility date is not seat availability: you still need a new processed application and an open Prometric appointment, and your testing window is six months from application processing (which retest rules can shorten). Schedule ahead of the date, not on it.
Full fees due with your next application
- Examination fee
- Charged with the new application required before each testing attempt (2026 Candidate Guide, p. 22 and p. 26).
- Non-CODA processing fee
- Applies to candidates from dental programs not accredited by CODA — most internationally trained candidates (CG p. 22).
- Total per attempt $1,325
Study materials, travel, and the wider licensure pathway are excluded here — itemize those with the cost calculator linked below.
The date is the easy part — the rebuild is the work
In 2025, 50.5% of retakes in JCNDE's non-accredited cohort failed again, so the runway matters more than the date. Start with the INBDE retake playbook — what your fail report actually shows, the paperwork, and an evidence-cited rebuild plan — then re-baseline with the free INBDE practice test before you commit the new fee.
How we calculate this
Every rule below is quoted from the 2026 INBDE Candidate Guide(JCNDE, "Updated: 08/04/2026"), printed page 21 ("Retesting Policy and Additional Eligibility Considerations") unless noted. The calculator applies them in order:
- 1. The 60-day wait and annual cap. "Candidates must wait a minimum of 60 days between each unsuccessful INBDE attempt, with a maximum of four (4) such administrations permitted during any one-year period of time." With three or fewer recent attempts, your earliest date is your most recent attempt plus 60 days.
- 2. The fifth-attempt rule. "If a candidate completes the maximum four (4) administrations during any 12-month period, they will not have an opportunity to take a fifth attempt until 12 months have passed from their first testing attempt within the aforementioned 12-month period. The restrictions indicated in this bullet point are not subject to appeal." With four attempts in the past 12 months, your earliest date is 12 months from the first of those attempts (or the 60-day mark, whichever is later).
- 3. The 5 Years/5 Attempts rule. "Under the JCNDE's 5 Years/5 Attempts Eligibility Rule, candidates must pass the examination within a) five years of their first attempt or b) five examination attempts, whichever comes first." Past that limit: "Subsequent to the fifth year or fifth attempt, candidates may test once every six (6) months after their most recent examination attempt. The restrictions indicated in this bullet point are not subject to appeal."
- 4. The fees."A new application and fee must be submitted before each testing attempt" (CG p. 26). The 2026 examination fee is $890, and candidates from non-CODA-accredited programs pay an additional $435 processing fee (CG p. 22) — $1,325 per attempt for most internationally trained candidates.
- 5. The eligibility window. After processing, "that candidate is eligible to test for a six-month period, unless other considerations — including retest rules and program requirements — limit the eligibility period to a shorter timeframe" (CG p. 26). That is why the booking note says to schedule ahead of your eligibility date rather than on it.
Why other pages disagree with this one
The post-limit cadence changed between guide editions. The 2025 Candidate Guide (updated 12/11/2024) said candidates past the 5 Years/5 Attempts limit could test once every 12 months; the 2026 Candidate Guide (updated 08/04/2026) says once every 6 months. Any page still saying "once every 12 months" is quoting the superseded edition. This calculator follows the current guide.
One definition that governs all of the above, from the same page: an examination attempt is "any examination administration where the candidate has been seated at a computer at a test center, and electronically agreed to the confidentiality statement presented at the beginning of the examination."
Frequently asked questions
- How long do you have to wait to retake the INBDE?
- Per the 2026 INBDE Candidate Guide (p. 21), candidates must wait a minimum of 60 days between each unsuccessful attempt, with a maximum of four administrations in any one-year period. After four administrations in a 12-month period, a fifth attempt is possible only after 12 months have passed from the first attempt in that window. These restrictions are not subject to appeal.
- How many times can you take the INBDE?
- Under the JCNDE's 5 Years/5 Attempts Eligibility Rule, candidates must pass within five years of their first attempt or five examination attempts, whichever comes first. After the fifth year or fifth attempt, the 2026 Candidate Guide allows testing once every six months after the most recent attempt — a change from the 2025 guide, which said once every 12 months. INBDE attempts are counted independently of any prior NBDE attempts.
- How much does it cost to retake the INBDE?
- The Candidate Guide states that a new application and fee must be submitted before each testing attempt (p. 26). The 2026 examination fee is $890, and candidates from non-CODA-accredited programs — most internationally trained dentists — pay an additional $435 processing fee, so a retake is $1,325 before study materials and travel.
- Does this calculator tell me when I am authorized to test?
- No. It computes an eligibility date under the JCNDE's published rules from the dates you enter. The JCNDE's own determination of your eligibility controls, your application must be processed before you can schedule, and the guide states its retest restrictions are not subject to appeal. Confirm your situation against the current Candidate Guide and your DENTPIN account.
Sources used
2026 INBDE Candidate Guide (JCNDE, updated 08/04/2026)
Retesting Policy and Additional Eligibility Considerations (p. 21), examination fees (p. 22), and the re-application requirement and six-month eligibility window (p. 26).
CG-20252025 INBDE Candidate Guide (JCNDE, updated 12/11/2024 — superseded)
Cited only to date a rule change: this superseded edition said candidates past the 5 Years/5 Attempts limit could test once every 12 months; the 2026 edition says once every 6 months.
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