California RDA licensure · Dental Board of California
The California RDA exam, in plain terms.
The California RDA exam — officially the Registered Dental Assistant Combined Written and Law and Ethics Examination — is a 125-item, 3-hour test from the Dental Board of California (DBC), administered by PSI. It is scored pass/fail against a criterion-referenced standard (16 CCR §1031), there is no practical exam, and every eligibility pathway runs through it.
Last verified: July 24, 2026 · Primary sources below
Reviewed by Mahtab Mansour, DDS on July 24, 2026.
The exam at a glance
- 125 items in 3 hours — 100 scored plus 25 unscored pretest items, computer-based at PSI test centers.
- Pass/fail, not 75% — a criterion-referenced standard set by the modified Angoff method, 16 CCR §1031. The fixed percentage was repealed in 2022.
- No practical exam — the hands-on RDA exam was eliminated; this written test is the only examination requirement.
- English only — no translated form is offered.
Fees, windows, and outcomes
$120
DBC application fee, filed through BreEZe
$46.59
PSI fee per sitting — confirm in your current candidate bulletin
2 years
Eligibility window from the Board's receipt of your application
72%
Passed in the Board's June 2026 report (263 candidates)
Pass rates from the Dental Board of California's published monthly examination statistics. In the June 2026 report, board-approved-program candidates passed at 79%, work-experience-pathway candidates at 62%, and repeat testers at 38%.
Official 2023 content outline
What the exam covers, area by area
The Board's 2023 outline, built from an OPES occupational analysis, splits the exam into four areas. Dental Procedures is half the test on its own, and the regulation-anchored Areas 3 and 4 together are another 35% — so rule-based content is more than a third of your score.
| Code | Area or subarea | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Assessment and Diagnostic Records | 15% |
| 1A | Patient Information and Assessment | 8% |
| 1B | Diagnostic Tests and Records | 7% |
| 2 | Dental Procedures | 50% |
| 2A | Treatment Preparation | 15% |
| 2B | Direct and Indirect Restorations | 10% |
| 2C | Preventative and Aesthetic Procedures | 10% |
| 2D | Patient Education | 10% |
| 2E | Specialty Procedures | 5% |
| 3 | Infection Control and Health and Safety | 25% |
| 3A | Patient Safety and Prevention of Disease Transmission | 15% |
| 3B | Equipment Disinfection and Cross-Contamination Prevention | 10% |
| 4 | Laws and Regulations | 10% |
The Board's own reference list for candidates is short: the California Dental Practice Act (BPC §1600 et seq.), the Board's regulations (16 CCR §1000 et seq.), the Minimum Standards for Infection Control (16 CCR §1005), and Cal/OSHA bloodborne pathogen standards (8 CCR §5193).
Application flow
From eligibility to exam day
1. Qualify under one pathway
A board-approved program, 15 months and 1,280 hours of certified work experience, DANB CDA certification, an alternative program, a preceptorship, or the RDH crossover route (BPC §1752.1).
2. Gather the course certificates
Dental Practice Act and infection control within 2 years; coronal polishing and sealants within 5 years; radiation safety within 10 years; current in-person BLS.
3. Apply to the Dental Board
File through BreEZe with the $120 application fee. Your 2-year eligibility window starts when the Board receives the application.
4. Schedule with PSI
Register and schedule at a PSI test center. The examination fee is $46.59 per sitting — confirm the current amount in your candidate bulletin.
5. Sit the exam
125 items in 3 hours, computer-based and in English only. Results are provided at the test site.
The clock that matters: pass within two years of the Board receiving your application or it is abandoned — new application, new $120, and fresh certificates for anything whose recency clock has run out. Failed a sitting? Contact PSI to reschedule, typically within about 7 to 10 business days. There is no cap on attempts inside the window.
Stale-prep traps
Where older study materials now fail you
There is no practical exam
The RDA practical exam was suspended in 2017 and later eliminated. BPC §1752.1 requires written evidence of eligibility plus this written exam — nothing else. Anything telling you to practice on a typodont is preparing you for a test that no longer exists.
It is one exam, not two
The separate general written and law and ethics exams merged into one combined exam in 2018. Resources that have you booking two written exams describe a retired system.
It is 125 items, not 140 or 150
The current structure is 125 multiple-choice items — 100 scored plus 25 unscored pretest — in 3 hours. Older item counts belong to a previous format.
The fixed 75% rule is gone
Scoring is criterion-referenced pass/fail under 16 CCR §1031, set by the modified Angoff method; the fixed percentage was repealed in 2022. A "75" on a score report is a placeholder code for a pass, not a percentage you needed.
Pre-2025 duty charts are unsafe
The Board's Table of Permitted Duties was restructured effective January 1, 2025. Any supervision-level or delegable-duty chart from before that date can now give you the wrong answer.
Dentist and RDH exam rules do not apply
The dentist Law and Ethics exam and the RDH Laws and Ethics exam (Dental Hygiene Board of California) are different exams with different outlines and different scoring rules. Do not carry their format facts across.
Eligibility pathways · BPC §1752.1
Six ways in — and every one of them ends at this exam
BPC §1752.1, as re-enacted by SB 1453 and operative July 1, 2025, sets the routes to eligibility. DANB CDA certification qualifies you to sit for the exam; it does not exempt you from it.
Board-approved program
Graduate from a Dental Board–approved educational program in registered dental assisting.
Work experience
At least 15 months AND a minimum of 1,280 hours of satisfactory work experience performing dental assistant duties, certified by your supervising dentist.
DANB CDA
Current, valid Certified Dental Assistant certification from the Dental Assisting National Board. It qualifies you to take this exam — it does not exempt you from it.
Alternative program
At least 500 hours of didactic and laboratory coursework plus at least 300 hours of clinical chairside experience under a licensed dentist.
Preceptorship
At least 500 hours of clinical chairside work experience supervised by a preceptor dentist plus at least 300 hours of dental-assisting coursework.
RDH crossover
A California Registered Dental Hygienist may apply for RDA licensure by passing this combined exam.
Course certificates
Each one has its own clock
Recency limits count back from your application date. Let one age out and you retake the course before you can apply.
| Certificate | Recency limit |
|---|---|
| California Dental Practice Act (2-hour course) | Within 2 years |
| Infection control (8-hour course) | Within 2 years |
| Coronal polishing | Within 5 years |
| Pit and fissure sealants | Within 5 years |
| Radiation safety | Within 10 years |
| Basic Life Support (BLS) | Current, with a live in-person skills session |
Studying without a program?
A large share of RDA candidates qualify through work experience or a preceptorship rather than a school program — which means no instructor, no syllabus, and no mock exams. The Board's June 2026 report puts that group at 62% passing against 79% for board-approved-program candidates, and repeat testers at 38%. Structure is the variable you can actually change.
Free first, paid if it helps
Start with the free practice test. The full prep is $69 — $49 once you finish it.
The free test samples all four content areas in their tested proportions and shows you a weak-area map against the official 2023 outline. The paid prep adds source-cited modules, a question bank with rationales, a full-length practice exam, and review sheets — with 180 days of access. The content is source-cited and was signed off by Mahtab Mansour, DDS on July 24, 2026. There is no pass guarantee.
Exam FAQ
California RDA exam questions, answered
Is there still a separate California RDA law and ethics exam?
No. The separate RDA General Written Examination and RDA Law and Ethics Examination merged in 2018 into a single Registered Dental Assistant Combined Written and Law and Ethics Examination. Law-and-ethics material is now one weighted area — Area 4, 10% — of that combined test. If a prep resource tells you to book two written exams, it is describing a system that no longer exists.
Is there a practical (hands-on) exam for California RDA licensure?
No. The RDA practical exam was suspended in 2017 and later eliminated. BPC §1752.1 requires written evidence of an eligibility pathway plus this written exam — nothing else. Any study material telling you to practice on a typodont is preparing you for an exam that does not exist.
How many questions is the California RDA exam, and how long is it?
125 multiple-choice items — 100 scored and 25 unscored pretest items you cannot identify while testing — in 3 hours, computer-based at a PSI test center, in English only. Older materials citing 140 or 150 items describe a retired structure.
Do I need 75% to pass the RDA exam?
No. The exam is criterion-referenced: the passing standard is set psychometrically with the modified Angoff method under 16 CCR §1031, and results are reported pass/fail only. The old fixed 75% cut score was repealed in 2022. A "75" appearing on a score report is a placeholder code for a pass, not a percentage you had to reach.
How much does the exam cost?
A $120 application fee to the Dental Board of California, filed through BreEZe, plus a $46.59 PSI examination fee each time you schedule — retakes included. Vendor fees change, so confirm the current PSI amount in your current candidate bulletin before you pay.
How do I qualify to sit for the exam?
Through one of the pathways in BPC §1752.1 as re-enacted by SB 1453 (operative July 1, 2025): a board-approved program; 15 months and at least 1,280 hours of certified work experience; current DANB CDA certification; an alternative program of at least 500 didactic and laboratory hours plus 300 clinical chairside hours; a preceptorship of at least 500 clinical chairside hours plus 300 didactic hours; or the California RDH crossover route. Every pathway still requires this exam.
What is the pass rate on the California RDA exam?
The Dental Board's June 2026 statistics report covers 263 candidates and shows 72% passing overall. Board-approved-program candidates passed at 79%, work-experience-pathway candidates at 62%, and repeat testers at 38%. How you qualified correlates strongly with how you do.
How soon can I retake the exam if I fail?
Contact PSI to reschedule — a retake can typically be scheduled within about 7 to 10 business days — and pay the PSI fee again. There is no cap on attempts inside your eligibility window, which runs 2 years from when the Dental Board receives your application. Miss that window and the application is abandoned: you reapply, pay the $120 again, and refresh any course certificate whose recency clock has run out.
Primary sources
Last verified July 24, 2026. The material rules on this page trace to these primary sources:
- Dental Board of California — RDA Combined Written and Law and Ethics Examination Outline (2023 OPES occupational analysis)
- Dental Board of California — RDA licensure applicant page (pathways, required certificates, application flow)
- Dental Board of California — RDA examination statistics, monthly reports (2026 series)
- Dental Board of California — RDA examination statistics, June 2026 report (263 candidates, 72% passed)
- Business and Professions Code §1752.1 — RDA eligibility pathways, required course certificates, and the written examination requirement, as re-enacted by SB 1453 (operative July 1, 2025)
- Dental Board of California — Table of Dental Auxiliary Duties Delegable by Supervising Dentist (effective January 1, 2025)
- PSI — Candidate Information Bulletin and test-taker portal for the California RDA written examination (125 items, 3 hours, exam fee, scheduling and retakes)
Dentovio is an independent publisher. It is not the Dental Board of California, PSI, or an official government service, and this page is not legal advice.
This page summarizes publicly available California dental assisting law and official examination information as of the last verified date shown. Laws, fees, and exam logistics change. Confirm current requirements with the Dental Board of California and your current PSI candidate bulletin before acting.
This page was drafted with AI assistance, and every rule on it was verified against the primary sources listed here. The study content behind it was reviewed and signed off by Mahtab Mansour, DDS on July 24, 2026, with each approval bound to that file's exact content digest.