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15 questions · Instant explanations · No signup
Try 15 original questions across all four exam areas. Get an explanation after every answer and a study map when you finish.
Last verified 2026-07-24
Finish all 15 questions to earn the $49 full-course price (regular $69). No minimum score. No email required.
No signup, no email wall — every question grades instantly with its rationale, and your score and weak-area map appear when you answer the last question.
The exam behind the practice test
The Registered Dental Assistant Combined Written and Law and Ethics Examination is run by the Dental Board of California and administered by PSI. It has been one combined exam since 2018 — there is no separate law-and-ethics test to book.
| Exam fact | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Questions | 125 multiple-choice — 100 scored plus 25 unscored pretest items you cannot identify while testing |
| Time | 3 hours, computer-based at a PSI test center, English only |
| Passing score | Criterion-referenced pass/fail set with the modified Angoff method (16 CCR §1081) — there is no fixed 75% |
| Practical exam | None — suspended in 2017 and later eliminated |
| Latest pass data | June 2026: 72% passed overall — 79% of board-approved-program candidates, 62% on the work-experience pathway, 38% of repeat testers |
Month-by-month results live on the RDA pass-rates page; format, fees, and eligibility pathways on the exam overview.
The RDA practical examination was suspended in 2017 and later eliminated. BPC §1752.1 requires written evidence of an eligibility pathway plus this written exam — nothing else. If a study resource tells you to practice on a typodont, it describes an exam that no longer exists; the written Combined Written and Law and Ethics Examination is the whole test, and this page's 15 questions are practice for it.
Weight your study time the way the exam weights the areas. Dental Procedures is half the test; infection control is another quarter.
| Area | Weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Assessment and Diagnostic Records | 15% | Medical and dental histories, vital signs, charting existing conditions, radiographs and other diagnostic records |
| 2. Dental Procedures | 50% | Chairside procedure knowledge — setups, isolation, matrices, provisionals, sealants, polishing, patient education, and specialty assisting |
| 3. Infection Control and Health and Safety | 25% | Standard precautions, PPE, sharps handling, instrument processing and sterilization monitoring, waterlines — anchored in 16 CCR §1005 and Cal/OSHA's bloodborne pathogen standard (8 CCR §5193) |
| 4. Laws and Regulations | 10% | Dental Practice Act rules, licensure requirements, supervision levels and permitted duties, consent and confidentiality, mandated reporting, unprofessional conduct |
The Board points candidates to the California Dental Practice Act (BPC §1600 et seq.), its regulations (16 CCR §1000 et seq.), the Minimum Standards for Infection Control (16 CCR §1005), and Cal/OSHA's bloodborne pathogen standard (8 CCR §5193). For Area 4, study from the permitted-duties rules effective January 1, 2025 — any pre-2025 duties chart is unsafe. The free how-to-pass guide turns the outline into a study plan.
This earlier walkthrough uses a different selection: two questions from each outline area — read in full, answered, and the trap behind every tempting wrong option explained — plus the exam format in 60 seconds, in 10 min 10 sec with a chapter marker for every section.
The California one. Only the Dental Board of California issues the California RDA license, and BPC §1752.1 requires this combined written exam for it. Many results for "RDA practice test" prepare you for other credentials that share the acronym — before studying from any practice test, check that it names the Dental Board of California and its 2023 outline. A current DANB CDA is one eligibility pathway to sit this exam, not a substitute for it. If your goal is working as an RDA in California, this Dental Board exam is the one to study for.
Practice-test FAQ
Yes. All 15 questions, the instant per-question explanations, the score, and the weak-area map are free. There is no signup to start and no email required to see your results.
No. Dentovio uses original exam-style questions written against the Dental Board's published 2023 examination outline. It does not reproduce official, live, recalled, or confidential Dental Board or PSI exam items.
All ten subareas of the official 2023 outline: 2 assessment/records questions, 7 procedures, 4 infection-control/safety, and 2 law questions. This rounded sample allocation is not the exact exam weighting. Every answer includes its rationale and trap; the result helps you choose a study area, not predict a pass.
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.
No. The exam is criterion-referenced: the passing standard is set psychometrically with the modified Angoff method under 16 CCR §1081, and results are reported pass/fail only. The former fixed cut score was replaced by the Board's dental-assisting examination rulemaking effective November 20, 2024, and the Board does not publish a fixed passing percentage.
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.
Study the four areas of the Dental Board's official 2023 outline in their tested weights: Dental Procedures (50%), Infection Control and Health and Safety (25%), Assessment and Diagnostic Records (15%), and Laws and Regulations (10%). The Board points candidates to the California Dental Practice Act (BPC §1600 et seq.), its regulations (16 CCR §1000 et seq.), the Minimum Standards for Infection Control (16 CCR §1005), and Cal/OSHA's bloodborne pathogen standard (8 CCR §5193). Use the permitted-duties table effective January 1, 2025 — any pre-2025 duties chart is unsafe to study from.
This practice test targets the Registered Dental Assistant Combined Written and Law and Ethics Examination run by the Dental Board of California. The dentist Law and Ethics exam and the RDH Laws and Ethics exam (Dental Hygiene Board of California) are separate exams with different outlines and different scoring rules.
You see your score, an area-by-area breakdown against the official 2023 outline, a full question review, and a retest of just the questions you missed. Finishing also unlocks the $49 diagnostic-completion price for the full prep instead of the regular $69 price.
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.