# California RDH Law and Ethics Exam: Format, Fees, and the 2025 Outline > The California RDH Law and Ethics Exam in one page: 60 items in 90 minutes, the real 75% rule (16 CCR §1121(c)), $200 + $32.07 fees, the official 2025 outline, the application flow, and the stale-prep traps. URL: https://dentovio.com/rdh Markdown: https://dentovio.com/rdh/index.html.md Last verified: 2026-07-24 ## The exam at a glance - Official name: Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH) Laws and Ethics Written Examination, run by the Dental Hygiene Board of California (DHBC) through PSI test centers. - Format: 60 multiple-choice items (50 scored + 10 unscored pretest) in 90 minutes, computer-based, in person only. - Passing standard: 75% minimum, fixed by regulation at 16 CCR §1121(c). - Fees: $200 DHBC application + $32.07 to PSI per sitting, retakes included. - Eligibility window: 1 year from being deemed eligible; miss it and the application is deemed abandoned. - Results: on-site at the PSI center; the license issues only after DOJ and FBI background clearance. - Published pass rates: 80–89% across FY2018–22 (2023 sunset review — the only published source). ## The official 2025 outline - **1A Informed Consent and Patient Rights — 20%**: Consent for treatment, patient rights, capacity, minors - **1B Patient Privacy and Protected Health Information — 9%**: HIPAA, California confidentiality rules, PHI handling, telehealth privacy - **1C Limits to Confidentiality and Mandated Reporting — 6%**: Child, dependent-adult, and elder abuse reporting duties - **2A Scope of Practice, Professional Conduct, and License Requirements — 20%**: What an RDH may do under which supervision level, unprofessional conduct, licensing duties - **2B Professional Practices — 15%**: Record-keeping, billing and fees, advertising rules - **3A Obligation to the Patient — 20%**: Duty of care, patient-first obligations, referral duties - **3B Obligations within the Professional Role — 10%**: Conflicts of interest, practitioner impairment, colleague misconduct Area totals: Consent, Confidentiality, and Patient Privacy 35%; Standards for Professional Dental Hygiene Practice 35%; Obligation to the Patient and Professional Role 30%. ## Stale-prep traps (what changed 2024–2026) - The exam outline changed in 2025; prep keyed to the pre-2025 framing and weights describes an exam that no longer exists. - CA-program graduates applying within 3 years of graduation need no clinical exam (AB 1257, BPC §1917(b)(2), eff. 1/1/2024) — but the Law and Ethics exam is never waived, including for licensure by credential (BPC §1917.1(a)(4)). - BLS certification is now a statutory licensure requirement (BPC §1917(g)). - The biennial renewal fee is $300, not the $160 in older materials (raised July 1, 2022). - The "$125 application fee" circulating in AI answers appears in no DHBC document; the application fee is $200. ## Free resources - [Free RDH Law and Ethics practice test](https://dentovio.com/rdh/free-practice-test/index.html.md) - [How to pass the California RDH Law and Ethics Exam](https://dentovio.com/guide/california-dental-hygiene-law-ethics-exam/how-to-pass/index.html.md) - [Dentovio's RDH prep product](https://dentovio.com/products/california-rdh-law-ethics/index.html.md) ## FAQ ### How many questions is the California RDH Law and Ethics Exam, and how long is it? 60 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes — 50 scored and 10 unscored pretest items — computer-based at a PSI test center. The Candidate Information Bulletin's own text hedges the pretest count as "five to ten" in one place, so answer every question as if it counts. ### What score do I need to pass the RDH Law and Ethics Exam? 75% minimum, set by regulation at 16 CCR §1121(c). Unlike the dentist exam — which uses a criterion-referenced passing score, not a fixed percentage — the hygiene exam really does have a fixed 75% rule. ### How much does the exam cost in 2026? A $200 application fee to the Dental Hygiene Board of California plus $32.07 to PSI for each sitting, first attempt and retakes alike. The "$125 application fee" that circulates in AI answers does not appear in any DHBC document. ### What does the exam cover? The official 2025 outline has three areas: Consent, Confidentiality, and Patient Privacy (35%); Standards for Professional Dental Hygiene Practice (35%); and Obligation to the Patient and Professional Role (30%). The three 20% blocks — informed consent, scope of practice, and obligation to the patient — are 60% of the exam on their own. ### Do out-of-state RDHs applying by credential have to take this exam? Yes. Licensure by credential waives the clinical exam, but BPC §1917.1(a)(4) still requires passing the California Law and Ethics examination. Every route into California hygiene licensure includes this exam. ### What is the pass rate? Published RDH pass rates ran 80–89% across FY2018–22 — 82%, 80%, 89%, and 85% by year — per the Legislature's 2023 sunset review of the DHBC, the only published source. Roughly one candidate in six or seven still fails a sitting. ### Is there a waiting period before retaking the exam? No waiting period appears anywhere in the regulations — 16 CCR Division 11, Article 6 imposes none for the written exam. The DHBC does not publish the retake application's processing mechanics, so confirm the steps with the board; the only fee the bulletin guarantees you pay again is PSI's $32.07. ## Primary sources - **RDH-CIB** — [PSI Candidate Information Bulletin — RDH Laws and Ethics Written Examination (January 2026)](https://www.dhbc.ca.gov/formspubs/candidate_handbook.pdf) - **DHBC-LAWS-2025** — [DHBC 2025 Laws and Regulations book (Dental Hygiene Practice Act + 16 CCR Division 11, including §1121)](https://www.dhbc.ca.gov/lawsregs/new_dhbc_2025_laws_and_regulations_book.pdf) - **DHBC-CHECKLIST** — [DHBC “How To Qualify for a RDH License” informational and application checklists ($200 fee, process flowchart)](https://www.dhbc.ca.gov/formspubs/rdh_informational.pdf) - **BPC-1917** — [Business and Professions Code §1917 — RDH licensure requirements (leginfo)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=1917.) - **DHBC-SUNSET-2023** — [Joint Sunset Review Background Paper — Dental Hygiene Board of California (2023; pass rates, fees, English-only)](https://abp.assembly.ca.gov/sites/abp.assembly.ca.gov/files/3-16%203.%20Dental%20Hygiene%20Board%20-%20Sunset%20Background%20Paper%20(2023).pdf) ## Disclosures - Dentovio is an independent publisher. It is not the Dental Hygiene Board of California, PSI, or an official government service, and this page is not legal advice. - This page summarizes publicly available California dental hygiene law as of the last verified date shown. Laws change. Confirm current requirements with the Dental Hygiene Board of California 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.