# The ADEX 18-month window does not include Florida's Laws and Rules exams > The 18-month completion window (64B5-2.013(1)(b); 64B5-2.0135(3)) governs the ADEX clinical examination parts. The Laws and Rules exams are standalone computer-based exams — still the final gate on your licensure file, but not a series component that resets the clinical clock. Published: 2026-07-26 Last verified: 2026-07-26 Review status: Credentialed re-verification pending — cited to primary sources; not represented as reviewer-approved. ## What changed Nothing in the rules — but a common claim deserves a correction. Florida's licensure rules require "all parts of the ADEX" to be completed within **18 months** of starting any portion (Fla. Admin. Code R. 64B5-2.013(1)(b) for dentists; R. 64B5-2.0135(3) for hygienists). Both provisions sit under the **clinical examination** framework, and the ADEX Candidate Guide for Exam Year 2026 lists the 18-month rule's series components as the clinical parts — while listing the Florida Laws and Rules exams separately as standalone computer-based examinations. What is true: the Laws and Rules exam is required on **every** Florida licensure pathway, so it is the final gate on the licensure file. Vendor registration credits also expire **two years** from the original payment date, and each retake is a full-fee sitting ($135 dentist / $105 hygienist). ## Why it matters for exam prep - Candidates finishing their clinical parts near the 18-month deadline sometimes panic-schedule the Laws and Rules exam on bad information. Plan it deliberately: it gates your license, not your clinical-series clock. - The real timing pressures are the application file, the two-year registration credit, and your employment start date. ## What to purge from old summaries - "All ADEX components including Laws and Rules must be done within 18 months or you retake everything." - Any study plan that treats a Laws and Rules failure as resetting the clinical examination series. ## Primary source - Fla. Admin. Code R. 64B5-2.013 — Florida Dental Examinations. - Fla. Admin. Code R. 64B5-2.0135 — Dental Hygiene Examination. - ADEX Candidate Guide, Exam Year 2026, Version 20251024.