Florida Dental License Reciprocity for Out-of-State Dentists

Florida does not offer dental license reciprocity with any other state, and it does not issue licenses by endorsement or credentials either. Every dentist who wants to practice in Florida has to go through the examination-based licensure process in Section 466.006, Florida Statutes, no matter how long they have practiced elsewhere.¹ The one real concession for established practitioners is that Florida will accept passing scores from the ADEX clinical exam taken in another state, so you do not have to sit for a new clinical exam here. Everything else, including the national board, a Florida-specific laws exam, background screening, document verification, and fees, still applies in full.

What Florida Accepts Instead of Reciprocity

The Board states it plainly on its own website: “The State of Florida does not have reciprocity with any state and does not issue licenses by endorsement or credentials.”¹ Instead, Florida offers a narrower accommodation inside its normal examination pathway. If you already passed the American Dental Licensing Examination (ADEX) in another state after October 1, 2011, you can submit those scores rather than retake the clinical exam in Florida.²

This is the route most out-of-state dentists use. It is not a shortcut so much as a sensible recognition that passing the same clinical exam twice would be pointless. For the standard new-license pathway, the Board specifically lists only the ADEX. Other regional exams such as CRDTS, SRTA, and WREB appear on the Board’s materials only in connection with military-related endorsement, not general out-of-state licensure.¹ If your clinical exam was something other than ADEX, you will likely need to take the ADEX in Florida.

Education That Qualifies You to Apply

You must hold a D.D.S. or D.M.D. from a dental school accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) or another accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, and you must be at least 18 years old. Transcripts have to be sent directly from your school to the Florida Board of Dentistry.²

If your dental school was not CODA-accredited, including most international programs, you are not eligible to sit for the required exams until you complete additional U.S. training. Florida recognizes two routes:¹

An advanced standing program at a CODA-accredited American dental school, ending in a D.D.S. or D.M.D. from that school. These typically run two to two and a half years.
At least two consecutive academic years in a full-time CODA-accredited supplemental general dentistry program. The program must provide clinical and classroom instruction at the same level as an accredited D.D.S. or D.M.D. program. An advanced specialty education program does not satisfy this requirement.

Before the Board clears you to schedule either exam, you also have to submit a separate credentials review application showing you completed one of these pathways.²

The Three Exams You Still Need

National Board Dental Examination

You must have passed the National Board Dental Examination (NBDE) Parts I and II, or the Integrated National Board Dental Examination (INBDE), which replaced them. Part I was discontinued in July 2020 and Part II in August 2022, so newer graduates will have INBDE scores. Older NBDE scores remain valid.² Scores must come directly from the American Dental Association. The Board does not accept photocopies or self-reported scores.¹

ADEX Clinical Examination

This is the exam the out-of-state pathway lets you skip retaking. Submit your ADEX scores from the other state if they were earned after October 1, 2011, and have the scores transferred directly from the testing organization.² If the scores are less than 365 days old at the time you apply, that is the end of it. Older scores are still valid, but they trigger the practice history requirement described below.

Florida Laws and Rules Examination

Every applicant takes this one. There is no out-of-state substitute because it covers Florida’s own dental practice statutes and administrative rules. The Commission on Dental Competency Assessments administers it, and the fee is $135.³

The Five-Year Practice Rule for Older ADEX Scores

If your ADEX scores are more than 365 days old when you apply, Florida wants proof that you have actually been practicing in the meantime. Specifically, you must show:²

Consecutive full-time practice in another U.S. state, territory, D.C., or Puerto Rico during the five years immediately before your Florida application date.
If you have been licensed for fewer than five years, full-time practice from the date of your initial licensure through your application date.
A currently valid, active dental license in good standing in another jurisdiction.

Full-time practice means at least 1,200 hours per year, every year, for the qualifying period.¹ Those hours can combine direct patient care, full-time teaching at a CODA-accredited dental school, and enrollment in a CODA-accredited postgraduate program. A single year below 1,200 hours can disqualify you, so dentists coming off a sabbatical, parental leave, or any extended break need to check this threshold carefully before relying on the out-of-state ADEX pathway.

Background Screening and CPR

As of July 1, 2025, every health care practitioner applying for initial Florida licensure must complete a fingerprint-based criminal background screening through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.⁴ Fingerprints are submitted electronically through an approved Livescan provider, with results typically reaching the Department of Health within 24 to 72 hours.⁵ The Livescan fee is set by the provider you choose.

You also need current CPR certification at the basic life support level before the license will issue. The certification must cover one-rescuer and two-rescuer CPR for adults, children, and infants, plus use of an automated external defibrillator and bag-valve masks. The American Heart Association, American Red Cross, and other organizations with equivalent requirements are accepted.¹

Documents and Fees

Pulling the paperwork together is usually the slowest part. Plan to collect:

Official verification of licensure, including any disciplinary history, from every state or jurisdiction where you have ever held a dental license. If a state’s online verification includes disciplinary actions, the Board will accept that.⁶
Official dental school transcripts sent directly from your CODA-accredited school.
National Board scores sent directly from the ADA.
ADEX scores transferred directly from the testing organization.
A copy of your current CPR card or certificate.
If your ADEX scores are more than 365 days old, employer affidavits or verification documenting your annual practice hours.

The application fee bundled with the initial license fee is $305, nonrefundable.⁷ Add $135 for the Laws and Rules exam and the Livescan provider’s fingerprinting fee, which is typically under $100. Budget around $500 to $550 for the licensing process itself, before transcript and score transfer fees charged by outside institutions.

How Long It Takes

Florida law requires the Board to conduct an initial review of your application within 30 days of receiving it.¹ That is a review deadline, not a decision deadline. If anything is missing, the Board sends a deficiency notice and the clock pauses until you supply the missing item.

In practice, total time from submission to license issuance is driven almost entirely by how fast third parties send verification documents. Dental schools, other state boards, and the ADA each move at their own pace. Requesting every verification and score transfer four to six weeks before you submit the application is the single most useful thing you can do to shorten the timeline.

After You Are Licensed

Florida dental licenses renew every two years.⁸ Each cycle requires at least 30 hours of continuing education in dental subjects, including a minimum of two hours on the safe and effective prescribing of controlled substances.⁹ Florida also requires courses on topics like prevention of medical errors and domestic violence recognition under the broader health practitioner renewal rules.

Two things are worth knowing because the Florida license alone does not cover them. If you prescribe controlled substances, you need a separate DEA registration tied to your Florida practice address, filed on DEA Form 224 for a $888 three-year fee.¹⁰¹¹ If you administer sedation, you need a separate sedation permit from the Board for the relevant category (general anesthesia and deep sedation, conscious sedation, or pediatric conscious sedation), tied to a specific practice location, before you can sedate any patient.¹² Apply for both as soon as your license is active, since neither can be used while the application is pending.

1
Florida Board of Dentistry. Dentist – Florida Board of Dentistry
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code Title XXXII Chapter 466 – Section 466.006
3
ADEXtesting.org. Florida Laws and Rules Exam
4
FL HealthSource. Screening Requirements
5
FL HealthSource. Background Screening FAQs
6
Florida Board of Dentistry. Process – Florida Board of Dentistry
7
Florida Board of Dentistry. Fees – Florida Board of Dentistry
8
Florida Board of Dentistry. Renewals – Florida Board of Dentistry
9
The 2025 Florida Statutes. Florida Code 466 – Section 466.0135
10
Drug Enforcement Administration. Registration – Diversion Control Division
11
Federal Register. Registration and Reregistration Fees for Controlled Substance and List I Chemical Registrants
12
FL HealthSource. Dental Sedation Permit