NY Dental License: Requirements, Residency, and Registration

To get a dental license in New York, you need a DDS or DMD from an accredited program, a one-year postdoctoral residency, a passing score on the written national board exam (INBDE), completion of two mandated training courses, and a Form 1 application filed with the Office of the Professions along with a $377 fee. Your dental school and your residency program have to send their own verification forms directly to the state. New York’s process is stricter than many states because the residency is required of every applicant, not offered as an alternative to a clinical exam.

Who Qualifies

Education Law Section 6604 sets the baseline. You must be at least 21 years old, and the department makes its own determination of good moral character, which includes reviewing criminal history and any professional discipline in other jurisdictions.¹

You must also be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. The Board of Regents can grant a three-year waiver to a noncitizen applicant who will practice in a federally designated dental health professions shortage area, with possible extensions of up to six additional years while the applicant pursues citizenship or permanent residency. That waiver is narrow: it applies only to shortage areas, and the Board decides case by case.¹

The Degree and Two Required Trainings

You need a doctoral degree in dentistry (DDS or DMD) from a program either registered by the State Education Department or accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation. The Commissioner’s Regulations at 8 NYCRR Part 61 govern what counts as acceptable professional study.¹

Two coursework requirements sit alongside the degree, and both must be done before you apply. The first is a state-approved course on identifying and reporting child abuse. This is a prerequisite, not something you can finish after applying.² The second is coursework on infection control and barrier precautions, covering HIV and hepatitis B transmission prevention. You attest to completing the infection control training on your application, and you have to redo it every four years for as long as you practice.³

The Postdoctoral Residency

This is the requirement that trips up applicants trained in other states. New York requires every dental license applicant to complete a postdoctoral general practice or specialty residency of at least one year, in a hospital or dental facility accredited for teaching by a national accrediting body approved by the department. The program has to include a formal outcome assessment of your competence to practice. It is not optional, and it is not interchangeable with a clinical licensing exam.¹

If your dental training was in a state that does not require a residency, you’ll need to complete one before New York will consider your file. Your residency director verifies completion on a separate form (Form 3) sent directly to the Office of the Professions.

The Written Exam

You also have to pass a written examination satisfactory to the state board. For applicants today, that is the Integrated National Board Dental Examination (INBDE), administered by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations. Results are reported as pass or fail; passing candidates do not receive a numerical score.⁴

One boundary to know: New York does not accept the ADEX dental examination for initial licensure. The ADEX testing organization lists New York among the jurisdictions that do not accept the exam.⁵ Older guides sometimes describe ADEX as a New York pathway, but that is out of date. The state relies on the mandatory residency plus the written national board exam instead of a standalone clinical licensing exam.

Application, Forms, and Fee

The application uses four numbered forms, and only one of them is yours to submit. The others must come directly from the institutions that hold the underlying records; the state will not accept them from you.

Form 1, Application for Licensure. You fill it out and submit it with the $377 fee. That figure breaks down as $135 for the application itself plus $242 for your first three-year registration period.
Form 2, Certification of Professional Education. Your dental school sends this directly to the Office of the Professions to certify your degree and academic credentials.
Form 3, Verification of Residency Training. The director of your residency program completes and submits this.
Form 4, Verification of Other Professional Licensure/Certification. Used to verify any licenses you hold in other states or to document examinations you’ve passed.

The $377 fee appears on both the Office of the Professions fee schedule and on the Form 1 application itself.⁶⁷

Once all components arrive, the department reviews the file. Processing time depends on application volume, and you can track which documents are still outstanding through the state’s online verification system. When the department approves your file, you receive a license number and a registration certificate authorizing you to practice.

Practicing Before the License Issues

If you’ve graduated but don’t yet hold a full license, Education Law Section 6605 offers two limited permits. A hospital or dental facility permit is available if you meet the educational qualifications for the licensing exam and have a bona fide job offer from an approved hospital or dental facility; a licensed supervising dentist must be on the premises whenever you provide services. A teaching permit is available to dentists not licensed in New York who are employed by a registered dental school to instruct and supervise clinical dentistry, and practice is limited to the school’s premises.⁸

A limited permit is valid for one year and renewable once. If you’re in a residency program, it can be renewed annually for the duration of the program. Each permit or renewal costs $105.

Dental school graduates entering an approved residency to satisfy their initial licensure requirement may not need a limited permit at all. The statute classifies them as exempt persons, but they must register with the department and pay a residency registration fee within 60 days of starting the program.⁸

After You’re Licensed: Registration and Continuing Education

Your first registration period runs three years, and the $242 for it is bundled into the $377 initial fee. To renew, you must complete 60 hours of continuing education each three-year period, at least 42 of which have to come from live courses rather than online or self-study formats.⁹

Several specific requirements sit on top of the 60 hours: a state-approved infection control course every four years, continuously maintained CPR certification, a one-time two-hour course on the oral health effects of tobacco, and a one-time jurisprudence and ethics course.

If you fall short on CE, the department can deny your renewal. It may instead offer a conditional registration that requires you to make up the deficiency, with additional education at the department’s discretion. The conditional registration fee matches the regular renewal fee and is paid on top of it. Practicing after being denied renewal for a CE shortfall can trigger formal disciplinary proceedings.¹⁰

1
New York State Senate. New York Education Law EDN 6604 – Requirements for a License as a Dentist
2
New York State Education Department. Mandated Training Related to Child Abuse
3
New York State Education Department. Mandated Training Related to Infection Control
4
Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations. INBDE Scores
5
American Board of Dental Examiners. Licensure Testing for the Dental Health Professions
6
New York State Education Department. Fees
7
New York State Education Department. Dentist Form 1 Application for Licensure
8
New York State Senate. New York Education Law EDN 6605 – Limited Permits
9
New York State Education Department. NYS Dentistry Continuing Education
10
New York State Education Department. Article 133, Dentist