D.C. would join an interstate agreement for faster dental licensing

Dental boards would use a shared application and verified records to review requests for faster licenses. The route would cover dentists and dental hygienists who hold a member-state license and meet the agreement’s eligibility rules. Applicants would need approval from their home dental board and the board where they want to practice. Applicants would pay any required fees. The agreement would activate once at least five states enact it.

Dental boards would screen dentists’ education, exam results, and professional history. Dentist applicants would need approved dental schooling, an unrestricted member-state dental license, and any required knowledge of the destination state’s dental laws. Applicants would need to pass the national written exam and the ADEX licensing exam. Instead of ADEX, they could have at least five years in practice and an accepted regional or state hands-on exam passed before January 1, 2024. Non-traffic convictions and certain other criminal court outcomes, including court supervision or deferred judgments, would disqualify applicants. Active licensing or law enforcement investigations would also disqualify applicants. Past license discipline would bar applicants, except for unpaid fees or unfinished continuing education. Dentists could not have past restrictions on their permission to handle controlled drugs.

Dental boards would screen dental hygienists’ education, exam results, and professional history. Dental hygienist applicants would need approved dental hygiene schooling, an unrestricted member-state dental hygiene license, and any required knowledge of the destination state’s dental laws. Applicants would need to pass the national written exam and the ADEX licensing exam. Instead of ADEX, they could have at least five years in practice and an accepted regional or state hands-on exam passed before January 1, 2024. Non-traffic convictions and certain other criminal court outcomes, including court supervision or deferred judgments, would disqualify applicants. Active licensing or law enforcement investigations would also disqualify applicants. Past license discipline would bar applicants, except for unpaid fees or unfinished continuing education.

Member dental boards would report license penalties and active investigations to the shared system. Dentists and hygienists using the agreement would have to follow the dental laws where they practice. Boards could also share nonpublic complaints and conduct joint investigations. Investigation records would stay private unless state law required disclosure. If a home-state license were revoked, suspended, or surrendered to avoid discipline, other licenses issued through the agreement would automatically take the same status.

The shared licensing program would waive its fee for eligible military applicants. The exemption would cover eligible dentists and hygienists on active duty and eligible spouses recognized as military dependents. Separate state fee waivers would depend on each state’s law. The program’s fee exemption would last through one year after the service member leaves military service. D.C.’s law would require mayoral approval or a veto override, followed by 30 days of congressional review.