What Dental License Fees Look Like Across States

A dental license in a new state costs more than the application fee on the board's homepage. Most boards charge separately for the application, the license itself, law exams, permits and renewals, and some prorate the license by birth date or by where you are in the renewal cycle. Then come the costs that no board lists: verifications from other states, fingerprinting, data bank queries and exam vendors.

Below are the fees we read in October 2026 on each board's fee page or rule. Boards change fees, sometimes mid-year, so confirm the current amount before paying. New York's pages say it plainly: "the fee due is the one in law when your application is received."

What does California charge dentists?

California's fee rule (16 CCR § 1021) lists:

• $525 to apply for licensure by credential under Bus. & Prof. Code § 1635.5;
• $650 for the initial license, prorated by birth date;
• $650 for the biennial renewal;
• $125 for the Law and Ethics exam application;
• $524 for a general anesthesia or moderate sedation permit, plus a $2,000 onsite inspection and evaluation;
• $350 for an additional office permit;
• $1,000 for a faculty Special Permit.

A California dentist applying by credential who also sedates can therefore owe $1,699 in board fees for the credential application, initial license and permit, and $3,699 once the inspection is added. California hygienists apply to a different board: the Dental Hygiene Board's licensure by credential application is $200, plus $500 if you ask it to review out-of-state anesthesia training for equivalence.

Does Illinois charge more for dentists licensed elsewhere?

Illinois sets fees in 68 Ill. Admin. Code § 1220.415:

• $250 to apply as a new dentist, but $750 for a dentist licensed in another jurisdiction;
• $100 to apply as a dental hygienist, $300 if licensed elsewhere;
• $300 for a dental specialist and $300 for a sedation permit;
• $250 for a restricted faculty license and $100 for a temporary visiting dentist;
• renewals of $300 for dentists and specialists and $150 for hygienists, which the rule describes as $100 and $50 per year.

The rule also says fees paid to the Department are not refundable, and that restoring a lapsed license (other than from inactive status) costs $50 plus all lapsed renewal fees.

Where do Florida, Pennsylvania and Connecticut land?

• Florida: $405 for a dentist by examination ($100 application plus $305 licensure) and $130 for a dental hygienist ($50 plus $80). A hygienist's local anesthesia certificate is a one-time fee capped by statute at $35 (Fla. Stat. § 466.017).
• Pennsylvania: the board's dentist licensure snapshot lists a $260 initial fee and a $366 biennial renewal for the April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2027 period.
• Connecticut: $569.75 for dentist licensure without examination, of which $4.75 covers the Department's query of the National Practitioner Data Bank. Applications are accepted only online.

How do New York and Arizona set fees?

New York lists fees on each profession's page and in its Education Law:

• $128 for dental hygienist licensure and first registration;
• $105 for a dentist limited permit;
• $645 for a restricted dental faculty license and first registration;
• $100 for a dental anesthesia certificate, paid every three years;
• $25 for the hygienist local infiltration anesthesia and nitrous oxide certificate, paid every three years;
• $45 to certify a registered dental assistant and $50 per three-year registration.

Arizona's statute charges each dental candidate a nonrefundable $300 jurisprudence exam fee with the application, sets the triennial renewal at no more than $650 by board vote, adds a $100 penalty to reinstate an expired license within 24 months, and caps the sedation permit fee at $300 (Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 32-1232, 32-1236, 32-1207).

Which costs never appear on a fee schedule?

• License verifications. Connecticut wants verifications from every state where you have ever held a license, and notes that "most states charge a fee for this service."
• Fingerprints. California charges $49 for ink-card processing, and Live Scan sites charge their own fees. Florida applicants pay all background screening costs.
• Data bank queries. Some boards build them into the fee, as Connecticut does; others ask you to self-query the National Practitioner Data Bank.
• Exam vendors. Law exams, national boards and clinical exams are paid to the vendor or testing agency, not the board.
• Courses required for the new state, such as California's hygiene anesthesia training or New York's child abuse coursework.

Are our fees separate from board fees?

Our preparation fees are listed on the pricing page and are separate from every board, exam, fingerprint, data bank and verification fee above: $799 per state for a Dentist License by Credentials, $899 for a Full State Dental License Application, $449 for a Dental Hygienist License, $699 per Sedation & Anesthesia Permit and $149 for a Dental Licensure Readiness Review that totals the expected board costs for the states you are considering. You pay the board directly when you submit your application. For renewals, see keeping several renewals on one calendar.