The Kentucky Board of Dentistry confers licenses to practice dental hygiene based on either the applicant's successful completion of an approved regional clinical exam (Licensure by Examination) or by qualifying experience within another licensing jurisdiction (Licensure by Credentials). For all license types, applicants must complete a background check as well as the Board's jurisprudence exam. Please use the following application to apply for licensure by either examination or credentials:
- Initial licensure (non-renewal year; odd years): $125
- Initial licensure (renewal year; even years): $75 Starting November 1st of a renewal year the application fee is $125.
Eligibility guidelines for applicants are detailed below. Each section below also contains an instruction checklist for different types of applicants.
The jurisprudence examination (see below) must be completed by all new applicants for dental hygiene licensure.
Please print out, complete and sign the examination. Then mail it to the Board office for grading. This is an
open book exam.
If you are a dental hygienist and you meet the requirements for a Local Anesthesia Certificate in Kentucky, you must submit a separate application and $50 fee.
All Kentucky dental hygiene licenses expire on December of even numbered years, and must either be renewed or retired by that date.
Your current license must be conspicuously posted in each of your practice locations.
The Board regrets that it is unable to offer refunds for overpayment of fees. The original check or money order will be returned to you and you will be asked to forward payment in the correct amount.
If you have questions that are not answered on this page or in the documents it links to, please contact the Board office at 502/429-7280.
Licensure by Examination
To be eligible to apply for licensure by examination, applicants must meet the following requirements with no exceptions:
- Graduated from a CODA accredited dental hygiene school, college, or department of a university
- Successfully completed the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination
- Successfully passed within the five (5) years preceding the filing of your application one of the following regional clinical examinations: CITA, CRDTS, CDCA/NERB, SRTA or WREB*
- Provide documentation that you meet the requirements of Sections 1 and 2 of 201 KAR 8:560E by submitting the documentation described in the following instruction checklist.
* for purposes of interpretation of this application requirement, the 5 years run from the year the clinical exam was completed through the year the application for KY licensure is submitted and finalized.
Licensure by Credentials
To be eligible to apply for licensure by credentials, you must meet the following requirements with no exceptions:
- Graduated from a
CODA accredited dental hygiene school, college or department of a university
- Successfully completed the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination
- Successfully passed a state, regional, or national clinical examination used to determine clinical competency in a state or territory of the United States or District of Columbia
- Provide documentation that you meet the requirements of Sections 1 and 3 of 201 KAR 8:560E by submitting the documentation described in the following instruction checklist.
- Complete the affidavit below stating that you have legally been engaged in the practice of dental hygiene for five (5) of the past six (6) years in a state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia if the qualifications for licensure were equal to or higher than those for licensure in Kentucky
Retirement
If you no longer desire to hold an active Kentucky license, you must notify the Board of your intent to retire your license by submitting a completed and signed
Retirement of License Form
You may not retire a license that has pending disciplinary action against it.
Failure to properly retire a license may result in disciplinary action for practicing dental hygiene on an expired license or may make you ineligible to reinstate your license.
Reinstatement
To reinstate your license, you must submit the following application, along with the documentation describe in the instruction checklist below
Background Check
State and federal criminal background check reports must be obtained through the IdentoGO Universal Enrollment Platform. Kentucky residents must use the live scan process at one of IdentoGO's nationwide enrollment centers. Non-Kentucky residents can either use this same process or submit a hard card (FBI FD-258 applicant fingerprint card) to IdentoGO for processing. When registering, please use the Board of Dentistry Service Code 27GJYG. Once registered, applicants can schedule fingerprinting appointments online or by phone.
IdentoGO Resource Links:
If you have questions about the live scan process, submitting a hard card, or scheduling an appointment, please contact IdentoGO customer service at (844) 543-9714.
Jurisprudence Exam
The following jurisprudence examination must be completed by all new applicants for dental or dental hygiene licensure.
The exam must be printed out, completed, signed, and then mail it to Board of Dentistry. This is an open book exam. Our Statutes and Regulations page outlines the current regulations governing Dentistry in Kentucky.