Click on the appropriate tab below to see the Renewal Requirements, Process, Fees and Continuing Education (CE) for a Dentist.
Licensed Dentists are required to renew their license no later than midnight, Eastern Time, on February 28, 2026.
The department will renew your license upon receipt of:
- Completed Renewal application
- Verification of your current status relating to prescribing controlled substances for the treatment of chronic nonmalignant pain
- Required fee (additional fees required for dispensing and anesthesia permits)
- Your current primary place of practice address
- Completed financial responsibility form
Licensees requesting to reactivate their license from inactive or retired status are required to pay additional fees and comply with specific continuing education requirements. Please contact the board office at mqa.dentistry@flhealth.gov to request your reactivation requirements.
Note: To ensure you receive notification from the department regarding the renewal, the Department must have your current mailing address on file. Failure to renew an active or inactive license by the expiration date will result in the license being placed in delinquent status. Failure by a delinquent licensee to renew before the expiration of the current licensure cycle renders the license null and void without any further action by the board or the department.
Reactivation Requirements:
- Completion of a reactivation application
- Proof of continuing education credits (30 hours for each biennium the license was on inactive status)
- Proof of current CPR at the basic life support level in compliance with rule 64B5-12.020, FAC.
Dispensing Registration
If you are currently registered to dispense medicinal drugs to your patients, you are required to renew your registration at the same time you are renewing your dental license. If you are no longer interested in dispensing medicinal drugs, you can cancel your registration by checking the appropriate box on the renewal application.
If you are not currently registered to dispense medicinal drugs and would like to register, you can complete the registration process at the time you are renewing your license by checking the appropriate box on the renewal application and paying the dispensing registration fee. The registration fee will be in addition to your renewal fee.
Controlled Substance Prescriber
Effective January 1, 2012, a dentist licensed under chapter 466 who prescribes any controlled substance, listed in Schedule II, Schedule III, or Schedule IV as defined in s. 893.03, for the treatment of chronic nonmalignant pain, must:
Designate himself or herself as a controlled substance prescribing practitioner and comply with the requirements of this section and applicable board rules.
“Chronic nonmalignant pain” means pain unrelated to cancer which persists beyond the usual course of disease or the injury that is the cause of the pain or more than 90 days after surgery.
Military Exemption
If you are a member of the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty who was in good standing with the board at the time of becoming active and was entitled to practice or engage in the practice of dentistry or dental hygiene in Florida, you may be eligible to be exempted from renewal requirements for the duration of active duty, and for a period of six months after discharge.
If you are the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States, you may be eligible to be exempted from licensure renewal requirements, in cases of absence from the state due to your spouse’s duties with the Armed Forces.
Volunteer Health Services Exemption
If you volunteer your services to the medically indigent residents of Florida with incomes at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, you may be eligible for a waiver of your biennial renewal fee and some of the continuing education hours (no more than 25%) required for license renewal; however, the continuing education requirements for domestic violence, HIV and AIDS, and medical errors cannot be waived.
Public School Health Volunteer Exemption
If you volunteer your services in public schools for a minimum of 80 hours a year or if retired, at least 400 hours a year, you may be eligible for a waiver of your biennial renewal fee and some of the continuing education hours (no more than 25%) required for license renewal; however, the continuing education requirements for domestic violence, HIV and AIDS, and medical errors cannot be waived.
Current licenses will expire at midnight, Eastern Time, February 28, 2026.
The process to renew a license can take up to three weeks. Initiating contact to confirm the receipt of fees or the status of your license prior to this time will not expedite the renewal process.
An additional fee is added to the renewal fee for each of the following if requested:
Dispensing fee- $100.00
General Anesthesia fee- $200.00
Moderate Sedation fee- $200.00
Pediatric Moderate Sedation fee- $200.00
Delinquent licenses that expired on February 28, 2024 become null and void on March 1, 2026.
Note: At least 90 days before your license expires, the department will mail you a renewal notification postcard to your last known address of record. You will have until midnight on the day your license expires to renew. Failure to renew an active or inactive license by the expiration date will result in the license being placed in delinquent status. Failure by a delinquent licensee to renew before the expiration of the current licensure cycle renders the license null and void without any further action by the board or the department.
You may RENEW ONLINE if:
1.You do not need to change the status of your license
2.You have a credit card/debit card to complete the transaction
3.Your license status is not ‘Military, Active’
If you lose your user identification and password you may recover it by clicking Login Help. After logging in to the renewal system, licensees will be prompted to answer a series of questions and required to provide certain information, if appropriate. The renewal process typically takes 10-15 minutes and licensees pay their renewal fee by Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover when they are done.
Renewal Instructions:
- Go to www.flhealthsource.gov and click the “Renew A License” button.
- Enter your Personal Identifying Information (PII), then click the Login button.
- Confirm or update your MQA Services Account email address, then click the “Continue” button.
- You are now in the Dashboard. During renewals, a “Renew My License” option will populate no later than 90 days prior to your license expiration date. (Note: If you do not see the “Renew My License” option, please check back at a later time.)
*** If the “PII Failed” screen displays, click the “Other Login Option” button and enter your existing User ID and password to access your account.***
You must RENEW BY MAIL if:
- You need to change the status of your license
- You do NOT have a credit card/debit card to complete the transaction and need to pay using a cashiers check or money order
- Your license is in ‘Military, Active’ status
- Your license is in a Volunteer status
- You need to request a name change
If your license is Delinquent/Active or Delinquent/Inactive you may still renew prior to the renewal deadline. The following actions must be taken prior to renewing your license:
- Prior to renewing your license, you must report your continuing education (CE) hours to the Department of Health’s tracking system.
- To renew a delinquent license, you will need to report your CE hours for your current cycle, as well as your previous cycle.
- If you did not complete CE courses in your last renewal cycle, you may complete them now and report them to the CE tracking system.
- To report course completion, log onto your MQA Online Account. From your dashboard, go to “Additional Activities” and select Report CE/CME.
Please note, when renewing your license, a delinquent fee will be assessed in addition to all applicable renewal fees.
Note: A licensee who remains on inactive status for more than two consecutive biennial licensure cycles and who wishes to reactivate the license may be required to demonstrate the competency to resume active practice by sitting for a special purpose examination or by completing other reactivation requirements.
If you are reactivating your license, please refer to the Laws & Rules governing your practice for additional requirements.
Name Change
Name changes require legal documentation showing the name change. Please submit a request including your full name as it appears on your license, profession, license number, your new name, your date of birth, the last four digits of your social security number, and your signature. Attach supporting documents, which must be one of the following:
- a copy of a state issued marriage license that includes the original signature and seal from the clerk of the court
- a divorce decree showing the name change
- a court order showing the name change (Adoption, legal name change, federal identity change)
Any one of these will be accepted unless the department has a question about the authenticity of the document. A social security card is not considered legal documentation.
Please Note: The last four digits of the SSN are requested as required by DOH Policy Number DOHP 385-LS05-12 Name Changes for Existing Licensees, which was established for security purposes due to past instances of fraudulent activity.
Certified check or money order should be made payable to the Florida Department of Health
An additional fee is added to the renewal fee for each of the following if requested:
| Dispensing Fee | $100.00 |
| General Anesthesia Fee | $200.00 |
| Moderate Sedation Fee | $200.00 |
| Pediatric Moderate Sedation Fee | $200.00 |
If renewing BEFORE your license expires, your fees will be:
| Active to Active | $305.00* |
| Active to Inactive | $305.00 |
| Inactive to Inactive | $305.00 |
| Inactive to Active | $605.00* |
| Military to Active | $305.00 |
| Military to Inactive | $305.00 |
| Active to Retired | $55.00 |
| Inactive to Retired | $55.00 |
If renewing AFTER the Renewal Period (after 11:59 PM 2/28/2024 through 11:59 PM 3/31/2024) for licenses that expired on 02/28/2024, your fees will be:
| Active to Active | $355.00 |
| Inactive to Inactive | $355.00 |
| Active to Inactive | $655.00 |
| Inactive to Active | $955.00 |
| Active to Retired | $405.00 |
| Inactive to Retired | $405.00 |
If renewing AFTER the Renewal Period (after 11:59 PM 3/31/2024) for licenses that expired on 02/28/2024, your fees will be:
| Active to Active | $455.00 |
| Inactive to Inactive | $455.00 |
| Active to Inactive | $755.00 |
| Inactive to Active | $1,055.00 |
| Active to Retired | $505.00 |
| Inactive to Retired | $505.00 |
Licenses that expired February 28, 2024, will become Null & Void1 on March 1, 2026. If renewing 120 day Notified Delinquent, your fees will be:
| Active to Active | $760.00 |
| Inactive to Inactive | $760.00 |
| Active to Inactive | $760.00 |
| Inactive to Active | $1,060.00 |
| Active to Retired | $510.00 |
| Inactive to Retired | $510.00 |
Delinquent licenses that expired on February 28, 2024 become Null & Void1 on March 1, 2026.
1Null & Void -The licensed practitioner failed to renew their licensure status for two renewal cycles, resulting in their license expiring.
Continuing Education (CE) Requirements
To locate board approved CE Courses for this profession, please click here
| REQUIRED SUBJECT AREA | REQUIRED NUMBER OF HOURS | IMPORTANT INFORMATION |
| General Hours | 28 | |
| Medical Error | 2 | |
| Domestic Violence | 2 | Due every third biennium. |
| HIV/AIDS | 2 | Due for the first renewal only. |
| Current CPR Certification | 0 | Required to have a current CPR Certification and it must be a live course. |
| Safe and Effective Prescribing of controlled substances | 2 | Effective July 1, 2019, required for all dentists at every renewal. This course may be included to meet the 30 total general hours required. Board approved courses are found at https://apps.cebroker.com/cs/courses/fl/dentist/sa=3313. |
First Biennium Renewal: If you are newly licensed and renewing your license for the first time you are only required to complete 2 hours on Prescribing Controlled Substances and 2 hours of HIV/AIDS.
Board Rule Approved Providers
- American or National Dental Associations
- Florida Dental Association or it’s components.
- Academy of General Dentistry
- American Red Cross, American Heart Association, & American Cancer Society
- American Medical Association’s Liaison Committee for Medical Education
- A dental, dental hygiene or dental assisting school accredited by the American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation
- A hospital, college, university, or community college, accredited by an accrediting agency approved by the United States Department of Education
- Providers and courses approved by the Board of Dentistry listed in CEBroker
Other Methods of Obtaining Continuing Education per Biennium
- 6 hours for participating in dental hygiene exercise
- 8 hours for participating in dental clinical exercise
- 11 hours for participating in both exercises listed above
- 6 hours for participating in pro bono dental and dental hygiene services to the indigent residing in Florida (Credit calculated at a ratio of 1 CE credit for each 1 hour of patient services)
- 11 hours total for participating as an expert witness in disciplinary review cases
- 3 hours per semester/quarter if participating as part of a course at an accredited school as adjunct or part-time faculty.
- Up to 4 hours for attending a meeting of the Board of Dentistry wherein disciplinary cases are considered.
- 2 hours as an anesthesia inspection consultant
Helpful Information
- During the licensure biennial renewal period that begins on March 1, 2020 and every licensure biennial renewal period thereafter, all dentists who hold an active sedation permit of any level shall take the following continuing education instead of the continuing education required in subsection (1): A four (4) hour board approved continuing education course in Medical Emergencies that shall include airway management as a component of the course. The continuing education must be taken through a board approved continuing education provider. The continuing education required by this subsection may be included in the thirty (30) hours required by Section 466.0135, F.S.
Florida Statutes
Section 456.013: Department; general licensing provisions
Section 456.024: Members of Armed Forces in good standing with administrative boards or the department; spouses
Section 456.031: Requirement for instruction on domestic violence
Section 456.033: Requirement for instruction for certain licensees on HIV and AIDS
Section 456.035: Address of record
Section 456.036: Licenses; active and inactive status; delinquency
Section 456.038: Renewal and cancellation notices
Section 456.048: Financial responsibility requirements for certain health care practitioners
Section 456.0635: Medicaid fraud; disqualification for license, certification, or registration
Section 466.013: Renewal of license
Section 466.0135: Continuing Education; Dentists
Section 466.015: Inactive status
Section 465.0276: Dispensing practitioner
Section 766.1115: Health care providers; creation of agency relationship with governmental contractors.
Section 766.1116: Health care practitioner; waiver of license renewal fees and continuing education
Florida Administrative Code
Rule 64B5-10: Inactive Licensure Status, Renewal, Reactivation, and Exemptions
Rule 64B5-12: Continuing Professional Education
Rule 64B5-15: Fee Schedule
Rule 64B5-17.011: Financial Responsibility
