Dentist - Examination

To be considered eligible to apply through licensure by examination, applicants must:

• Graduate from a dental school accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation or equivalent.

• Have passed a Board-approved testing service examination within one (1) year immediately preceding application or will be taking the examination during the application process.

Marquette University School of Dentistry Graduates: Please provide your application (PAR-) number to Marquette University, who will certify that you graduated from the program. You do not need to provide Form 1471 or evidence of successful completion of the regional practical exam

Below are some general instructions for applying for a credential on LicensE. 

1. Create or log into your LicensE account. Please visit LicensE account Information page for detailed guidance on selecting your account type.

2. Select "Apply for a License."

3. Select your Category.

4. Select your License Type.

5. Select your Application Method, then "Next."

6. Review your Personal Information.

7. Enter the requested Information on each page of the application. Information may include Examination, Education, or License History, depending on your profession.

8. If applicable, request a Veterans Fee Waiver or Initial Credential Fee Reduction.

9. Submit the requested Documents you may already have. You do not need to have all documents ready to submit.

   Note: Forms are now hosted on AccessGov. Visit AccessGov Forms Directory to choose your form.

10. Respond to the Attestation questions.

11. Provide Payment Information. Fees may be found Credential Fees.

12. Submit your application.  

Profession specific application requirements can be found in the "Application Information" section.

• Create or log into your LicensE account

• Select Apply for a License

• Category: Health

• License Type: Dentist

• Select Licensure by Examination then Next

• Enter your Personal Information

  Please note: Your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address are available to the public as a licensed professional. You may request to withhold street address/PO Box, phone number, and e-mail address from lists of 10 or more credential holders during the application process.

• Enter your Education Information

• Enter your request for a Veteran’s Fee Waiver, if applicable

• Submit your License History

• Respond to the Declarations

• Upload your Supporting Documents. You are not required to provide all documents before initial application submission.

Required Documents

• Certificate of Proficiency in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation/AED

• National Board Scores (scores must be made available to WI in ADA portal for download)

• Regional Exam (scores must be made available for download or submitted directly by regional exam provider)

• Form 1471: Certification of Professional Education 

Required if Applicable:

• Verification of Licensure in Other State(s) and/or Jurisdiction(s)

• National Practitioner Data Bank Report (NPDB)

• Malpractice Suits Claims Form (Form 2829)

• Applicant must provide a copy of their CPR/AED certificate. Certificate must be earned through a program approved by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. DHS approved program list is linked below. 

  Certificate must include the following:

  • Applicant name

  • Expiration date of certification

  • Name of course provider

Applicant's school will need to verify their dental hygiene education by one of the following options:

• Completion of form #1471

  • Applicant will complete the application section of the form, and the form will be emailed to applicant's school for completion of remainder of form. School must then upload form directly to applicant's supporting documents.

• LEAP portal (for schools located in Wisconsin only) 

  • Schools may verify education by using our online LEAP portal, found on our LicensE homepage.

Applicant must contact the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (JCNDE) and ensure that their Integrated National Board Dental Exam (INBDE) results are available to Wisconsin for download. Credentialing staff will download an applicant's scores upon initial application review or subsequent review if scores are not available at initial review.

Applicant must contact their regional exam administrator and ensure that their regional exam results are available to Wisconsin for download or upload the applicant's score results directly to their application using our third-party document upload tab on LicensE.

To become licensed as a dentist in Wisconsin, you must meet the required examination requirements.

Required Examinations

You must complete:

• A national dental examination.

• A clinical examination approved by the Wisconsin Dentistry Examining Board.

Please Note:

• National Board Score(s) Original score(s) must be submitted directly from the National Board of Dental Examiners (NBDE). Both passing and failing scores are required. Copies sent from applicants are not acceptable. Go to ADA website: http://www.ada.org/dentpin and submit a request to have your results sent electronically to Wisconsin.

• Regional Examination Requirements Original score(s) must be submitted directly from the testing agency. Both passing and failing scores are required. Copies sent from applicants are not acceptable. Contact the testing agency and request that your scores be mailed directly to DSPS at the above address, faxed with fax cover sheet to 608-251-3036, or emailed directly to DSPSCredDentistry@wisconsin.gov.

• Examination on Wisconsin Law: An applicant shall successfully complete an online examination on Wisconsin Statutes and Rules relating to the practice of dentistry before a license can be issued in Wisconsin. Examination information will be provided to an applicant after his or her application for licensure has been received at the Department.

The Board currently accepts the following clinical exams:

• CRDTS

• WREB

• CDCA

• SRTA

• ADEX

•  CITA

If you took the WREB exam on or after January 1, 2009, you are not required to complete ADEX Parts I and III.

Wisconsin Statutes and Rules Examination

You must also pass Wisconsin's open-book Statutes and Administrative Code Examination.

• A passing score of *85%** is required.

•  After you submit your application, you will receive your:

  • Exam name

  • Password

  • Applicant ID (used as your student ID)

The exam covers Wisconsin laws and administrative rules related to the practice of dentistry. Links to the statutes and administrative code are available in the Additional Resources section of this page.

Topics Covered

The exam includes material from:

• DE Chapters 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 11, and 12

• Wisconsin Statutes Chapters 252, 440, 447, and 961

How to Access the Exam

1. Go to the exam website.

2. Select "Test Launching."

3. Enter "gsp" as the instructor.

4. If you cannot access the exam, refresh your browser or try again later.

Exam Details

• The exam is not timed.

• You may leave and return to the exam at any time within three months.

• To exit, click the X in the upper-right corner of the screen.

• Do not click "Done" until you are ready to submit your exam.

• If you accidentally click "Done," simply restart the exam. Your previous score will be deleted.

• Save or print a copy of your score report for your records.

Questions

If you have technical questions or questions about the exam, contact DSPSCredentialingCSC@wisconsin.gov

After you upload all required documents, submit your application, and pay the required fee(s):

1. Preliminary Application Reference Number (PAR)

   1. Your application will be assigned a Preliminary Application Reference number or PAR number. This number allows you and trusted parties to look up the status of your application without logging in. You can also reference this number in any support tickets you submit in regard to your application.

      • A trusted 3^rd party can look up your credential status by visiting LicensE, clicking “Application Status Lookup” and entering the PAR number you have provided to them.

2. Review Timeline

   1. Your materials will be reviewed within approximately 10 days by a member of the credentialing team.

      • Note: Some licenses do take longer to process due to complexity. You can see the performance data on our LicensE Dashboard to see what date we are reviewing for certain application types under "Application Review Times by Profession."

3. Pending Applicant Input Status

   1. After this review, if anything is missing or the credentialing team has any questions on your application, your application will go back into a status called “Pending Applicant Input.”  You will receive an email letting you know your application was moved into this status. You should then log into LicensE and check your application “Due Diligence.”

4. To check your "Due Diligence" 

   1. Your Due Diligence is a checklist of items required for your credential.

   2. The Due Diligence section is how DSPS staff will communicate with you regarding your credential requirements.

   3. Log in to your LicensE account

   4. Click on "Check Application Status" 

   5. Your credential application should be shown on this page. Under “Action” select the button that looks like an upside-down triangle. If you are on mobile, you will need to turn your phone into landscape view. Note: LicensE is best viewed on a desktop or laptop.

   6. After clicking the upside-down triangle, select “View Due Diligences.”

   7. The Due Diligence column lets you know what the requirement is.

   8. The “STATUS” column will you know if the item is “Met”, “Not Met”, or “Not Applicable.”

      • Items listed as “Not Met” are items that are needed by the Department.  

   9. The “NOTES” column of your Due Diligence will provide further written details or instructions about what is still needed.

5. To upload documents

   1. Some applications require additional document uploads.

   2. Log into your LicensE account

   3. Click on "Check Application Status"

   4. Your credential application should be shown on this page. Under "Action" select the button that looks like an upside-down triangle. If you are on mobile, you will need to turn your phone into landscape view. Note: LicensE is best viewed on a desktop or laptop. 

   5. After clicking the upside-down triangle, select "Upload Document."

   6. The document must be an allowable document type. 

   7. After uploading the document, click "submit." If you do not, it will not be sent to a reviewer. 

6. If you have any questions, you can submit a support ticket on LicensE by logging in and clicking "request support" at the top of the page.

LicensE statuses that require action from applicant:

LicensE statuses that indicate the application is with Department staff:

Support Ticket
Submit a support ticket on LicensE and click "request support." Please provide as much detail as possible regarding your concern so we can work to answer your question with a one touch resolution. 

Call
608-266-2112

Email
dsps@wisconsin.gov

Office Hours
7:45am-4:30pm
Department of Safety and Professional Services
4822 Madison Yards Way
Madison, WI, 53705

Note: The in-person office does not process same day.