Alabama Dentist license renewal and CE requirements
Alabama dentists must complete 20 contact hours of continuing education every year to renew their license with the Board of Dental Examiners of Alabama.
Alabama dentists register annually. The board opens renewals on August 1, the statute directs every licensed dentist to transmit the completed annual registration form and fee on or before October 1, and a license is automatically suspended if the holder has not secured the annual registration certificate before January 1. All continuing education for the year must be in CE Broker before the license can be renewed.
Summary
Alabama dentists must complete 20 contact hours of continuing education every year to renew their license with the Board of Dental Examiners of Alabama. Alabama dentists register annually. The board opens renewals on August 1, the statute directs every licensed dentist to transmit the completed annual registration form and fee on or before October 1, and a license is automatically suspended if the holder has not secured the annual registration certificate before January 1. All continuing education for the year must be in CE Broker before the license can be renewed. Alabama also mandates specific subjects. Infectious Disease Control (related to the practice of dentistry or to the dental office): 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Prescribing Controlled Substances: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Ethical considerations in the practice of dentistry: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. CPR (Basic or Advanced Support): required on a periodic schedule set by the board.
Alabama Dentist renewal and continuing education rules
"Not stated" means the board's pages and rules we read do not address it. We do not fill in typical values.
| Renewal cycle | Annual (12 months) |
|---|---|
| Renewal deadline | Same date for every licensee, 12/31 each cycle |
| Continuing education required | Yes |
| Hours per cycle | 20 contact hours |
| Live or interactive minimum | 10 contact hours |
| Self-study or online cap | No cap stated |
| Carryover to next cycle | Not stated |
| First renewal exempt | Not stated |
| Other accepted activities | Pro bono charitable work performed in Alabama, one hour of credit for every two hours of service, maximum 4 hours annually; Teaching a continuing education program, two hours of credit for each hour taught, maximum 10 hours annually and no more than eight hours of credit in one day |
The board's continuing education page, showing requirements effective February 14, 2025, states that dentists need twenty hours of continuing education annually with at least 10 hours of in-person face-to-face live training. Half of all continuing education must be attributed to the practice of dentistry. Category caps: a maximum of 4 hours annually of insurance, government regulations and tort liability or risk management, and a maximum of 3 hours annually of practice management. Dentists who hold an oral conscious sedation (OCS) permit must additionally take a minimum of 2 hours of sedation or anesthesia annually; that permit CE is separate from the base 20 hours and is not counted in the total recorded here. The board does not state a general self-study or online cap beyond the 10 hour live minimum, so max_self_study_or_online is left null. Continuing education is reported through CE Broker, the board's official tracking system.
Required CE topics for Alabama dentists
State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Applies to | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infectious Disease Control (related to the practice of dentistry or to the dental office)Board states a minimum of 1 hour annually. | 1 contact hour | Every renewal | All licensees | Ala. Admin. Code r. 270-X-4-.04 |
| Prescribing Controlled SubstancesBoard states a minimum of 1 hour annually. The board lists this requirement for dentists only; the hygienist list on the same page has no controlled substance requirement. | 1 contact hour | Every renewal | All licensees | Ala. Admin. Code r. 270-X-4-.04 |
| Ethical considerations in the practice of dentistryBoard states 1 hour annually. | 1 contact hour | Every renewal | All licensees | Ala. Admin. Code r. 270-X-4-.04 |
| CPR (Basic or Advanced Support)The board lists this as mandatory and describes it as 2 to 4 hours maximum CPR, Basic or Advanced Support, through the American Heart Association, American Red Cross or an equivalent program, in person only, every 2 years. The page does not say plainly whether those hours count inside the 20 hour annual total, so no hour value is recorded. | Not stated | Periodic | All licensees | Ala. Admin. Code r. 270-X-4-.04 |
Documentation and audit
| Proof submitted at renewal | Not stated |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | Not stated |
| Board audits compliance | Not stated |
| Approved providers | CE Broker is the official continuing education tracking system of the Board of Dental Examiners of Alabama. Licensees must create a CE Broker account and upload all continuing education there in the appropriate CE time periods, and course providers seek board approval of courses through CE Broker. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a Alabama DDS/DMD need to renew?
- Alabama dentists must complete 20 contact hours of continuing education every year to renew their license with the Board of Dental Examiners of Alabama. The board's continuing education page, showing requirements effective February 14, 2025, states that dentists need twenty hours of continuing education annually with at least 10 hours of in-person face-to-face live training. Half of all continuing education must be attributed to the practice of dentistry. Category caps: a maximum of 4 hours annually of insurance, government regulations and tort liability or risk management, and a maximum of 3 hours annually of practice management. Dentists who hold an oral conscious sedation (OCS) permit must additionally take a minimum of 2 hours of sedation or anesthesia annually; that permit CE is separate from the base 20 hours and is not counted in the total recorded here. The board does not state a general self-study or online cap beyond the 10 hour live minimum, so max_self_study_or_online is left null. Continuing education is reported through CE Broker, the board's official tracking system.
- How often does a Alabama DDS/DMD license need to be renewed?
- Dentist licenses in Alabama renew every year. Alabama dentists register annually. The board opens renewals on August 1, the statute directs every licensed dentist to transmit the completed annual registration form and fee on or before October 1, and a license is automatically suspended if the holder has not secured the annual registration certificate before January 1. All continuing education for the year must be in CE Broker before the license can be renewed.
- What specific CE topics are required for Alabama dentists?
- Infectious Disease Control (related to the practice of dentistry or to the dental office): 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Prescribing Controlled Substances: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Ethical considerations in the practice of dentistry: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. CPR (Basic or Advanced Support): required on a periodic schedule set by the board. Citations: Infectious Disease Control (related to the practice of dentistry or to the dental office) (Ala. Admin. Code r. 270-X-4-.04), Prescribing Controlled Substances (Ala. Admin. Code r. 270-X-4-.04), ethical considerations in the practice of dentistry (Ala. Admin. Code r. 270-X-4-.04), and CPR (Basic or Advanced Support) (Ala. Admin. Code r. 270-X-4-.04).
Sources
Last verified September 8, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- Continuing Education, Board of Dental Examiners of AlabamaState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
- License Portal, Board of Dental Examiners of AlabamaState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
- Alabama Code Section 34-9-15, Annual Registration; Continuing Education (2025)Third-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
Hour totals, the live training minimum, the mandated subjects and the category caps were read on the board's own continuing education page, which dates the requirements to February 14, 2025 and cites Ala. Admin. Code r. 270-X-4-.04. The rule text itself could not be read: the Alabama Administrative Code site serves rule text only as PDF through its API path (https://admincode.legislature.state.al.us/api/rule/270-X-4-.04 returns application/pdf) and its HTML routes are a JavaScript shell, and the board's own copies of the rules are PDFs, so no rule text was fetched. The statutory registration dates come from Section 34-9-15 read on Justia, a mirror, because the official Alabama Code site is a JavaScript application that did not render usable text. The board does not publish carryover, retention or audit terms on the pages read, so those fields are null. topic key cpr_bls is not on the canonical list; it is used because the board makes CPR certification a renewal condition and no canonical key covers it.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the Board of Dental Examiners of Alabama before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.