Kansas Dental Hygienist license renewal and CE requirements
Kansas dental hygienists must complete 30 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Kansas Dental Board.
A Kansas dental hygiene license expires on December 1 of the year the board has specified for that license and is renewed every two years, on the same statutory schedule as dentists. The renewal application, fee, current basic cardiac life support certificate and evidence of continuing education are due on or before December 1. Renewal between February 1 and March 1 of the following year requires a penalty fee, and a license not renewed by March 1 is automatically cancelled.
Summary
Kansas dental hygienists must complete 30 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Kansas Dental Board. A Kansas dental hygiene license expires on December 1 of the year the board has specified for that license and is renewed every two years, on the same statutory schedule as dentists. The renewal application, fee, current basic cardiac life support certificate and evidence of continuing education are due on or before December 1. Renewal between February 1 and March 1 of the following year requires a penalty fee, and a license not renewed by March 1 is automatically cancelled. Kansas also mandates specific subjects. Ethics: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Basic cardiac life support for the health care provider certificate: 4 contact hours every renewal cycle.
Kansas Dental Hygienist 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 | Two-year (24 months) |
|---|---|
| Renewal deadline | Same date for every licensee, 12/01 each cycleFirst renewal is prorated. |
| Continuing education required | Yes |
| Hours per cycle | 30 contact hours |
| Self-study or online cap | No cap stated |
| Carryover to next cycle | Not stated |
| First renewal exempt | No |
| Other accepted activities | Lecturing, presenting papers or clinics, or teaching subjects related to dentistry and dental hygiene, up to 10 hours annually; Authorship of a published dental article, up to 10 hours per article; Authorship of a dental book, up to 20 hours; Teaching an approved dental education course, up to 5 hours |
K.A.R. 71-4-1(c) requires a dental hygienist to submit at least 30 hours of qualifying continuing dental education with the renewal application, at least one of them in ethics, each course completed in the 24 months immediately preceding the license expiration date. This is the hygienist subsection of the regulation; the dentist total of 60 hours with two ethics hours sits in subsection (b) and neither figure was derived from the other. The board states on its separate hygienist renewal page that a hygienist needs 30 hours of CE including one hour of ethics since the last renewal, or 15 hours if it is the first renewal. There is no cap on online hours: the board states that all CE hours may be acquired online and that there has never been a limit. K.A.R. 71-4-2 waives the continuing education requirement for the first year after a licensee graduates and becomes licensed, and for licensees engaged full time in graduate study or post-graduate dental hygiene training. The charitable care credit in K.S.A. 65-1431(d)(2) is written for dentists only and is not listed here for hygienists.
Required CE topics for Kansas dental hygienists
State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Applies to | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EthicsOne of the 30 hours must be in ethics. This is the hygienist figure; the dentist requirement is two hours under K.A.R. 71-4-1(b). | 1 contact hour | Every renewal | All licensees | K.A.R. 71-4-1(c) |
| Basic cardiac life support for the health care provider certificateA current basic cardiac life support for the health care provider certificate from the American Heart Association, or a board approved equivalent, must be submitted with the renewal application. The regulation states that the continuing education hours for the certificate may be applied to the continuing education requirement, and the board's hygienist renewal page states that a licensee may claim four hours of CE for completing the course. All CPR courses must have a hands-on portion. The topic key basic_life_support is not one of the canonical keys. | 4 contact hours | Every renewal | All licensees | K.A.R. 71-4-1(a) |
Documentation and audit
| Proof submitted at renewal | Yes |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | Not stated |
| Board audits compliance | Not stated |
| Approved providers | K.A.R. 71-4-2(b) approves courses offered by any college or university, the American Dental Association and the National Dental Association and their component and constituent societies, the American Dental Hygienists Association and National Dental Hygienists Association and their components, academies and specialty organizations recognized by the board, local dental and dental hygiene society meetings, dental and dental hygiene study club meetings, and Veterans Administration or armed forces programs given at a United States government facility. The board also states that it automatically recognizes courses approved through ADA CERP or AGD PACE. Any person or organization may apply in writing to the board for approval of other courses. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a Kansas RDH need to renew?
- Kansas dental hygienists must complete 30 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Kansas Dental Board. K.A.R. 71-4-1(c) requires a dental hygienist to submit at least 30 hours of qualifying continuing dental education with the renewal application, at least one of them in ethics, each course completed in the 24 months immediately preceding the license expiration date. This is the hygienist subsection of the regulation; the dentist total of 60 hours with two ethics hours sits in subsection (b) and neither figure was derived from the other. The board states on its separate hygienist renewal page that a hygienist needs 30 hours of CE including one hour of ethics since the last renewal, or 15 hours if it is the first renewal. There is no cap on online hours: the board states that all CE hours may be acquired online and that there has never been a limit. K.A.R. 71-4-2 waives the continuing education requirement for the first year after a licensee graduates and becomes licensed, and for licensees engaged full time in graduate study or post-graduate dental hygiene training. The charitable care credit in K.S.A. 65-1431(d)(2) is written for dentists only and is not listed here for hygienists.
- How often does a Kansas RDH license need to be renewed?
- Dental Hygienist licenses in Kansas renew every two years. A Kansas dental hygiene license expires on December 1 of the year the board has specified for that license and is renewed every two years, on the same statutory schedule as dentists. The renewal application, fee, current basic cardiac life support certificate and evidence of continuing education are due on or before December 1. Renewal between February 1 and March 1 of the following year requires a penalty fee, and a license not renewed by March 1 is automatically cancelled.
- What specific CE topics are required for Kansas dental hygienists?
- Ethics: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Basic cardiac life support for the health care provider certificate: 4 contact hours every renewal cycle. Citations: ethics (K.A.R. 71-4-1(c)) and basic cardiac life support for the health care provider certificate (K.A.R. 71-4-1(a)).
- Do Kansas dental hygienists have to submit CE certificates at renewal?
- Proof of completion must be submitted with the renewal. K.A.R. 71-4-2(b) approves courses offered by any college or university, the American Dental Association and the National Dental Association and their component and constituent societies, the American Dental Hygienists Association and National Dental Hygienists Association and their components, academies and specialty organizations recognized by the board, local dental and dental hygiene society meetings, dental and dental hygiene study club meetings, and Veterans Administration or armed forces programs given at a United States government facility. The board also states that it automatically recognizes courses approved through ADA CERP or AGD PACE. Any person or organization may apply in writing to the board for approval of other courses.
- Is the first Kansas RDH renewal exempt from CE?
- No. Kansas applies the continuing education requirement to the first renewal as well.
Sources
Last verified September 8, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- License Renewals, Hygienists, Kansas Dental BoardState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
- K.S.A. 65-1431, Renewal of license; application; continuing education; biennial license renewal feeStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
- Kan. Admin. Regs. 71-4-1, Continuing education credit hours and basic cardiac life support certificate required for renewal of license of dentist and dental hygienist (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
- Kan. Admin. Regs. 71-4-2, Approved continuing dental education (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
The 30 hour total, the one ethics hour, the 15 hour first renewal figure, the absence of any online cap and the four hours of CE credit for CPR were read on the Kansas Dental Board's own hygienist renewal page, a different page from the dentist page, so the hygienist figures were confirmed separately rather than scaled from the dentist figures. dental.ks.gov blocks automated clients and was read in a browser. The biennial cycle and the December 1 expiration come from K.S.A. 65-1431 on the Revisor of Statutes site, which covers dentists and dental hygienists in the same section. Kansas publishes the Kansas Administrative Regulations only as PDF volumes on the Secretary of State's site, so K.A.R. 71-4-1 and 71-4-2 were read on Cornell LII as supporting sources. Kansas sets no subject mandate for hygienists beyond ethics: there is no opioid, infection control or jurisprudence continuing education requirement in Article 4. The regulations state no carryover provision, no self-study cap and no record retention period, so those fields are left null. Returning to practice after retirement or disability triggers a separate hygienist catch-up schedule in K.A.R. 71-4-2(i), from 15 hours after one year to 50 hours after five or more.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the Kansas Dental Board before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.