Minnesota Dentist license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

Minnesota dentists must complete 50 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Minnesota Board of Dentistry. A dental license is renewed every two years. The renewal application and fee are due no later than the last day of the licensee's birth month, and the renewed license runs 24 months from the first day of the month after the old one expired. An initial license runs until the last day of the birth month in the even-numbered or odd-numbered year that matches the licensee's birth year, so the first term is shorter or longer than 24 months. A license not renewed within 30 days after expiration is administratively terminated. Minnesota also mandates specific subjects. Infection control course: required every renewal cycle. Hours do not carry over between cycles.

Minnesota 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.

Minnesota calls this professional development and requires 50 hours per cycle for dentists and dental therapists, of which at least 30 must be fundamental activities and no more than 20 may be elective activities (Minnesota Rules 3100.5100, subpart 2). Dental hygienists and licensed dental assistants owe a different total, 25 hours, under the same rule. Credit is hour for hour and excess hours cannot be carried forward. Self-study and professional reading sit in the elective category, so they are limited by the 20 hour elective ceiling rather than by a separate self-study cap; the rule states no cap on webinars or other distance formats. CPR is handled outside the hour total: Minnesota Rules 3100.1700, subpart 2, makes each renewal application certify a consecutive and current CPR certification, and failure to keep it is grounds for discipline, but the rule does not count CPR toward the 50 hours. A dentist holding a general anesthesia, deep sedation, or moderate sedation certificate must earn 15 more hours in anesthesia related subjects; that is a separate permit requirement under 3100.5100, subpart 2, item C, and is not part of the 50 hour license total. A licensee who cannot finish on time may ask the board in writing for an extension at least seven days before the cycle ends.

Required CE topics for Minnesota dentists

State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.

Documentation and audit

Common questions

How many CE hours does a Minnesota DDS/DMD need to renew?

Minnesota dentists must complete 50 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Minnesota Board of Dentistry. Minnesota calls this professional development and requires 50 hours per cycle for dentists and dental therapists, of which at least 30 must be fundamental activities and no more than 20 may be elective activities (Minnesota Rules 3100.5100, subpart 2). Dental hygienists and licensed dental assistants owe a different total, 25 hours, under the same rule. Credit is hour for hour and excess hours cannot be carried forward. Self-study and professional reading sit in the elective category, so they are limited by the 20 hour elective ceiling rather than by a separate self-study cap; the rule states no cap on webinars or other distance formats. CPR is handled outside the hour total: Minnesota Rules 3100.1700, subpart 2, makes each renewal application certify a consecutive and current CPR certification, and failure to keep it is grounds for discipline, but the rule does not count CPR toward the 50 hours. A dentist holding a general anesthesia, deep sedation, or moderate sedation certificate must earn 15 more hours in anesthesia related subjects; that is a separate permit requirement under 3100.5100, subpart 2, item C, and is not part of the 50 hour license total. A licensee who cannot finish on time may ask the board in writing for an extension at least seven days before the cycle ends.

How often does a Minnesota DDS/DMD license need to be renewed?

Dentist licenses in Minnesota renew every two years. A dental license is renewed every two years. The renewal application and fee are due no later than the last day of the licensee's birth month, and the renewed license runs 24 months from the first day of the month after the old one expired. An initial license runs until the last day of the birth month in the even-numbered or odd-numbered year that matches the licensee's birth year, so the first term is shorter or longer than 24 months. A license not renewed within 30 days after expiration is administratively terminated.

What specific CE topics are required for Minnesota dentists?

Infection control course: required every renewal cycle. Citations: infection control course (Minn. R. 3100.5100, subp. 3, item A(2)).

Do Minnesota dentists have to submit CE certificates at renewal?

Licensees attest to completion at renewal rather than submitting certificates, the board audits a sample of renewals and asks for documentation, and records must be kept for 4 years. Minnesota does not publish a closed list of approved providers in rule. Activities must fall within the fundamental or elective categories in Minnesota Rules 3100.5100, subpart 3, and the board approves other activities case by case only if their content directly relates to dental care and treatment, public safety and professionalism, or otherwise supports dentistry.

Is the first Minnesota DDS/DMD renewal exempt from CE?

No. Minnesota 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.

• Minnesota Rules 3100.5100, Professional Development; Dentists, Dental Therapists, Dental Hygienists, and Licensed Dental AssistantsStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
• Minnesota Rules 3100.1700, Terms and Renewal of License or Registration; GeneralStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
• Minnesota Rules 3100.5300, Audit Process of PortfolioStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026

Hours, cycle, category split, no carryover, infection control mandate, audit and retention all read directly from Minnesota Rules chapter 3100 on revisor.mn.gov, the state's official administrative code site. Minnesota runs one board, the Minnesota Board of Dentistry, for dentists, dental therapists, dental hygienists and licensed dental assistants, and 3100.5100 sets both totals in the same subpart, so the dentist figure of 50 and the hygienist figure of 25 were read side by side rather than derived from one another. The board's own site at mn.gov is behind a Radware bot wall that serves a CAPTCHA to every automated client and to a browser session, so no board page was read and none is cited; board_url is given only as a pointer for readers and renewal_url is left null. Retention is recorded as 4 years because 3100.5300 and 3100.5100, subpart 5, require keeping the portfolio for the current biennial cycle plus the previous completed biennial cycle. The rule states no live or interactive minimum and no separate self-study cap. Note that third party CE vendors describe the 15 anesthesia hours as includable in the 50; the rule text says those hours are in addition to the 50, and this record follows the rule.