New York Dental Hygienist license renewal and CE requirements
New York dental hygienists must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every three years to renew their license with the New York State Board for Dentistry, New York State Education Department Office of the Professions.
A New York dental hygiene license is good for life, but practice requires a current registration, and the registration certificate runs three years. Registration periods are adjusted so that renewals fall in the licensee's birth month. The Office of the Professions mails a renewal application with a PIN about four months before the registration expires, and online renewal is open during the final five months of the period and for up to four months after it ends. A hygienist who is not practicing in New York can register inactive at no charge instead of paying the fee. A hygienist who has not finished the required continuing education may ask for a one-year conditional registration.
Summary
Requirements are changing. New York's mandated child abuse identification and reporting training is mid-transition. Chapter 25 of the Laws of 2024 added content on identifying abused or maltreated children with intellectual or developmental disabilities and requires mandated reporters, including dental hygienists who already took the earlier course, to complete the updated curriculum by November 17, 2026. Anyone who took the training between November 1, 2022 and August 31, 2025 can close the gap with a short addendum through most approved providers. Confirm your own status with the Office of the Professions before you attest at registration.
New York dental hygienists must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every three years to renew their license with the New York State Board for Dentistry, New York State Education Department Office of the Professions. A New York dental hygiene license is good for life, but practice requires a current registration, and the registration certificate runs three years. Registration periods are adjusted so that renewals fall in the licensee's birth month. The Office of the Professions mails a renewal application with a PIN about four months before the registration expires, and online renewal is open during the final five months of the period and for up to four months after it ends. A hygienist who is not practicing in New York can register inactive at no charge instead of paying the fee. A hygienist who has not finished the required continuing education may ask for a one-year conditional registration. New York also mandates specific subjects. Infection control and barrier precautions training: required on a periodic schedule set by the board. Identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment: a one-time requirement of 2 contact hours. No more than 10 contact hours may be self-study or online, hours do not carry over between cycles, and the first renewal is exempt.
New York 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 | Three-year (36 months) |
|---|---|
| Renewal deadline | Tied to the licensee's birth monthFirst renewal is prorated. |
| Continuing education required | Yes |
| Hours per cycle | 24 contact hours |
| Live or interactive minimum | 14 contact hours |
| Self-study or online cap | At most 10 contact hours |
| Carryover to next cycle | No |
| First renewal exempt | Yes |
| Other accepted activities | Teaching a continuing education course in an appropriate subject area from an approved sponsor, up to 7 hours per triennial registration period; Initial EMT Basic course up to 10 hours and EMT Basic recertification up to 5 hours; Registered or accredited residency programs; Mandatory infection control training from a New York State approved provider; Mandatory child abuse identification and reporting training from a NYSED approved provider, 2 hours; CPR, ACLS and PALS coursework, up to 12 hours per triennial period |
New York regulates dental hygiene through the State Education Department's Office of the Professions rather than a standalone licensing board, and unlike New York nursing, dental hygiene does carry a continuing education requirement. Education Law requires dental hygienists to complete 24 contact hours in each three-year registration period; dentists owe 60 in the same period, and the Office of the Professions states both figures in the same paragraph. A contact hour is at least 50 minutes; where a sponsor reports CEUs, one CEU equals 10 contact hours, and one college semester hour equals 15 contact hours. Hours cannot be carried from one registration period to the next and there is no per-year minimum. New York does not divide courses by physical or virtual setting; it divides them into live and self-study, where a live course is one in which the licensee can interact with the instructor. Hygienists must take at least seven twelfths of their hours live, which is 14 of 24, leaving at most 10 hours of self-study; the dentist fraction is different, seven tenths, or 42 of 60. Practice management, accounting, finance, statistics and internet skills are not acceptable subjects. Credit is not given for life or work experience, informal study clubs run by unapproved sponsors, studying on your own, research, journal writing, video making, or faculty teaching. CPR is worth noting carefully in New York: hygienists are not required to hold CPR certification, that mandate is written for dentists only, but a hygienist who does hold it may count up to 12 hours of CPR coursework per registration period, valuing a CPR course at up to 3 hours, a CPR course with AED training at up to 4.5 hours, an initial ACLS or PALS course at up to 12 hours and an ACLS recertification at up to 6 hours. A licensee in the first three-year registration period owes no continuing education unless licensed by endorsement of another jurisdiction's license, in which case it applies immediately. A shortened registration period is prorated: multiply the number of months by 0.67 for a hygienist, against 1.667 for a dentist. Inactive registrants who reactivate owe a full triennium of hours. New York sets no tobacco course, no jurisprudence and ethics course and no prescriber education for hygienists; all three are dentist-only.
Required CE topics for New York dental hygienists
State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Applies to | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infection control and barrier precautions trainingDental hygienists and dentists must both complete state approved course work on infection control and barrier precautions, including engineering and work controls to prevent transmission of HIV and hepatitis B, every four years, not every registration period. The provider must use the department's prescribed syllabus and cover the seven core elements approved jointly by the State Education Department and the Department of Health. The licensee attests to completion on the first licensure or registration application and at every subsequent registration, and keeps the Certification of Completion rather than filing it. Hours count toward the continuing education total. An exemption is available on Form 1IC based on the nature of the practice, and a licensee not currently practicing in New York has 90 days after resuming practice to complete it. The rule states no minimum number of hours. | Not stated | Periodic | All licensees | N.Y. Education Law 6505-b |
| Identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatmentA two hour course from a NYSED approved provider, and the hours count toward the continuing education total, where they are a larger share of the hygienist's 24 than of a dentist's 60. Historically a one-time requirement at licensure, but two amendments have forced retraining of everyone who took the earlier version: Chapter 56 of 2021 added implicit bias, adverse childhood experiences and recognizing abuse during virtual interaction, with an April 1, 2025 deadline, and Chapter 25 of 2024 added identifying abused or maltreated children with intellectual or developmental disabilities, with a November 17, 2026 deadline. Someone who trained between November 1, 2022 and August 31, 2025 can complete a short addendum instead of the full course. | 2 contact hours | One time | All licensees | N.Y. Social Services Law 413, as amended by Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2021 and Chapter 25 of the Laws of 2024 |
Documentation and audit
| Proof submitted at renewal | No, attestation only |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | 6 years |
| Board audits compliance | Yes |
| Approved providers | Courses must be formal courses in appropriate subject areas from approved sponsors. Sponsors may be approved by the American Dental Association's Continuing Education Recognition Program, the Academy of General Dentistry's Program Approval for Continuing Education with national approval, the New York State Dental Association, or the New York State Education Department. Two further bodies may approve sponsors for dental hygienists only: the American Academy of Dental Hygiene and the New York Dental Hygienists' Association. Degree-granting institutions registered by the State Education Department or accredited by an equivalent agency are approved sponsors for courses in their registered or accredited programs. The extra duty to verify that a sponsor has at least one employee working 30 hours a week or more is written for dentists, not hygienists. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a New York RDH need to renew?
- New York dental hygienists must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every three years to renew their license with the New York State Board for Dentistry, New York State Education Department Office of the Professions. New York regulates dental hygiene through the State Education Department's Office of the Professions rather than a standalone licensing board, and unlike New York nursing, dental hygiene does carry a continuing education requirement. Education Law requires dental hygienists to complete 24 contact hours in each three-year registration period; dentists owe 60 in the same period, and the Office of the Professions states both figures in the same paragraph. A contact hour is at least 50 minutes; where a sponsor reports CEUs, one CEU equals 10 contact hours, and one college semester hour equals 15 contact hours. Hours cannot be carried from one registration period to the next and there is no per-year minimum. New York does not divide courses by physical or virtual setting; it divides them into live and self-study, where a live course is one in which the licensee can interact with the instructor. Hygienists must take at least seven twelfths of their hours live, which is 14 of 24, leaving at most 10 hours of self-study; the dentist fraction is different, seven tenths, or 42 of 60. Practice management, accounting, finance, statistics and internet skills are not acceptable subjects. Credit is not given for life or work experience, informal study clubs run by unapproved sponsors, studying on your own, research, journal writing, video making, or faculty teaching. CPR is worth noting carefully in New York: hygienists are not required to hold CPR certification, that mandate is written for dentists only, but a hygienist who does hold it may count up to 12 hours of CPR coursework per registration period, valuing a CPR course at up to 3 hours, a CPR course with AED training at up to 4.5 hours, an initial ACLS or PALS course at up to 12 hours and an ACLS recertification at up to 6 hours. A licensee in the first three-year registration period owes no continuing education unless licensed by endorsement of another jurisdiction's license, in which case it applies immediately. A shortened registration period is prorated: multiply the number of months by 0.67 for a hygienist, against 1.667 for a dentist. Inactive registrants who reactivate owe a full triennium of hours. New York sets no tobacco course, no jurisprudence and ethics course and no prescriber education for hygienists; all three are dentist-only.
- How often does a New York RDH license need to be renewed?
- Dental Hygienist licenses in New York renew every three years. A New York dental hygiene license is good for life, but practice requires a current registration, and the registration certificate runs three years. Registration periods are adjusted so that renewals fall in the licensee's birth month. The Office of the Professions mails a renewal application with a PIN about four months before the registration expires, and online renewal is open during the final five months of the period and for up to four months after it ends. A hygienist who is not practicing in New York can register inactive at no charge instead of paying the fee. A hygienist who has not finished the required continuing education may ask for a one-year conditional registration.
- What specific CE topics are required for New York dental hygienists?
- Infection control and barrier precautions training: required on a periodic schedule set by the board. Identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment: a one-time requirement of 2 contact hours. Citations: infection control and barrier precautions training (N.Y. Education Law 6505-b) and identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment (N.Y. Social Services Law 413, as amended by Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2021 and Chapter 25 of the Laws of 2024).
- Do New York dental hygienists 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 6 years. Courses must be formal courses in appropriate subject areas from approved sponsors. Sponsors may be approved by the American Dental Association's Continuing Education Recognition Program, the Academy of General Dentistry's Program Approval for Continuing Education with national approval, the New York State Dental Association, or the New York State Education Department. Two further bodies may approve sponsors for dental hygienists only: the American Academy of Dental Hygiene and the New York Dental Hygienists' Association. Degree-granting institutions registered by the State Education Department or accredited by an equivalent agency are approved sponsors for courses in their registered or accredited programs. The extra duty to verify that a sponsor has at least one employee working 30 hours a week or more is written for dentists, not hygienists.
- Is the first New York RDH renewal exempt from CE?
- Yes. New York does not require continuing education for a RDH's first renewal.
Sources
Last verified September 8, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- Continuing Education Questions and Answers for Dentists and Dental Hygienists, Dental Hygienists page, NYSED Office of the ProfessionsState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
- Mandated Training Related to Infection Control, NYSED Office of the ProfessionsState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
- Mandated Training for Dental Hygienists, NYSED Office of the ProfessionsState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
- Mandated Training Related to Child Abuse, NYSED Office of the ProfessionsState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
- Online Registration Renewal, NYSED Office of the ProfessionsState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
- Dental Hygienists, NYSED Office of the ProfessionsState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
New York licenses dental hygienists through the State Education Department's Office of the Professions and the State Board for Dentistry, the same body that covers dentists; there is no separate hygiene board or committee. Unlike New York nursing, dental hygiene does carry a continuing education requirement, so the wider New York pattern in this dataset does not carry over. The Office of the Professions publishes one shared continuing education Q and A under both professions, and it states the dentist total of 60 and the hygienist total of 24 in the same paragraph, so the hygienist figure was read as a hygienist figure. The live minimum is separately stated as seven twelfths for hygienists, 14 of 24, against seven tenths for dentists, and the 10 hour self-study ceiling is the complement the page describes as the balance of the remaining hours. Three dentist requirements deliberately do not appear here because the source scopes them to dentists: the mandate to achieve and maintain CPR certification, the one-time two hour tobacco course, and the one-time three hour New York dental jurisprudence and ethics course. The Public Health Law 3309-a prescriber education requirement also does not reach hygienists, who do not hold DEA registrations. What both credentials share is infection control every four years under Education Law 6505-b and the child abuse identification and reporting training. Hygienists may still count up to 12 hours of CPR, ACLS or PALS coursework toward the 24 hours even though the certification itself is not mandated for them. Records are kept six years, the licensee certifies completion on the renewal form rather than sending records, and random audits run every month. The board states it does not maintain or have access to any licensee's continuing education records.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the New York State Board for Dentistry, New York State Education Department Office of the Professions before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.