Vermont Dentist license renewal and CE requirements
Vermont dentists must complete 30 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Vermont Board of Dental Examiners, Office of Professional Regulation, Vermont Secretary of State.
Dental licenses are renewed every two years on a schedule determined by the Office of Professional Regulation. No continuing education reporting is required at the first biennial renewal date following licensure. To renew, a dentist must meet the active practice requirements the Board sets by rule and document the required continuing professional education completed during the two year licensing period preceding renewal.
Summary
Vermont dentists must complete 30 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Vermont Board of Dental Examiners, Office of Professional Regulation, Vermont Secretary of State. Dental licenses are renewed every two years on a schedule determined by the Office of Professional Regulation. No continuing education reporting is required at the first biennial renewal date following licensure. To renew, a dentist must meet the active practice requirements the Board sets by rule and document the required continuing professional education completed during the two year licensing period preceding renewal. Vermont also mandates specific subjects. Emergency office procedures course: required every renewal cycle. The first renewal is exempt.
Vermont 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 | Two-year (24 months) |
|---|---|
| Renewal deadline | Board-specific schedule |
| 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 | Yes |
26 V.S.A. 661(d)(1) requires a dentist to document completion of no fewer than 30 hours of Board approved continuing professional education, which shall include an emergency office procedures course, during the two year licensing period preceding renewal, and to meet active practice requirements set by Board rule. The statute sets each credential's figure separately in its own subsection: 30 hours for dentists, 20 for dental therapists and 18 for dental hygienists, so none of them is a scaled version of another. 26 V.S.A. 661(b) states that no continuing education reporting is required at the first biennial renewal after licensure, and 661(c) lets the Board waive continuing education for licensees on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. The Board's forms and instructions page states that synchronous virtual courses, meaning live or interactive rather than pre-recorded, qualify as live in-person training and will be accepted for renewal. No CPR or BLS requirement, self study cap, carryover rule, documentation retention period or audit process appears in the statute; those would sit in the Board's administrative rules, which Vermont publishes only as a PDF that was not opened.
Required CE topics for Vermont dentists
State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Applies to | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency office procedures courseThe statute requires the 30 hours to include an emergency office procedures course but states no number of hours for it. The same course requirement is written separately into the dental hygienist subsection, 26 V.S.A. 661(f). | Not stated | Every renewal | All licensees | 26 V.S.A. 661(d)(1) |
Documentation and audit
| Proof submitted at renewal | Yes |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | Not stated |
| Board audits compliance | Not stated |
| Approved providers | The statute requires Board approved continuing professional education and requires the dentist to document completion at renewal. The Board's forms and instructions page states that synchronous virtual courses count as live in-person training. Which sponsors the Board approves is set in the Board's administrative rules, which are published only as a PDF and were not read. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a Vermont DDS/DMD need to renew?
- Vermont dentists must complete 30 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Vermont Board of Dental Examiners, Office of Professional Regulation, Vermont Secretary of State. 26 V.S.A. 661(d)(1) requires a dentist to document completion of no fewer than 30 hours of Board approved continuing professional education, which shall include an emergency office procedures course, during the two year licensing period preceding renewal, and to meet active practice requirements set by Board rule. The statute sets each credential's figure separately in its own subsection: 30 hours for dentists, 20 for dental therapists and 18 for dental hygienists, so none of them is a scaled version of another. 26 V.S.A. 661(b) states that no continuing education reporting is required at the first biennial renewal after licensure, and 661(c) lets the Board waive continuing education for licensees on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. The Board's forms and instructions page states that synchronous virtual courses, meaning live or interactive rather than pre-recorded, qualify as live in-person training and will be accepted for renewal. No CPR or BLS requirement, self study cap, carryover rule, documentation retention period or audit process appears in the statute; those would sit in the Board's administrative rules, which Vermont publishes only as a PDF that was not opened.
- How often does a Vermont DDS/DMD license need to be renewed?
- Dentist licenses in Vermont renew every two years. Dental licenses are renewed every two years on a schedule determined by the Office of Professional Regulation. No continuing education reporting is required at the first biennial renewal date following licensure. To renew, a dentist must meet the active practice requirements the Board sets by rule and document the required continuing professional education completed during the two year licensing period preceding renewal.
- What specific CE topics are required for Vermont dentists?
- Emergency office procedures course: required every renewal cycle. Citations: emergency office procedures course (26 V.S.A. 661(d)(1)).
- Do Vermont dentists have to submit CE certificates at renewal?
- Proof of completion must be submitted with the renewal. The statute requires Board approved continuing professional education and requires the dentist to document completion at renewal. The Board's forms and instructions page states that synchronous virtual courses count as live in-person training. Which sponsors the Board approves is set in the Board's administrative rules, which are published only as a PDF and were not read.
- Is the first Vermont DDS/DMD renewal exempt from CE?
- Yes. Vermont does not require continuing education for a DDS/DMD's first renewal.
Sources
Last verified September 8, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- 26 V.S.A. 661, Renewal of license (Vermont Statutes Online, Vermont General Assembly)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
- Dental Examiners, Vermont Office of Professional RegulationState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
- Dental Examiner Statutes, Rules and Resources, Vermont Office of Professional RegulationState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
- Dental Examiner Forms and Instructions, Vermont Office of Professional RegulationState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
The 30 hour total, the emergency office procedures requirement, the two year cycle and the first renewal reporting exemption were read in the text of 26 V.S.A. 661 on the Vermont General Assembly's own statutes site. Note for link checking: legislature.vermont.gov currently presents an incomplete TLS certificate chain, so strict clients reject it; the page itself returns HTTP 200 and the text was read from it. The exact renewal date is not published in HTML anywhere that was found. The Board's administrative rules, effective 10/15/2025, and the Office of Professional Regulation's initial licensing and renewal fees and dates schedule are both PDFs on outside.vermont.gov and neither was opened, so self study caps, subject detail beyond emergency office procedures, CPR requirements, retention and audit are left null and the renewal basis is recorded as other with no fixed date. The host outside.vermont.gov responded normally today rather than with the 503 seen earlier in the week, but the documents on it are PDFs and the no-download rule still applies. Vermont's controlled substance continuing education notice for prescribers is likewise a PDF and was not read, so no opioid or controlled substance topic is recorded.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the Vermont Board of Dental Examiners, Office of Professional Regulation, Vermont Secretary of State before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.