How Many Times Can You Take the INBDE? Retake Rules, Scoring and the 2025 Change
You can take the INBDE as many times as you need until you pass: there is no lifetime cap, but you must wait at least 60 days between attempts and can sit it no more than 4 times in any 12-month period. Once you reach 5 attempts or 5 years since your first attempt (whichever comes first), you can retest only once every 6 months after your most recent attempt, a wait the JCNDE cut from 12 months on 25 June 2025.
Below: which wait applies to you, a worked example with real dates, how scoring works, and what a retake costs. Every rule is checked against the 2026 INBDE Candidate Guide (updated 08/04/2026).
How The Study Boards helps you pass on your next attempt
- A structured second pass: faculty-created Modules and Master Files take you through every subject again, with daily tasks for the day and mentor coordination, instead of repeating your first round of prep.
- Built around your weak areas: the course is extremely personalised. It learns from the way you are studying, red lines and assignments are given to you on the go, and faculty are there to assist you.
- Stamina before you retest: nightly live tests at 9 PM New York time and the Grand Test Series of 8-hour mock exams rebuild the pacing a fail report cannot show.
Students who complete the course have a 99% first-attempt pass rate, and our Pass Guarantee covers you. See the INBDE course blueprint.
How many times can you take the INBDE?
Six rules decide how often you can retake the INBDE. All six come straight from the JCNDE retest policy.
No lifetime limit on attemptsThe policy never stops you from testing. After 5 attempts or 5 years, it only slows you down to one attempt every 6 months.
Minimum gap between attemptsYou must wait at least 60 days after each unsuccessful attempt before you test again.
Maximum 4 attempts in 12 monthsIf you use all 4, your 5th attempt waits until 12 months have passed from the first of those 4 attempts.
The 5 attempts / 5 years ruleYou are expected to pass within 5 years of your first attempt or within 5 attempts, whichever comes first. After that, you can test once every 6 months.
No retakes after you passA candidate who passes may not retake the INBDE unless a dental board or other regulatory agency requires it.
What counts as an attemptAn attempt starts once you are seated at the test center computer and electronically accept the confidentiality statement.
A worked example, with real dates
This shows the fastest possible path for a candidate who keeps failing. It is not a plan to copy; it shows how the rules stack.
The JCNDE cut a 12-month wait to 6 months
This is a real, dated policy action, not a rumor. It affects one specific group of candidates, not everyone who fails.
How INBDE scoring actually works
You never see a number if you pass. You only see one if you fail.
Reported only as “Pass”No numerical score is given to candidates who pass. The result is simply pass, with no further detail.
A full scale-score breakdownCandidates who do not pass receive their overall scale score, plus performance information at the level of the 3 clinical content areas and the 10 foundation knowledge areas, for remediation.
The scale, and where 75 sits on it
Pass or fail is decided only by your overall scale score, never by a single content area. A scale score of 74 does not mean you were one question away; scale scores are not raw counts of correct answers, and some questions on the exam are unscored trial items that look identical to real ones. Our full guide to how the INBDE is scored goes deeper.
What a fail report breaks down by
Clinical Content areasDiagnosis and Treatment Planning · Oral Health Management · Practice and Profession
Foundation Knowledge areasFrom basic biomedical science through pharmacology, ethics and research methodology
Overall scale scoreThe single number that actually decides pass or fail
Which retest rule applies to you?
Pick the situation closest to yours.
Wait a minimum of 60 days
You can retest as soon as 60 days after an unsuccessful attempt, as long as you stay under 4 total administrations in any 12-month period.
Same 60-day minimum applies
Keep counting your attempts within the rolling 12-month window. Each retest still needs at least 60 days since your last attempt.
You wait until 12 months from your first attempt in that window
If you use all 4 permitted administrations within a 12-month period, a 5th attempt is not available until a full 12 months have passed from your first testing attempt in that same window.
You can now retest every 6 months, not 12
Since 25 June 2025, candidates past the 5 attempts or 5 years threshold wait 6 months between attempts instead of 12. This rule cannot be appealed, and it applies whether you are at attempt 6, attempt 10, or well past the 5-year mark.
You cannot retake the INBDE after passing
A pass is final. The JCNDE allows a retake after a pass only when a dental board or other regulatory agency requires it. There is also no higher score to chase: passing candidates are reported only as “Pass”, with no number.
INBDE fees, as of October 2026
Every retake needs a new application and the full fee. There is no retake discount.
Fees are non-refundable and non-transferable, and can change year to year. Always confirm the current amount on your own application before paying. Step-by-step help: INBDE registration.
12 tips, in three groups
Tap a group.
Your subarea breakdown will not tell you the exact question you missed, but it will show which of Diagnosis and Treatment Planning, Oral Health Management, or Practice and Profession pulled your score down the most. Start there, not wherever feels comfortable.
A 74 is not “one question away” from a 75. Scale scores adjust for question difficulty and are not a simple percent-correct count, so treat your score as a general signal of readiness, not a precise measurement.
Weakness in a foundation area like pharmacology or general pathology often quietly drags down performance across several clinical content areas at once. Fixing the foundation gap can lift more than one score at the same time.
The JCNDE itself encourages candidates to seek formal remediation before re-examination. That means a structured second pass through your weak areas, not just more of the same studying. In our course, red lines and assignments are given to you on the go so those weak areas get fixed first.
60 days is the earliest you are allowed to retest, not a recommended timeline. If your report showed broad gaps, take the extra weeks you are allowed rather than rushing back at the earliest legal date.
Write down the date of your first attempt and your running total. The 4-per-year cap and the 5 attempts / 5 years rule both depend on dates you are responsible for tracking yourself.
Once you are past 5 attempts or 5 years, your wait becomes 6 months under the current rule, a real change from the old 12-month rule. Plan your study block to fully use that 6-month window rather than testing early and under-prepared.
Using all 4 attempts within one 12-month period pushes your next attempt out to 12 months from your first attempt in that window, not 12 months from your most recent one. Know which date actually governs your next eligible slot.
Content review alone does not rebuild exam-day stamina and pacing. Simulate the real 2-day, 12-hour-30-minute administration at least once before you retest. We train our students in timed blocks through nightly live tests and 8-hour Grand Test mocks.
INBDE fees are non-refundable and non-transferable, and a retest is a new, full fee, not a discounted one. Plan the cost into your timeline the same way you plan your study time.
Name changes and other application details must be updated at least 10 business days before your test date. Check your account well before your new test date, not the week of.
Our INBDE course ties its Pass Guarantee to your benchmark performance on our own tests: finish on time and still do not pass, and we refund the course fee and your INBDE registration fee. Know what protection you have before you commit to another round of study.
Before-you-retest checklist
Tap each item as you clear it.
Frequently asked questions
How many times can you take the INBDE?
How long do I have to wait to retake the INBDE?
What is the INBDE 5 attempts / 5 years rule?
Does the 6-month rule apply to me if this is only my 2nd attempt?
Can I retake the INBDE after passing to get a higher score?
Does an INBDE retake cost the full fee?
Do old NBDE Part I/II attempts count against my INBDE attempts?
Does a missed appointment count as an attempt?
Can I appeal my attempt count or the wait period?
INBDE Premium Boards by The Study Boards
35,000+ questions across 12 sections, nightly live tests at 9 PM New York time, and our Pass Guarantee: finish the course with no overdue days and score 60%+ on every test along the way, and if you still do not pass the INBDE, we refund your course fee and your INBDE exam registration fee.
Planning a retest, or your first attempt?
Message us with your attempt count and dates. Our Admin Team with Dr. T and Dr. Kaur will contact you over WhatsApp.
Current as of 14 October 2026. Sources: the 2026 INBDE Candidate Guide (updated 08/04/2026), the JCNDE’s INBDE and INBDE results pages, and the JCNDE’s Unofficial Report of Major Actions from its 25 June 2025 meeting. Rules and fees are set by the JCNDE and ADA and can change; confirm current details on jcnde.ada.org before you register or retest. Educational content, not licensing advice.