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Canada · Licensing exam

NDEB Equivalency Process for non-accredited dental graduates

If your dental degree is from a program that isn’t accredited in Canada, the NDEB Equivalency Process is one of three ways to qualify for the national certification exam. The National Dental Examining Board of Canada (NDEB) checks your credentials first. Then you pass three exams in order: the Assessment of Fundamental Knowledge (AFK), the Assessment of Clinical Judgement (ACJ) and the NDECC. After that you sit the Virtual OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination), like every other new dentist.

  • 3Exams you pass, in a set order
  • 10 weeksCredential verification time NDEB lists
  • 2.5 to 4 yearsNDEB’s sample time to certification
Read the 2026 application guide

Updated October 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

Who the equivalency process is for

NDEB counts a dental program as non-accredited when the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC) hasn’t accredited it or recognized it under a mutual recognition agreement, even if the university is authorized by its government to award the degree. If you hold a DDS, DMD or BDS from a program like that, NDEB lists three options:

  • The NDEB Equivalency Process: three exams, then the certification process.
  • An accredited qualifying or degree completion program at a Canadian faculty of dentistry. Finishing one makes you a graduate of an accredited program, so you go straight to the certification process.
  • The Bridge Training to Dental Practice in Canada (BTDPC) program, for people who have started the Equivalency Process but haven’t passed the NDECC. Completing an accredited BTDPC also makes you eligible for the certification process.

NDEB says there’s no reciprocity with the Australian Dental Council (ADC), so finishing the ADC’s process doesn’t let you skip this one. Going the other way, NDEB and the Dental Council of New Zealand have an agreement that lets people who complete the NDEB Equivalency Process apply for a dentist’s licence in New Zealand.

NDEB: Graduates of Non-Accredited Dental Programs ↗ACFD: BTDPC program ↗ADC exams for dentists in Australia →

How do you apply to the NDEB equivalency process?

  1. Read the required documents for your country and download the 2026 Equivalency Process Application Guide. NDEB warns that documents sent incorrectly delay approval.
  2. Create an NDEBConnect account and pay the one-time application fee. You get an NDEB ID number to quote whenever you contact NDEB.
  3. Download the Equivalency Process Form and send it with your documents. Your university and licensing body send theirs to NDEB directly.
  4. Wait for credential verification. NDEB screens what you sent, then reviews it in two stages, and emails you if anything is missing.
  5. When every document is accepted, NDEB emails you that your application is approved, and you can register for the AFK.

If you can’t get a required document for reasons beyond your control, NDEB has an Alternative Documentation Submission process. You don’t need to be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident to apply.

NDEB: Equivalency Process, How to Apply ↗NDEB: Required Documents ↗Setting up NDEBConnect →Equivalency Process fees →

The three exams, in order

You must pass each exam before you can register for the one after it:

  • Assessment of Fundamental Knowledge (AFK): biomedical science and applied clinical science, in multiple-choice questions.
  • Assessment of Clinical Judgement (ACJ): diagnosis, clinical decisions and reading radiographs, through patient cases.
  • NDECC: clinical skills on a manikin and situational judgement stations, over two days in Ottawa.

You can take the AFK and the ACJ three times each. If you fail one of them three times, NDEB says you can’t continue in the process, and the way back is a dental degree from an accredited university.

People who failed the Assessment of Clinical Skills (ACS) three times may re-apply to the Equivalency Process until NDEB ends that option on May 1, 2027.

AFK exam →ACJ exam →NDECC →NDEB: Equivalency Process Re-application ↗

How long the equivalency process takes

It depends on when you can get an exam seat and how many tries each exam takes you. NDEB gives two sample timelines. In the first, someone who passes every exam the first time goes from application in January 2023 to certification in July 2025:

  • January 2023: application and credential verification
  • August 2023: AFK
  • May 2024: ACJ
  • October 2024: NDECC
  • May 2025: Virtual OSCE
  • July 2025: certified

In NDEB’s second example the same person repeats the AFK, the ACJ and the NDECC once each and is certified in January 2027, four years after applying.

Sources: NDEB and 5 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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