NDECC Exam Dates 2026 to 2027: Sessions, Format, Grading

When are the NDECC exam dates?

Session	Registration deadline
September 28 to November 26, 2026	August 10, 2026
January 4 to March 11, 2027	October 20, 2026

NDEB’s NDECC calendar already shows exam weeks running to November 2027. Click a week there to see its registration window and evaluation period. Registration deadlines are at 21:00 Eastern time.

Once you pass the Assessment of Clinical Judgement (ACJ), NDEB offers you registration for your first NDECC attempt. If you don’t take that offer, you register when registration opens: log in at 10:00 a.m. on the registration date, or at 9:00 a.m. if NDEB has approved your proof of Canadian citizenship or permanent residency.

Treat the date you pick as tentative and be flexible. Keep your NDEBConnect profile up to date with the language you want to take the exam in and whether you’re left- or right-handed.

NDEB: NDECC ↗

What happens over the two days

The NDECC has two components, and either can fall on day one or day two. The clinical skills component takes a full day: two four-hour sessions with a mandatory 30-minute break between them. The situational judgement component takes half a day, 2.5 hours with no scheduled break, in the morning or the afternoon.

On the clinical day you treat a manikin as if it were a real patient and do these requirements, in any order:

Class II amalgam preparation
Class II amalgam restoration
Class II composite resin restoration
Class IV composite resin restoration
Endodontic access cavity preparation
Crown preparation
Provisional crown restoration, made on your crown preparation

Infection control and safety are graded throughout. You don’t have to place a dental dam for the exam, though NDEB notes it’s part of the standard of care. NDEB supplies the instruments and materials; the NDECC Practical Guide lists them and what you may bring.

The situational judgement stations cover five requirements: patient-centred care, professionalism, communication and collaboration, practice and information management, and health promotion. Five stations need a written answer and five a conversation with an actor, and every station is recorded.

NDEB: NDECC Practical Guide, effective July 30, 2026 (PDF) ↗The NDECC Test Centre in Ottawa →

How the NDECC is graded

You must pass both components to pass the NDECC. Each clinical requirement is graded competent, minimally competent or not competent, and both of the first two count as a pass. One error in the not competent category fails the clinical skills component.

For infection control and safety you’re allowed two errors. Three or more, or one critical error such as working without a mask, gloves or eye protection, fail the component. Morning and afternoon are graded separately, so the same mistake made in both sessions counts as two errors.

In situational judgement each station is a pass or a fail, and there are two stations for each of the five requirements. You need at least six passes in all, with at least one in every requirement.

NDEB evaluates NDECC work in sessions through the year and tells you beforehand when yours will be marked. Results normally come within eight weeks of that evaluation session, with a pass or fail for the exam, each component and each requirement.

Retakes and the five-year limit

If you fail one component, you retake only that one. There’s no cap on attempts, but you must pass within 60 months of the date you passed the ACJ.

NDEB says that from May 2027, candidates who haven’t shown minimal competence on both components after five years stop being candidates in the Equivalency Process. If you had exceptional medical circumstances, or couldn’t register for the NDECC at least three times in those five years, you can ask NDEB to extend your candidate status.

NDEB: NDECC Protocol, effective June 15, 2026 (PDF) ↗NDECC fees →

Sources: NDEB and 5 more. Checked October 2026.