DABOI/ID Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling

Key Dates for the 2026-2027 Cycle

If you're mapping out your path toward Diplomate status with the American Board of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry (ABOI/ID), the calendar matters as much as the content. The current published schedule sets the application deadline at December 1, 2026, with the Part I Written Examination administered on April 14, 2027. That gap gives candidates a defined runway between submitting paperwork and sitting for the exam - but it also means late applications, incomplete CE documentation, or last-minute fee issues can knock you out of the cycle entirely.

Because ABOI/ID updates its handbook and fee schedule periodically, always cross-check the current testing window against the official sources before you commit to a study plan. For a broader look at how this fits into the full certification arc, see our DABOI/ID Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify guide.

The December 1, 2026 Application Deadline

The application deadline exists to give the credentialing committee time to verify eligibility before a candidate is cleared to sit for Part I. For general dentists, that verification includes confirming a qualifying CODA/CDAC-accredited DDS/DMD, current dental licensure, and documentation of 670 implant-related continuing education hours from AGD/PACE and/or ADA/CERP recognized programs. Assembling that CE documentation is often the slowest part of the process, so it should not be left until the weeks before the deadline.

Candidates who hold AAID Fellowship status receive a Part I exemption along with 200 CE hours of credit toward the overall requirement, and separate approved specialist pathways provide their own written-exam exemptions. If either applies to you, confirm your status well before December 1, 2026, since exemption processing is part of the same administrative window as standard applications.

Exam Day Logistics at Pearson VUE

Part I is delivered at Pearson VUE testing centers as 200 single-best-answer multiple-choice questions administered over five hours. There is no built-in break; any pause you take is subtracted from your working time. That single detail changes how you should pace the exam - candidates who plan a fixed number of "checkpoint" questions per hour tend to manage the clock better than those who assume a mid-exam reset is coming.

The passing standard is criterion-referenced rather than graded on a curve, meaning your result is measured against a fixed competency bar, not against how other candidates in your sitting performed. For a full breakdown of exactly what that standard requires, see DABOI/ID Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.

Fees Tied to the Testing Window

The 2027-cycle fee schedule sets the initial written pathway at $600 nonrefundable application plus $800 for the written examination itself, totaling $1,400. Part II, the oral assessment, carries a separate $1,500 fee. If a retake is needed, written reexamination costs $800 and oral reexamination costs $1,500. None of the application fee is refundable, which is another reason to have your CE hours and licensure documentation finalized before you submit - a rejected or incomplete application still consumes that fee.

These figures reflect the dated 2027 schedule rather than older tables that may still appear in archived handbook copies, so always confirm you're referencing the current fee sheet before budgeting. For a complete cost breakdown across the full Diplomate pathway, including ongoing dues, read DABOI/ID Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

Why Part I and Part II Can't Share a Year

One scheduling detail that surprises new candidates: passing Part I alone does not confer Diplomate status, and the two parts cannot be taken in the same calendar year. In practice, this means your realistic timeline spans at least two testing cycles - one for the written exam, and a separate later cycle for the oral assessment, which combines standardized cases with a defense of candidate-submitted cases.

Part II itself has its own submission mechanics worth planning around now, even if your Part I date is still a year away. Candidates submit eight distinct patient cases, each finally restored and functional for at least one year at the time of submission; the committee then selects four of those eight for review without advance disclosure of which ones. Note also that oral case templates 2, 7, and 8 change for 2027 and become mandatory for all oral applicants starting in 2028 - if your case timeline stretches into that window, build your documentation around the updated templates from the start rather than reworking cases later.

Scheduling Prep Around the Five Domains

With a fixed exam date and no scheduled break during the test itself, the months before April 14, 2027 are where the real time management happens. The July 1, 2026 handbook's blueprint weights five domains unevenly, and your study calendar should mirror those weights rather than splitting time equally:

Because Domain 3 alone accounts for 44% of the blueprint, a study calendar that gives it equal weight to Domain 4 is mathematically misaligned with the exam. For a full domain-by-domain breakdown with subtopics, see DABOI/ID Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 5 Content Areas, and pair it with a structured plan in the DABOI/ID Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.

If you want a sense of how demanding this preparation timeline really is relative to other board pathways, How Hard Is the DABOI/ID Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 puts the workload in context, and reviewing outcome data in DABOI/ID Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows can help calibrate how much runway you personally need before April 14, 2027.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline

Because the application deadline and exam date are set well in advance, there's limited flexibility for late submissions. If your CE hours aren't fully documented, your licensure verification is pending, or your eligibility pathway (general dentist, AAID Fellow, or specialist) hasn't been confirmed, resolve those items with margin before December 1, 2026 rather than at the deadline itself. Candidates who need a written reexamination later pay the $800 reexam fee rather than the full $1,400 initial pathway cost, but that only applies after an actual exam attempt - not for candidates who simply missed the application window.

Running timed practice sessions well ahead of your scheduling decisions can also help you gauge readiness before locking in a date. You can build that habit using structured practice questions on our main practice test platform, which mirrors the pacing pressure of the five-hour, no-break format.

Once you're certified, the clock doesn't stop entirely - Diplomates certified from 2008 onward maintain their credential on an eight-year cycle requiring 160 implant-related CE hours, a take-home multiple-choice maintenance exam, attestation, and a $250 maintenance fee, on top of active annual dues of $450 under the current schedule. Factoring in that long-term commitment is part of deciding whether the certification path is right for you - our Is the DABOI/ID Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 article walks through that calculation, and DABOI/ID Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis covers the career side of the equation.

For candidates who like a condensed reference while juggling deadline tracking and domain review, keep a one-page summary handy - the DABOI/ID Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts is built for exactly that, and pairing it with timed drills on our practice test site is one of the more efficient ways to confirm you're pacing correctly for the five-hour format before your April 14, 2027 date arrives.

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