Licensure, Registration, and Renewal Requirements
Licensure is the legal permission to practice; registration is the listing of a licensee or facility with the board; certification is a credential that may or may not confer practice authority (for example, local anesthesia or nitrous oxide permits). Candidates must keep these terms distinct, because questions are built on the confusion between them. A hygienist may hold a license plus one or more additional permits, each with its own education, examination, and renewal requirements.
Know the pathways to licensure: graduation from an accredited program, successful completion of a clinical and written examination, and any state-specific jurisprudence examination. Understand the role of regional and national testing agencies versus the board - the testing agency supplies scores, but the board grants the license. Be able to describe endorsement or licensure by credentials for licensees from other jurisdictions, and the circumstances under which a temporary or provisional license may be issued.
Renewal questions test deadlines, continuing education hours and categories, late fees, and the consequences of practicing on a lapsed license. Distinguish inactive or retired status from an active license, and know that practicing while lapsed is generally unlicensed practice regardless of intent. Understand reinstatement after lapse or after discipline, which often requires additional CE, a fee, and sometimes board review.
Traps: assuming a national exam score alone confers a license; assuming CE completed after the deadline cures a late renewal; and treating a permit as if it were a separate license.
Rule of thumb: license = permission to practice; permit/certification = permission to perform a specific procedure; registration = being on the board's list.