What the ADC exam really costs in 2026 (and what prep should cost)
If you trained as a dentist overseas and want to practise in Australia, the Australian Dental Council (ADC) pathway is a big financial commitment. Most people budget for the exam fee. Fewer budget for what it costs when an attempt doesn't go to plan, or know how to judge whether a prep course is worth the money.
Here are the official numbers, taken from the ADC's own website on 29 October 2026, and an honest way to think about what preparation should cost.
The official ADC fees for dentists
These are the ADC's published fees for dentists (all in AUD):
• Initial assessment: $647. You need this before you can apply for the written exam.
• Written examination application: $2,122 per attempt.
• Practical examination application: $4,775 per attempt.
• Review of a written exam result: $1,008.
• Independent appeal committee (written exam): $5,305.
Added up, the minimum ADC fees to get through assessment, one written attempt and one practical attempt come to $7,544. That's before travel, accommodation for the practical, registration with the Dental Board of Australia or any study costs.
In June 2026 the ADC announced it would freeze its examination and application fees for another twelve months. Fees can change after that, so always check the ADC fees page before you budget.
Dates and timing for 2027
The written exam is held twice a year, usually in March and September, at Pearson VUE test centres. The ADC's published dates for 2027 are:
• 2027 Period 1: initial assessment deadline 11 October 2026; applications 8 to 15 December 2026; exam Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 March 2027.
• 2027 Period 2: initial assessment deadline 11 April 2027; applications 8 to 15 June 2027; exam Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 September 2027.
The Period 1 initial assessment deadline has already passed. If you haven't submitted your initial assessment yet, plan around Period 2.
The ADC says the whole cycle takes about 5 months from the application period to results, and results are released about six weeks after the exam. A pass in the written exam is valid for five years, and there's no limit on the number of attempts.
The real cost is the resit
"No limit on attempts" sounds reassuring. In practice, every attempt is another $2,122, and the next sitting is usually about six months away.
According to the ADC's Annual Report 2024-25, the written exam pass rate was 12% in 2024-25 (404 of 3,325 candidates). In 2023-24 it was 41%. The same report gives a practical exam pass rate of 11% for 2024-25.
So for most candidates, the honest budget isn't one written exam fee. It's one fee plus a realistic chance of another, plus the months of waiting, study and delayed work in between.
Booking too early costs money too. Under the ADC's withdrawal procedure for the general dentistry written exam, you get an 80% refund if you withdraw before booking your Pearson VUE venue (at least two weeks before the exam), 50% after booking (still at least two weeks out), and no refund within two weeks of the exam. Illness withdrawals with a medical certificate are discretionary and capped at 50%.
The cheapest written exam is the one you sit once, when you're actually ready.
What prep costs, and what you're actually paying for
The ADC is clear on its website: "We do not recommend or endorse any proprietary or informal courses advertising as preparation for the written examination." That includes us. No prep provider is official, so you have to judge each one on what it actually gives you.
Price alone tells you very little. Plenty of offers lean on a "value" stack instead. A made-up example: "$700+ value, today only $149". The $700 figure is a number the seller chose, and "today only" pricing exists to stop you comparing. Neither tells you whether the content is current, accurate or likely to help you pass.
Before you pay for any prep, ask:
• Is it built on current Australian standards? The exam expects today's Therapeutic Guidelines: Oral and Dental, ANZCOR resuscitation guidelines and Dental Board of Australia guidelines, not old recalled questions or overseas protocols.
• Does every answer explain why? Including why the other options are wrong.
• Can you practise under exam conditions? Full-length, timed practice shows you how you hold up across a whole session.
• Does it show you your weak subjects? Studying what you already know feels productive but doesn't move your score.
• Are the terms published in full before you pay? Any guarantee should have its conditions written down where you can read them first.
• Can you try it first, for free?
A sensible test for any prep is to ask whether it costs a small fraction of a single resit fee and is designed to improve your odds on the first attempt. If it isn't, it's hard to justify.
Our pricing, plainly
• Free ($0): 10 practice MCQs every day, one Readiness Trial to gauge where you stand, and the member community.
• Pro Monthly: AUD $19 a month for unlimited practice across all 1,200+ exam-style MCQs, all 3 full-length Readiness Trials, Smart Tutor explanations and weak-area targeting.
• March 2027 Pass: AUD $89, a one-time payment for full Pro access through 31 March 2027. No subscription.
For context, the $89 March 2027 Pass is about 4% of one written exam fee. We don't run countdown timers or inflated "value" figures. The price on the pricing page is the price.
Our 80% Readiness Commitment is conditional, and the full terms are at passadc.com/guarantee. We can't promise you'll pass, and nobody honestly can.
Sources
• ADC international practitioners fees (accessed 29 October 2026): https://www.adc.org.au/internationally-qualified-dental-practitioners/additional-information/international-practitioners-fees/
• ADC written examination for dentists (accessed 29 October 2026): https://www.adc.org.au/internationally-qualified-dental-practitioners/dentists/written-examination/
• ADC news, examination and application fee freeze (24 June 2026): https://www.adc.org.au/news/adc-examination-and-application-fee-freeze/
• ADC Annual Report 2024-25 (written exam results FY2020-FY2025; practical exam pass rate): https://www.adc.org.au/files/corporate/annual-reports/ADC_Annual_Report_2024_2025.pdf
• ADC Assessments and Examinations Withdrawal Procedure (Table 1, refunds): https://www.adc.org.au/files/assessment/policies-assessment/ADC_Assessments_and_Examinations_Withdrawal_Procedure.pdf
Before you pay $2,122, see where you stand
The most useful number before you apply isn't a fee. It's an honest picture of how ready you are, subject by subject. Our free readiness check shows you which subjects need the most work, so you can decide when to book and what to study first.
The PassADC team