Information from U.S. Virgin Islands Board of Dental Examiners, VI Department of Health.(opens in new tab)

Practicing dentistry in the U.S. Virgin Islands(opens in new tab) means trading a daily commute for turquoise water, white and pink sand beaches, and a view of the Caribbean from your office window. St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix offer warm weather almost year round, some of the clearest reefs in the region, and a slower island pace that you call home rather than a vacation. Getting there does take some paperwork though, so here’s exactly what the U.S. Virgin Islands Board of Dental Examiners requires to get your license in hand.

This guide breaks the process down step by step, so you can gather your materials in the right order and avoid unnecessary delays. Every requirement in this walkthrough is drawn directly from the official application packet published by the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Health, Board of Dental Examiners.

Board rules, contact details, and fees can change. Always double-check current requirements with the Board directly before sending in your paperwork.

Choose Your Pathway

The Board offers three paths to licensure, and you’ll check one of them on the application itself. It helps to know which one fits your situation before you start gathering documents.

Licensure by Examination

For dentists applying based on their own exam results. You’ll need your passing INBDE (National Board) score and a passing score on an approved regional clinical exam, such as ADEX.

Licensure by Credential

For dentists who already hold a license elsewhere. You qualify if you’ve held an active license and been actively practicing in another U.S. state or territory for the five consecutive years immediately before applying.

Licensure by Residency

For dentists entering an accredited residency program in the USVI. You’ll attach a copy of your official program acceptance letter.

Before You Begin the Application

Collecting these ahead of time means you won’t be stuck mid-application waiting on something you could have started weeks earlier.

Third-Party Items to Request Early

These take the longest to move between offices, so start them as soon as you know you’re applying:

Background and identity checks.
- Contact B&B Reporting, Inc.(opens in new tab) at 256-574-2524 or service@bbreporting.com to set up your background check, or use the link the Board provides with your packet.
Exam scores.
- Submit a score request to the ADA’s Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (INBDE)(opens in new tab).
- Submit a score request to your ADEX testing agency(opens in new tab).
Data bank self-query.
- Request a self-query from the NPDB(opens in new tab).
State license verifications.
- Identify every state or territorial dental board where you hold, or have ever held, a license, and complete your portion of the Verification of Licensure form (your signature, printed name, and license number in that state) for each one.
- Use our state-by-state guide(opens in new tab) to navigate to the state, then to that state’s licensure verification request page, and send it there.
- Make sure each board sends its completed verification directly to the USVI Board, not back to you.

Documents to Have in Hand

Photo.
- One recent passport-style color photo. This needs to be a physical print, not a digital file, signed across the light portion of the front (not across your features).
Application fee.
- The $100 non-refundable application fee: certified check, bank money order, or U.S. Postal money order payable to the Government of the Virgin Islands, or a one-time credit card authorization.
Identity and education documents.
- Proof of age (21 or older): a copy of your birth certificate or similar proof of age.
- A copy of your dental school diploma, as proof of graduation from an ADA-accredited school of dentistry.
Reference letters.
- Two original character reference letters on official letterhead, from people who aren’t related to you.
If applicable.
- Certified English translations of any foreign-language documents, prepared by an official translation authority.
- If you weren’t born in the U.S., a notarized copy of your Certificate of Citizenship, Declaration of Intention, or Derivative Citizenship documentation.

Who You’ll Need

References
- Three unrelated, licensed citizens (or staff of your professional school) willing to sign as peer endorsements. Ask them well in advance, make them fully aware of what the signature is for, and confirm they’ll provide a personal signature, not a typed name.
Notary Pubic
- Access to a notary public, since several pages of the application need to be signed in their presence.

Step-by-Step

The Application

This is the packet you’ll physically mail once everything from the Gather section above is in progress or complete:

Download the form and mark the basics.
- Download the application form(opens in new tab) from the USVI Department of Health’s site.
- Check “Dentist” and your license pathway (Credential, Examination, or Residency) at the top.
Fill in your personal and professional history.
- Type all of your personal information: mailing address, birth date and birthplace, phone numbers, Social Security number, email, dental school, graduation date, and degree received.
- Fill out the Licensure History chart, listing every state, license number, dates held, and current status for each license you’ve ever held.
- Answer the character and disciplinary history questions on the application (license rejections, revocations, criminal convictions, pending actions). If you answer “yes” to any, attach a written explanation.
- Type out your practice history timeline, a year-by-year summary from dental school graduation to today.
Get everything notarized.
- Print your completed application before your notary appointment. A notary needs to watch you sign in person, so these pages can’t be signed ahead of time or notarized from a filled-in PDF alone.
- Get the application affidavit signed and notarized.
- Complete and notarize the VI Non-Addiction Affidavit, included in the packet.
- Complete and notarize the Authorization for Release of Information, included in the packet.
Collect your signatures.
- Collect your three peer endorsement signatures on page 4, including each signer’s printed name, P.O. address, and how long they’ve known you.
Complete the Jurisprudence Exam.
- Work through the exam on pages 11 through 14. You need a score of 75% or higher.
Add anything specific to your pathway.
- If applying by Residency, attach a copy of your official program acceptance letter.
- If you’re a foreign-trained applicant graduating from a school not accredited by CODA, also attach proof of a clinical specialty or accredited DDS/DMD program, and confirm your INBDE and ADEX/jurisprudence exam results satisfy the additional foreign-trained requirements.
Assemble and mail your file.
- Collect your application, payment, photo, diploma copy, references, and completed exam pages. Make a full scan or photocopy of every page for your own records, then send the original packet by trackable mail to:

VI Board of Dental Examiners
VI Department of Health
PO Box 222995
Christiansted, VI 00822-2995

Contact Info

Phone (St. Croix): 340-718-1311, ext. 3849
Phone (St. Thomas): 340-774-7477, ext. 5694
Email: boardofdentalexaminers@doh.vi.gov

Notes

An application isn’t considered complete, and won’t be scheduled for review, until every required document, background check result, and fee is on file with the Board’s office.
Remember to keep a digital file with copies of everything you send, in case you need to reference it later.
Applications are reviewed quarterly. Confirm the Board’s current meeting schedule when you request your packet, so your third-party documents have time to arrive before the next review cycle.

If a move to the U.S. Virgin Islands is on your radar, you don’t have to do it alone. ETS Dental connects dentists with practices across the US, and it’s completely free for candidates. We know the territory and what makes a good fit on both sides, so we can help guide you toward the right opportunity. Reach out to Adam Spangler, and he’ll work with you to find the practice that’s the perfect fit.