Board discusses attestation for RDAs and plans statewide fingerprint requirement for license renewals

At the continuing education and licensing committee meetings, staff proposed adding an attestation to the Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) renewal form and told members the agency will require fingerprint-based state identification (SID) numbers for licensees who do not already have one. The agency said the SID requirement will take effect in January 2026 and that licensees without an SID will be required to submit fingerprints at renewal.

Lede: Staff showed committee members screenshots of the current RDA renewal application, which already contains attestations about continuing-education compliance and a final attestation that the applicant's answers are true under penalty of perjury. The committee discussed whether to expand wording or require employer co-signatures; staff advised that the attestation about CE is what allows the agency to open disciplinary action when falsified.

Nut graf: The committee endorsed continuing to use attestations in renewals rather than adding mandatory extra CE for assistants. Members suggested increased outreach (newsletter reminders and sample guidance) rather than immediate regulatory change; they also told staff to consider operational details before requiring fingerprints at renewal.

Fingerprint/SID requirement: Staff told the committee the agency lacks an SID number in its licensing database for many long-time licensees and that without that number the agency is not notified automatically of criminal-history events via the DPS portal. To remedy this, staff proposed requiring licensees who do not have an SID to submit fingerprint background checks upon renewal beginning in January 2026. Staff said the typical vendor fee for fingerprint processing is roughly $38.75 and described a plan to notify licensees well in advance; once the SID is in the licensee's record, the licensee will not need to resubmit fingerprints for subsequent renewals.

Key committee discussion points: - Attestation use and enforcement: Staff noted that attestations appear three times during the online renewal flow and that the attestation language can be used as evidence in disciplinary actions when applicants falsely claim CE compliance. Members agreed the attestation is a useful enforcement tool; some suggested clarifying language but staff cautioned that a generic attestation that someone read the rules has limited enforcement utility compared with attesting to specific CE completion. - Employer co-signature: A stakeholder suggested an employer co-signature; committee members and staff said the supervising dentist remains responsible and that employer co-signatures would add administrative burden without clear benefit. - Timing and operational details for fingerprints: Members asked whether licensees could submit fingerprints earlier than a renewal window and whether medical-board fingerprints could be reused; staff explained each agency uses a separate agency-specific code and SID, and licensees would need to do the process for this board even if they previously provided fingerprints to another agency. Staff proposed adding longer renewal access windows (90 days) to help licensees complete the fingerprint step.

Outcome and next steps: The committee discussed the proposal and expressed broad support for staff notifying licensees and implementing the SID requirement in 2026 with ample notice; staff will prepare outreach materials, add information to the newsletter and return with operational details. No formal rule change was required for the SID program; staff will present the initiative to the full board.

Ending: Staff will publish guidance and notice to licensees well ahead of 2026 renewals; the board encouraged staff to consider longer renewal windows and user experience improvements to minimize last-minute burdens.