Becoming an EFDA — getting certified to perform expanded functions — generally follows four steps: meet your state's baseline for a dental assistant, complete a board-approved course in the expanded functions you want, pass the required competency exam where your state sets one, and apply for the credential — usually from your state board.
There's no single national EFDA certification: DANB's own certification list has no EFDA on it, and each state sets its own prerequisites, coursework, and exams — so the specifics below are the shape the states we document share, not a universal checklist.
The short answer
An EFDA credential is earned, state by state, by adding board-approved training — and, where your state requires one, an exam — on top of being a dental assistant.
You don't apply for it out of nowhere: you build toward it from an assisting foundation, then earn your state's credential for the specific expanded functions.
For what the credential actually is and which duties it covers, start with what an EFDA is.
This guide is about the path to earning it.
There is no national EFDA pathway — your state board sets the rules
How do you get EFDA certified?
"Certified" is the right word for the goal, but it doesn't describe one credential.
There is no national EFDA certification: DANB's published certification list — which includes the CDA, COA, NELDA, CPFDA, CRFDA and its infection-control credentials — has no EFDA on it, and every route we document is defined by the state's own rules, with the instrument itself changing at the state line.
Pennsylvania's board certifies EFDAs; Maine licenses expanded function dental assistants as a separate board license; Missouri's dental board issues expanded functions permits; and Georgia's EDDA credential is a certificate issued by the sponsor of the accredited course rather than a board license.
The title moves with it: DANB notes that some states use the EFDA title while others use Licensed Dental Assistant (LDA), Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) or Registered Dental Assistant in Extended Functions (RDAEF) for the expanded-function level.
Two national pieces sit alongside the state credential.
DANB — the same body behind the CDA — offers the Certified Restorative Functions Dental Assistant (CRFDA) certification, built from four exams: Temporaries (TMP), Impressions (IM), Restorative Functions (RF) and Sealants (SE).
And two of the states we document write DANB exams directly into their routes: Oregon's board has DANB certify its assistants in expanded functions and radiologic proficiency, and Connecticut defines an expanded function dental assistant as someone who has passed DANB's CDA or COA exam plus a CODA-accredited EFDA program and keeps that DANB certification current.
Don't assume the national CDA covers you on its own, though.
New Mexico's board is explicit that DANB certification lets you use the C.D.A. initials but doesn't qualify you to perform expanded functions without board certification.
Whatever "certified" means in your state, the outline is the four steps in the next section — what changes is what your state accepts at each step.
Because the title, the instrument, the training and the exam are all defined at state level — even where a state folds a DANB exam into its route — start from the rules where you live: see which states allow expanded function dental assistants, then confirm with your board.
Sources: Dental Assisting National Board (danb.org); Pennsylvania, Maine and Oregon board sites; Missouri rule 20 CSR 2110-2; Georgia rule 150-9; Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-112a; New Mexico board certification requirements.
The typical path to becoming an EFDA
The state routes we document follow a version of these four steps, though the order and detail vary — in Georgia, the EDDA certificate comes from the course sponsor rather than the board:
Meet your state's dental-assistant baseline
Some of the routes we document require an existing credential before you add expanded functions: Connecticut's expanded-function definition starts from DANB's CDA or COA exam, and Maine's EFDA license requires a dental assisting certificate or a hygiene license — see CDA vs. RDA for how the credentials stack. Others are lighter: New Hampshire's rule qualifies a dental assistant aged 18 or over in an expanded duty area by completing a course or exam.Complete a board-approved expanded-functions course
Enroll in a course your state board has approved for the specific functions you want — for example coronal polishing, sealants, or restorative functions. Courses pair classroom (didactic) instruction with hands-on clinical practice; Pennsylvania's EFDA program route, for example, is at least 200 hours of clinical and didactic instruction from an accredited dental assisting program.Pass the required competency exam(s)
Exam rules vary by state. Some routes accept a national exam component — Connecticut's starts from DANB's CDA or COA exam, and Oregon has DANB certify its assistants in expanded functions — while others run their own, like Pennsylvania's EFDA certification exam, administered by Pearson VUE. Your course should prepare you for exactly what your state accepts.Apply for the credential
Apply for the expanded-function credential — usually to your state board, though in Georgia the EDDA certificate comes from the sponsor of the accredited course rather than the board. Only once it's in hand may you legally perform those functions — and then keep it current under your state's renewal rules.
What does expanded function dental assistant training involve?
Expanded-function training is coursework your state board approves for the specific functions you're certifying in, pairing classroom (didactic) instruction with hands-on clinical practice.
States define what counts: Pennsylvania's route includes a Board-approved EFDA certificate program of at least 200 hours of clinical and didactic instruction from an accredited dental assisting program; Connecticut requires a CODA-accredited EFDA program; Arizona expects a board-approved program and examinations; and Florida treats expanded-duty training as a course or program — from a CODA-accredited school or one the Board approves — rather than a separate state license.
Where a state requires a competency exam, it names the examiner.
Pennsylvania's EFDA certification exam is administered by Pearson VUE, and Ohio's EFDA registration requires passing the Ohio EFDA exam — run by the Commission on Dental Testing in Ohio or ADEX — plus current BLS.
Keep proof of your course completion even after you're credentialed: under New Hampshire's rule, the course certificate stays with the assistant, who must provide it to the board on request.
Sources: 49 Pa. Code 33.102; Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-112a; A.R.S. § 32-1291.01; Florida Board of Dentistry; Pennsylvania and Ohio board sites; N.H. rule Den 302.06.
Match the course to your state — and your goal
What you need before you start
Prerequisites are the part that varies most from state to state, and the steps above name the range we documented — from a DANB-credentialed baseline (Connecticut) to only an age minimum plus a course or exam (New Hampshire).
Where states state the bar in numbers, it's concrete: South Carolina's regulations define an Expanded Duty Dental Assistant as a graduate of an ADA-accredited dental assisting program or an assistant with two years of continuous full-time chairside employment.
The national DANB CDA isn't an EFDA credential in itself, but state routes do build on DANB exams: Connecticut's expanded-function definition starts from the CDA or COA exam, and Oregon has DANB certify its assistants in expanded functions.
Check whether your state gives credit for it.
How long it takes and where it leads
The timeline depends on the functions and your state.
The concrete anchor in the rules we document is Pennsylvania's: its EFDA program route is at least 200 hours of clinical and didactic instruction on its own.
If your state has a baseline credential to earn first, add that time too.
The payoff is a wider chairside scope — and with it, specialty and lead-assistant positions.
There's no published expanded-function pay premium to cite here: BLS counts all dental assistants, EFDAs included, in a single wage series.
Our EFDA pay guide covers how to read the market instead.
How to confirm your state's requirements
Your state dental board publishes the exact prerequisites, approved courses, exams, and application steps for its expanded-function credential.
Where any other source disagrees, the board is the authority.
Because this is entirely state-defined, verify your state's current requirements before enrolling, and note the date you checked — these rules are periodically revised.
This article is general career information, not legal or clinical advice. Expanded-function pathways and requirements vary by state and change over time — confirm current requirements with your state dental board.