Manitoba dental hygienists register with the College of Dental Hygienists of Manitoba: an accredited program, the national certification examination, a criminal record check, CPR, $3 million in liability insurance, and the practising fee that activates your licence.
Applies in: Manitoba
To become a dental hygienist in Manitoba, you graduate from an accredited dental hygiene program, pass the national certification examination, and register with the College of Dental Hygienists of Manitoba (CDHM). The CDHM checklist for new graduates is the working document: it lists the education evidence, examination, record check, CPR, insurance and declarations you file, and it states plainly that you cannot practise until your practising registration fee is paid.
Written November 14, 2026
The new-graduate checklist is for people who have recently graduated from an accredited dental hygiene educational institution in Canada. For education evidence you file either a notarized diploma — notarized by a lawyer or a notary public, not a commissioner of oaths — or official transcripts mailed directly from the school to the CDHM office. The CDHM will only accept electronic official transcripts sent through MyCreds, shared to the College. Request transcripts early: the checklist warns they can take a few weeks to arrive, and some documents must be mailed directly to the CDHM.
Applicants who graduated in Canada or the United States from an accredited program may apply for licensure in Manitoba. Applicants from unaccredited programs take a different first step, covered below.
You need successful completion of the Canadian National Dental Hygiene Certification Examination (NDHCE). The certificate must be notarized by a lawyer or a notary public, not a commissioner of oaths — the same notarization rule the checklist applies to your diploma and your photo identification.
Three currency items sit alongside your education and examination:
You also file notarized proof of picture identification: a driver's licence, a valid passport, a Canadian citizenship certificate card, a permanent residence card, or Canadian Forces identification.
Through your CDHM online account you complete the declaration on prior professional conduct, findings of misconduct, current investigations, criminal convictions relevant to practice and fitness to practise, and the Continuing Competency Program Declaration. You complete the modules required by Council: the Ethics and Jurisprudence Module, the New Applicant Orientation Module, the Health Equity and Cultural Humility Module and the Indigenous Cultural Safety Module.
If you completed skills-based advanced practices — oral anaesthetic, restorative and orthodontic — you submit a copy of the certificate of completion from an approved educational institution, signed by a lawyer or notary public, or arrange for official transcripts to be mailed directly to the CDHM if the course was part of your initial program. University of Manitoba School of Dental Hygiene graduates who held CDHM Student Registration are not required to submit proof of completion to apply for the Oral Anaesthetic Roster.
Payment runs in two stages. The application fee is paid on submission, and the practising fee is paid once approved: once your remaining requirements are complete, you receive an email that the Practising Registration Fee invoice is ready for payment on your CDHM account. Payments on the checklist are made online by credit card or Interac e-Transfer.
Once your application is submitted and all requirements are met, the CDHM contacts you to schedule a mandatory one-on-one orientation meeting with the Registrar. After that meeting, your application is forwarded to the Board of Assessors. Payment of your practising registration fee activates your licence.
The CDHM fee schedule current as of January 21, 2025 lists a $300 new applicant application fee, a $555.50 practising annual registration and renewal fee, a $295 non-practising annual fee, a $100 temporary register fee, and a $50 Manitoba dental hygiene student registration fee. All fees are paid through the CDHM online portal, by Visa or Mastercard; renewing registrants can set up pre-authorized debit for practising or non-practising renewal fees. The College notes that table covers common fees and is not inclusive of all CDHM fees.
The CDHM keeps four registers an applicant chooses among: Practising, Non-Practising, Student (University of Manitoba students only) and Temporary.
The internationally educated route the CDHM describes runs through the Federation of Dental Hygiene Regulators of Canada (FDHRC): an educational credential assessment and equivalency review against four minimum criteria, including graduation in dental hygiene and a program of at least two full-time academic years with a supervised clinical component. A candidate who passes the equivalency assessment is eligible to apply to write the NDHCE, then completes and passes the CPEDH clinical competency assessment, then applies for CDHM registration with the CDHM Declaration Form for Internationally Educated Applicants.
The CDHM pages opened for this guide state the new-graduate checklist, the two-stage payment order and the fee schedule current as of January 21, 2025. They do not state a processing time from a complete application to a Board of Assessors decision on the checklist read here, so this guide gives none. They also do not state the national examination fee, which is set outside the CDHM, so this guide gives no figure for it.
| New applicant application fee | $300 |
|---|---|
| Practising annual registration fee | $555.50 |
| Non-practising annual registration fee | $295 |
| Temporary register fee | $100 |
| Manitoba dental hygiene student registration fee | $50 |
Fees current as of January 21, 2025. All fees are paid through the CDHM online portal; Visa or Mastercard is accepted.
The College of Dental Hygienists of Manitoba (CDHM), established under The Dental Hygienists Act. All requirements for registration are set out in section 9(1) of that Act and sections 8 to 12 of the Dental Hygienists Regulation.
Successful completion of the Canadian National Dental Hygiene Certification Examination (NDHCE). The certificate must be notarized by a lawyer or a notary public, not a commissioner of oaths.
The fee schedule current as of January 21, 2025 lists a $300 new applicant application fee and a $555.50 practising annual registration fee. The non-practising fee is $295.
Only after your practising registration fee is paid. The CDHM states that payment of the practising registration fee activates your licence, and you are not allowed to practise until that fee is paid.
Proof of $3,000,000 in liability insurance coverage, including run-off coverage for a minimum of two years after the last date of practice, a current criminal record check with a vulnerable sector check completed within the last 6 months, and a CPR-BLS course completed in the last 12 months.
Applicants from unaccredited programs may apply to the Federation of Dental Hygiene Regulators of Canada for an equivalency review of their dental hygiene education, then complete the national examination and the clinical competency assessment route the CDHM describes for internationally educated applicants before applying for CDHM registration.