As a result of legislation (House Bill 1287 and House Bill 1466) that passed during the 2023 legislative session, effective July 23, hygienists seeking an initial limited license in Washington state will no longer be required to be currently engaged in active practice in order to apply. Active practice was defined as 560 hours of practice in the preceding 24 months.

Additionally, the name of the initial and renewed limited license for hygienists is changed to an initial and renewed temporary license, and the expiration of the license is extended from 18 months to five years. All hygienists with an existing active limited license will be issued an initial temporary license that will expire five years after the date the initial limited license was issued.

WSDA believes these changes are an important step towards addressing our state’s dental hygienist shortage and understands there is still much more work to be done.

For more information regarding WSDA’s workforce initiatives, check out WSDA News, Issue 2, 2023.