Updated
DAT Test Dates 2027: When to Take the DAT and How to Book
There are no fixed DAT test dates. The DAT is offered year round at Prometric test centers in the US, its territories and select locations in Canada, per the ADA. Once the ADA approves your application, you have 6 months to test, scores reach schools in 3 to 4 weeks and you must wait 60 days between attempts.
Below: how far ahead to apply and book, how the window works, when scores land and a planner we wrote that works back from your dental school application. ADA facts are from the 2026 DAT Candidate Guide and ADA pages, checked October 30, 2026. The step-by-step sign-up is in DAT registration.
When is the DAT offered?
Whenever a Prometric center has an open seat. There is no national calendar. You choose any open seat inside your eligibility window. The ADA lists Prometric centers in the US, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and select Canadian cities. It no longer offers the DAT in Quebec. If you are applying to Canadian dental schools, the ADA says to confirm they accept the DAT first.
90 to 60 days before your test
Get or find your DENTPIN, then apply to the ADA and pay the exam fee.
When the eligibility email arrives
Book your date and center with Prometric right away. Your six months start when the ADA processes your application.
Test day
Arrive at least 30 minutes early with two IDs. You get no unofficial score at the center.
3 to 4 weeks later
Scores reach the schools you picked, ADEA AADSAS and your DENTPIN account.
60 days after the test, at the earliest
Your next attempt, if you need one, with a new application and fee.
How long is DAT test day?
Test day itself takes five hours and 15 minutes with the optional tutorial, break and survey, per the Candidate Guide. Arrive at least 30 minutes early. The sections, from our dental school requirements page:
| Section, in order | Questions | Minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Survey of the Natural Sciences (biology, general and organic chemistry) | Questions: 100 | Minutes: 90 |
| Perceptual Ability | Questions: 90 | Minutes: 60 |
| Reading Comprehension | Questions: 50 | Minutes: 60 |
| Quantitative Reasoning | Questions: 40 | Minutes: 45 |
How far ahead should you book the DAT?
Two to three months. The ADA's apply page says to submit your application 60 to 90 days before you want to test. Its DAT page says to contact Prometric at least 60 to 90 days before your date, since schedules fill up, and elsewhere says to apply six to eight weeks ahead. Our advice: apply about 90 days out and book with Prometric the day your eligibility email arrives.
Booking early also keeps changes cheap. Rescheduling costs $50 with 30 or more business days' notice, which by our math is 6 weeks of weekdays, and up to $150 close to the date. Every tier is in DAT registration.
How does the six-month window work?
Per the Candidate Guide, once the ADA processes your application you are eligible to test for six months, unless retest rules make it shorter. Applications are processed on weekdays during US business hours. If you run out of time, you can buy one 45-day extension per application for $150, but only with no appointment booked. Fees are nonrefundable, so an unused window costs the full $580.
When do DAT scores arrive?
Within 3 to 4 weeks of your test, sent electronically to the schools you picked and to ADEA AADSAS, and posted to your DENTPIN account, per the Candidate Guide. Texas dental schools also get them through TMDSAS. Since the new 200 to 600 scale began in March 2025, ADEA says there are no unofficial scores at the test center. What a good score is, and how long each school accepts one, is on our DAT score page, which lists 8 schools' rules. Once your section scores are in, our DAT score calculator works out your Academic Average with the ADA's rule.
How to choose your DAT date
Work back from when you want schools to see your score. The ADA suggests testing in the spring of your junior year or the summer after. ADEA AADSAS opened for the 2026-2027 cycle on May 12, 2026 and took applications from June 2, 2026, per ADEA. Our full AADSAS timeline is on the dental school requirements page.
Our two planners, for an invented applicant who wants scores at schools by June 1, 2027. Each attempt needs its own ADA application and fee, so a retake plan has two applications.
Plan A, one attempt:
- Apply to the ADA between February 3, 2027 and March 5, 2027 (90 to 60 days before the test).
- Test by May 4, 2027 (4 weeks before, the slow end of score reporting).
- Apply on February 3, 2027 and your six months run to about August 3, 2027, which leaves room to reschedule. A retake would need a new application.
Plan B, room for one retake:
- Apply between November 6, 2026 and December 6, 2026.
- Take your first attempt by February 4, 2027. Scores arrive by about March 4, 2027.
- If you need a retake, apply again by March 5, 2027, 60 days before the retake, as the ADA suggests.
- Retake by May 4, 2027, 89 days after the first attempt, past the 60-day minimum.
Picking a time of year
Ours. Test when your science courses are freshest, usually right after organic chemistry, and before your application is due. Avoid a date in finals week. If you work or take summer classes, a weekday morning with a light day before it is better than squeezing the test into a busy weekend.
How soon can you retake the DAT?
Per the 2026 Candidate Guide:
- Wait 60 days between attempts, with at most four in any 12-month period.
- After three attempts, you need the ADA's permission to test again, with proof you applied to dental school.
- After the fifth attempt, once per 12 months.
- Every attempt needs a new application and fee, and schools see a history of all attempts.
By our math, four attempts at the minimum spacing take at least 180 days. In practice, plan for one retake at most and give it real study time. How schools read retakes is on our DAT score page.
Practice the question that opens most interviews
Your path to dentistry, including when you took the DAT and why, is a common first question. More are in our dental school interview questions guide.
“Walk me through your path to dentistry so far.”
Interviewers often open with this. Keep it to the key choices and what each one taught you, and show that the timing of things like the DAT was a plan, not luck. About a minute.
Example answer written by Confetto (the applicant is invented)
I started shadowing a general dentist the summer after my first year and kept going one afternoon a week, which is when I knew this was the work I wanted.
I planned my science courses so I could take the DAT the spring of my junior year, and I booked it three months out so I had room for a retake before applying. I didn't need one, so I spent that summer on my application and at a free clinic, where I learned how much a calm explanation matters to an anxious patient.
Sources: the ADA's DAT and apply pages, the DAT 2026 Candidate Guide, ADEA's DAT FAQ and the ADEA AADSAS cycle dates, linked throughout and checked October 30, 2026. The planner and its dates are ours.
Frequently asked questions
When is the DAT offered?
Year round. The ADA says Prometric centers give the DAT in the US, its territories and select locations in Canada, but not in Quebec. You pick any open date in your six-month window. See the ADA's DAT page.
How far in advance should I book the DAT?
The ADA's apply page says to submit your application 60 to 90 days before you want to test, and its DAT page says to contact Prometric at least 60 to 90 days ahead, since schedules fill up. See the ADA's advice.
When should I take the DAT?
The ADA suggests the spring of your junior year or the summer between junior and senior year. Most people finish two or more years of college first, and at least biology, general chemistry and organic chemistry. See the ADA's apply page.
How long does it take to get DAT scores?
Three to four weeks. The ADA sends results to the schools you picked and to ADEA AADSAS, and posts them to your DENTPIN account. Since March 2025 there are no unofficial scores at the test center. Read the Candidate Guide.
How soon can I retake the DAT?
After 60 days, with at most four attempts in any 12 months. After three attempts you need the ADA's permission, with proof you applied to dental school. Each attempt needs a new application and the $580 fee. Read the retest rules.
More dental school guides
Applying to more dental schools? These pages cover other schools’ interviews, numbers and the application: