DANB ICE Exam Overview & Logistics

What ICE is—and what it is not

The Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) Infection Control exam, usually called ICE, tests knowledge-based competence in dental infection prevention and control. DANB’s official outline identifies ICE as a component of three national certification programs: National Entry Level Dental Assistant (NELDA), Certified Dental Assistant (CDA), and Certified Orthodontic Assistant (COA). A person may also apply for ICE by itself and earn an ICE certificate of knowledge-based competence.

That distinction matters. Passing ICE does not by itself award CDA, COA, or NELDA certification, and it does not by itself authorize a dental assistant to perform duties in every state. State dental boards decide which duties may be delegated and whether an ICE result or a DANB certification satisfies a state requirement. Before relying on ICE for employment or expanded duties, verify the current rule for the state where you will work.

The standalone ICE exam has open eligibility. DANB’s current outline expressly states that there are no eligibility requirements to take it. Education and work-experience pathways apply to certain full certifications or other component exams; they are not prerequisites for this standalone ICE application. Candidates still must complete the application accurately, answer DANB’s background-information questions, agree to exam policies, and satisfy identification and testing rules.

Current exam facts

The 60 minutes are testing time. Check-in and security steps occur outside the content timer. DANB’s current handbook requires one original, current, government-issued, photo-bearing, signature-bearing ID in Roman characters, with the name matching the candidate’s DANB account. Online candidates also must meet Pearson OnVUE equipment, room, camera, microphone, and connectivity rules.

Application, scheduling, and changes

Apply through DANB’s current portal or application packet. Once approved, schedule and take the exam within the 60-day window. Test-center appointments generally must be canceled or rescheduled more than 24 hours before the appointment; online-proctored appointments have different timing rules and may be changed up to the appointment start time. A missed appointment, an unacceptable ID, or an unsuitable online environment can cause the appointment to be recorded as missed, so use the current packet rather than an old summary.

DANB uses computer adaptive testing (CAT). Question difficulty changes in response to performance, while the official outline says each candidate receives the same percentage of questions from each domain. The scaled score is not a raw number-correct or percentage score. DANB sets the criterion-referenced passing standard with a modified Angoff process, and 400 on the 100–900 scale is the pass point.

Official results and any earned certificate are posted to the candidate’s online DANB account within 1–3 business days. A small number of unscored pretest items may appear, but candidates cannot identify them, so every item deserves a serious answer. Passing ICE produces an ICE certificate; the annual continuing-education and CPR rules described for maintaining a full DANB certification should not be misapplied to the standalone ICE certificate.

Retesting and policy changes

If a candidate does not pass, the score report and current DANB retest policy should guide the next application; do not assume a fixed waiting period from an older handbook. Fees, identification rules, translated exam availability, online-proctoring eligibility, and appointment-change rules can change between application cycles. The authoritative sequence is the current ICE outline for content, the current ICE application packet for fees and window rules, the current candidate handbook for examination policies, and the Pearson appointment confirmation for delivery details.

Protect exam security. Do not record, copy, solicit, or distribute recalled exam questions, and do not bring prohibited study materials or electronics into the testing area. Accommodation requests must be made through DANB's published process with required documentation before scheduling. A candidate who needs an accommodation should not rely on the test-center staff to create one on arrival.

The 75-question, 60-minute facts describe the current standalone ICE exam. A combined certification application can involve other component exams, fees, and eligibility pathways, so always distinguish the component being scheduled.