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March 2027 ADC Written Exam: the deadline is closer than it looks

Published 27 July 2026 · Reviz

If you are targeting the March 2027 ADC Written Examination, the date that governs everything is not the exam — it is your initial assessment. The ADC takes about 8 weeks to process a complete initial assessment, and for the March 2026 sitting the deadline was 12 October 2025. If 2027 follows the same pattern, a complete initial assessment needs to be submitted by roughly mid-August 2026. The ADC has not published 2027 dates yet; everything below is labelled as either published fact or expected pattern.

What the ADC has actually published

These are the 2026 dates, from the ADC's own calendar. They are the only firm anchors available:

MilestoneMarch 2026 sittingSeptember 2026 sitting
Initial assessment deadline12 Oct 202512 Apr 2026
Written exam application window9–16 Dec 2025closed
Written exam dates11–12 Mar 202616–17 Sep 2026

What that implies for March 2027

The ADC has not released the 2027 calendar. Applying the 2026 pattern gives the following expected timeline — useful for planning, not a substitute for the official dates:

MilestoneExpected (based on 2026)Status
Submit initial assessmentby mid-Aug 2026Your deadline, derived from 8-week processing
Initial assessment deadline~mid-Oct 2026Expected — not published
Application window~Dec 2026Expected — not published
Written exam~Mar 2027Expected — not published
The ADC's own warning: when it released the 2026 calendar, the ADC noted that application and date-selection periods are shorter than in the past, and told candidates not to assume they are the same as previous years. Treat the table above as a planning tool and check ADC Connect for the published 2027 dates.

Why the initial assessment is the real bottleneck

Candidates plan backwards from the exam and get caught by the sequence. You cannot apply for the written exam until your initial assessment is complete and successful — and the ADC's stated target is about 8 weeks for a complete application. Applications with missing, unclear, or untranslated documents take longer, because the ADC has to come back and ask.

Two facts that make an early submission cheap: a successful initial assessment is valid for 7 years, so submitting early costs you nothing in validity; and the fee is AUD 647 either way. There is no discount for waiting, and no penalty for being early.

One change worth knowing

In November 2025, the ADC removed the “Registration and Skills assessment” option from the initial application sub-type for general dentists. Skills-assessment information is now collected only when it is actually needed, usually after the main ADC process. If you are working from a guide written before that change, the application screens will not match what you read.

What to do this month

  1. Check your documents against the ADC's list — degree certificate, transcripts, evidence of internship or registration in your country of practice, identity documents. Certified translations take time; start there.
  2. Submit through ADC Connect rather than waiting for the deadline. Eight weeks is the target for complete applications, not a guarantee.
  3. Budget the full pathway, not just the exam: AUD 647 initial assessment, AUD 2,122 written, AUD 4,775 practical, plus AHPRA registration. Our full fee breakdown has the current figures.
  4. Start the reading now. A March sitting means roughly seven months of preparation available — enough to read the prescribed sources properly rather than cramming. See the 6-month study plan.
We will update this page when the ADC publishes the 2027 calendar. Until then, the only authoritative source for dates is adc.org.au and your ADC Connect profile.

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