Surcharging for dental & oral health practices

Your practice loses about $11,700 a year to credit card fees. Keep it.

Compliant credit card surcharging, built for dental and oral health practices. Offset processing costs across every payment channel and standardize a clean, compliant program across your whole group.

Credit cards only, debit never surcharged
Posts cleanly to your PMS
Reported separately from production
Card Payment
Receipt

Provider

Dr. Alan Pierce, DDS

Date of service

Jun 2, 2026

Comprehensive exam (D0180)$180.00
Crown (D2740)$240.00
Subtotal$420.00
Card surcharge (3%)+$12.60

Applies to credit cards only. Debit, FSA, HSA, cash, and check are not surcharged.

Total$432.60

Compliant disclosure

on every transaction

The quiet margin leak

Every credit card swipe quietly trims your margin

Processing fees come straight off the top of collected production. You already earned that money. Surcharging compliantly shifts the credit-card cost to the transaction, so more of it stays with the practice.

$21,000

Processing fees absorbed per practice, every year

At a 3.5% effective rate on $50,000/mo

65%

of card volume runs on credit cards

The surchargeable portion. Debit stays as is.

$210,000

Absorbed across a 10-location group

Multiplied location by location, it adds up fast.

Illustrative, based on OneRev averages. Adjust the numbers for your practice below.

Savings Calculator

See what you'd keep

Surcharges apply to credit cards only. Adjust the numbers for your practice to estimate the processing cost you'd recover.

Volume / mo
$
Locations
Debit Mix %
%
Processing Rate %
%

Surcharge fixed at 3%, the practical network maximum.

Recovered per practice

per year

$11,700

See Demo →

Across 10 locations

$117,000/yr

Credit volume / mo$32,500
Recovered / mo per practice$975
Offsets credit-card cost~86%

Estimates only, based on the figures you enter. Actual recovery depends on your card mix, network caps, and state rules. Debit and prepaid cards are never surcharged.

Every payment channel

One compliant program, everywhere patients pay

Surcharging that only works at the front desk leaves money on the table. OneRev applies it consistently and compliantly across every way your patients pay.

In-office payments

Surcharge applied automatically at the front desk terminal, with disclosure on screen and on the receipt.

Text-to-pay

Patients tap a secure SMS link. The surcharge shows clearly before they confirm the credit-card payment.

Email invoices

Emailed balance and statement links carry the same compliant surcharge line item.

Paper statement QR codes

Mailed statements include a QR code that opens a surcharge-aware payment page.

Recurring payment plans

Multi-month plans surcharge each scheduled credit-card installment consistently.

Membership plans

Recurring membership and wellness billing applies the surcharge on every credit-card cycle.

Cards on file

Automated post-insurance balance charges to a stored card using surcharge cleanly.

Built for dental, not retail

Surcharging that respects how practices actually run

Generic surcharging tools dump a fee into your totals and leave you to untangle it. OneRev keeps surcharges separate, clean, and clear, so production-based pay and reconciliation stay intact.

Reported separately

Surcharges never inflate production

  • Surcharges are tracked as a fee, in their own bucket, distinct from clinical production.
  • Provider compensation that pays on collected production stays accurate. No add-on fees sneak into the comp base.
  • Reconciliation stays clean, with surcharge totals that line up for accounting instead of muddying deposits.

June collections

Reported separately

Production collected$48,250

Provider comp calculates on this number only.

Surcharges recovered$975

Tracked as a fee, not production. No reconciliation conflicts.

Two clean buckets. Production stays production.
Out of your PMS

The surcharge never touches the ledger

  • The surcharge does not post into your PMS, so patient ledgers stay clean and reflect clinical production only.
  • Collections reconciliation stays simple. There is no fee line to back out of account balances or production reports.
  • OneRev handles the surcharge separately, so the workflows your team already relies on in the PMS do not change.

Patient Ledger

Sarah Johnson

06/02Comprehensive exam (D0180)$180.00
06/02Crown (D2740)$240.00
06/02Payment — Visa ••4242-$420.00
Surcharge processed separately. It does not post to the PMS ledger.

Compliance handled, consistently

Surcharge caps, disclosure at checkout, and the required receipt line item are applied the same way on every channel and every location, so a group rollout stays standardized.

Where it's allowed

Surcharging is permitted in the vast majority of states

In roughly 48 states it is allowed, many with specific caps or disclosure rules, and only a few prohibit it outright. Explore the map, then confirm the current rules for your state.

Allowed · 40
Allowed with restrictions · 8
Not Allowed · 3

Hover or tap a state to see its surcharging status and the cited rule.

Up to 3%

Surcharge cap

Card networks cap credit-card surcharges. Because one consistent rate applies across all card brands, 3% is the practical maximum (Visa, effective April 2023).

Credit only

Debit, FSA & HSA never surcharged

Under federal law and network rules, debit and prepaid cards, including FSA and HSA healthcare cards, are never surcharged, even when run as credit.

Entry, checkout, receipt

Clear disclosure required

Card networks require disclosure at the point of entry and checkout, plus a separate line item on every receipt.

This is not legal advice

This page provides general information about credit card surcharging and is not legal advice. Surcharging rules come from state statutes, card-network rules, and federal law, and they change frequently through new legislation and court decisions. Some state laws on the books have been limited or struck down by courts, and enforcement varies. Before adding a surcharge, confirm the current rules for your state and card types, review your card-network disclosure obligations, and consult your qualified attorney.

FAQ

Surcharging, answered.

The common questions from practices and groups.

Is surcharging legal for dental practices?

In most states, yes. Surcharging credit card transactions is permitted in the large majority of states, several with specific caps or disclosure requirements, while a few prohibit it outright. OneRev applies the card-network caps and disclosure rules for you. This is general information, not legal advice, so confirm the current rules for your state with your counsel.

Does the surcharge apply to debit, FSA, or HSA cards?

No. Debit and prepaid cards are never surcharged, even when they run as credit, and that includes FSA and HSA healthcare cards. The surcharge applies only to credit card transactions, which is why your debit mix matters when estimating savings.

Will patients push back on a surcharge?

Patients always have a no-surcharge option: debit, cash, or check. The fee is disclosed clearly before they confirm payment and appears as its own line item on the receipt, so there are no surprises. Most patients are now familiar with card surcharges from everyday spending.

How is the surcharge disclosed?

Disclosure is applied consistently across every channel: a notice at the point of entry and checkout, plus a clearly labeled, and on a separate line item on every receipt. The same rules apply in office, on text-to-pay, on emailed invoices, and on statement QR codes.

Will surcharging mess up production-based provider compensation?

No. OneRev reports surcharges separately from clinical production, tracked as a fee in their own bucket. Provider comp that calculates on collected production stays accurate, and your reconciliation stays clean.

Does the surcharge post into our PMS?

No. The surcharge does not post into your PMS. It is processed separately, so patient ledgers reflect clinical production only and your collections reconciliation stays simple, with no fee line to back out of balances or production reports.

Can we standardize surcharging across multiple locations?

Yes. A group can roll out one consistent, compliant surcharging program across every location, with the same caps, disclosures, and reporting, managed centrally with location-level visibility.

See it on your own numbers

Stop absorbing fees you already earned

Take a self-guided demo and see compliant surcharging running across every payment channel, posting cleanly to the ledger, and reported separately from production.

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