Florida Health License Renewal: CE, Fees, and Deadlines

To complete a Florida health license renewal, log into the MQA Online Services Portal at FLHealthSource.gov, confirm your continuing education hours are recorded in CE Broker, update your practitioner profile, answer the required attestations, and pay your fees before midnight on your license’s expiration date.¹ The renewal option appears in your dashboard at least 90 days before you expire.² Miss the date, and your license becomes delinquent; wait too long after that, and it becomes null and void, which means starting over from initial licensure.³

When Your License Actually Expires

Your expiration date has nothing to do with your birthday. The Department of Health assigns fixed dates by profession, and most licenses run on a two-year cycle.⁴ Medical doctors expire on January 31, with even-year and odd-year groups.⁵ Acupuncturists expire February 28, athletic trainers September 30, and CNAs May 31.⁶ Your license expires at midnight on the assigned date.¹

Confirm your specific date through the DOH’s online license verification tool rather than relying on a mailed notice. Start early. The renewal opens 90 days out, and that window exists so you can resolve problems before the deadline arrives.

Continuing Education

Your CE hours must be in CE Broker, the Department’s electronic tracking system, before you submit your renewal.¹⁴⁷ Check your board’s website for your number.

Mandatory Topics

Every health licensee has to complete a two-hour course on prevention of medical errors each biennium, and those two hours count toward the total.⁴ Other required topics vary. Registered nurses, for example, also need two hours each on Florida laws and rules, human trafficking, and recognizing impairment in the workplace.⁷

Two topics run on unusual schedules. HIV/AIDS education is generally a one-time requirement completed before your first renewal, with hours varying by profession — one hour for RNs, three for physicians.⁷ Domestic violence training runs two hours every third biennium, and for some professions those hours sit on top of the regular total rather than counting toward it.

Getting Hours Into CE Broker

Florida-approved CE providers must report your completed hours to CE Broker, but they have up to 30 days to do it.⁸ If yours haven’t posted, you can self-report through CE Broker. This is where renewals go wrong: people finish their courses in time but submit the application before the hours appear. Check CE Broker directly and confirm your record shows compliance before you start.

Fees

Two charges apply to every renewal: your profession’s biennial renewal fee, and a $5.00 unlicensed activity fee that funds enforcement against unlicensed practitioners.¹ Both are collected when you submit.

Many health professions also require periodic fingerprint retention through FDLE. If your retention is set to expire during the current licensure cycle, a $43.25 fee is collected at renewal.⁹ If it expires within 60 days but outside the current cycle, you pay separately through the Clearinghouse Applicant Initiated (CHAI) system. Look up your retention date on CHAI before you renew.

NICA for Physicians

Medical doctors and osteopathic physicians have an extra item. The Department verifies compliance with all NICA (Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association) assessments at renewal, so you either pay the assessment or obtain an exemption directly from NICA before submitting.⁵ An unpaid balance will hold up an otherwise complete application.

Profile Updates and Attestations

The renewal system pulls your personal and practice information from the DOH database. Log in first and confirm your mailing address, employment status, and contact details. The application itself requires a completed practitioner profile, workforce survey, and financial responsibility form.¹⁰

You will also answer self-attestation questions about criminal history and disciplinary actions. If you have been found guilty of, pleaded guilty to, or pleaded no contest to any criminal charge, be ready to disclose it with supporting documentation. Incomplete or inaccurate disclosures can trigger disciplinary proceedings independent of the underlying offense.

Submitting the Renewal

Submission happens through the MQA Online Services Portal at FLHealthSource.gov. Once logged in, look for “Renew My License” on your dashboard; it appears no later than 90 days before expiration.² Mail submission is also allowed, postmarked by midnight on your expiration date.¹

The portal walks through your personal data, attestations, and CE verification. Because your hours were reported to CE Broker, the system checks them automatically, so no certificates upload. The last step is payment by credit or debit card. Save the confirmation receipt. If any dispute later arises about whether you renewed on time, that receipt is your proof.

Choosing Inactive Status Instead

If you are not practicing and do not plan to soon, you can select inactive status at renewal rather than active.¹¹ The inactive renewal fee cannot exceed the active fee. You cannot practice while inactive, but the license stays alive, which is far easier than reactivating a delinquent one.

Returning to active later requires meeting the CE for every biennium you were inactive, paying the active renewal fee, any reactivation fees, and a status-change fee.¹¹ If you have been inactive more than two consecutive biennial cycles, your board may require you to demonstrate current competency by examination.

Missing the Deadline

A license not renewed by its expiration date automatically goes delinquent, and you cannot legally practice while delinquent.³ Reactivating requires a full application for active or inactive status, all CE that would have come due during the delinquent period, and a delinquency fee on top of your regular renewal fees.¹¹ That delinquency fee can equal a full biennial renewal, effectively doubling your cost.

The worse outcome is waiting past the cycle. If you fail to reactivate before the end of the licensure cycle in which you went delinquent, your license becomes null and void automatically, with no board action required.¹¹ Getting licensed again then means starting from scratch: a new application, current initial-licensure requirements, and possibly the licensing examination again.³ Set the calendar reminder early and treat the expiration date as the hard deadline it is.

A Note for DEA Prescribers

If you hold a DEA registration for controlled substances, your Florida renewal is a separate matter from federal MATE Act training. Since June 2023, all DEA-registered practitioners other than veterinarians must complete a one-time, eight-hour training on treating and managing patients with opioid and substance use disorders. You attest to it when you renew your DEA registration, not your state license, and some approved courses may count toward both.

1
Florida Department of Health. Florida Department of Health License Renewal Application
2
Florida Department of Health. Renewal Process
3
Florida Department of Health. Florida Department of Health License Status Definitions
4
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 456.013 – Department; Powers and Duties
5
Florida Board of Medicine. Medical Doctor (MD) Renewal
6
Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code R 64B-9.001 – Biennial Licensing
7
Florida Board of Nursing. Registered Nurse (RN) Renewal
8
Florida Board of Podiatric Medicine. CE/CME Quick Report Feature on CE Broker
9
Florida Board of Medicine. Renewal Fees
10
Florida Board of Medicine. General Renewal Requirements – Medical Doctor
11
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 456.036 – Licenses; Active and Inactive Status; Delinquency