Section 456.013(1)(a), Florida Statutes, provides that a licensure application and fee are valid for one year. Application fees are non-refundable.
The licensing process involves the collection of credentials from the applicant and other sources, such as hospitals, medical schools, other states, etc. Once documents are received, an application specialist will review them; however, it may be necessary for the application specialist to request additional information or clarification regarding a particular document. Our goal is to review materials as quickly as possible, but we must be thorough. We process applications, mail, e-mails, and telephone calls in date order.
You should expect the entire process to take between two to six months from the time your application is received. This timeframe is approximate and is based on the length of time it takes for outside entities (hospitals, schools, etc.) to provide us with the required items. You can help expedite the application process by requesting sources submit documents in a timely fashion.
Staff will mail you a deficiency letter approximately two weeks after receiving your application, so please refrain from contacting our office until after you have received your initial deficiency letter. This letter will include a login and password for you to use our on-line application status check feature. Documents for your file are reviewed and the system updated daily, so please utilize this tool when possible as time spent on the telephone impacts time available for staff to process applications.
Some applicants may have to appear before the Board at one of their regularly scheduled meetings before a license can be issued. Reasons for an appearance include previous disciplinary action in another state, malpractice, criminal history, health history and other application deficiencies. Having one of these issues is not an automatic appearance as each application is reviewed on a case by case basis. You will be notified in writing if your appearance will be required.
We recommend that you do not make any commitments based upon expectation of licensure until you are actually licensed. One application is not accelerated at the expense of another- all applicants are handled equally and fairly.