Click on the appropriate tab below to see the Renewal Requirements, Process, Fees and Continuing Medical Education (CME) for a Medical Doctor.
The NICA payment portal will be unavailable from 5:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m., Saturday, December 14, during a NICA system upgrade. During this time, NICA reports that the hosted payment page will be unavailable for practitioners attempting to complete required NICA payments.
Group 1 – current license will expire at midnight, Eastern Time, January 31, 2026. Delinquent licenses that expired on January 31, 2024 become null and void on February 1, 2026.
Group 2 – Expiration date: Current expiration January 31, 2025. Delinquent licenses expired on January 31, 2023 will become null and void on February 1, 2025.
Any person holding an active license to practice medicine in the state may convert that license to a limited license for the purpose of providing volunteer, uncompensated care for low-income Floridians. The applicant must submit a statement from the employing agency or institution stating that he or she will not receive compensation for any service involving the practice of medicine. The application and all licensure fees, including neurological injury compensation assessments, shall be waived.
The department will renew your license upon receipt of:
- Completed renewal application
- Required fees
- Updated Practitioner Profile. To review and approve your practitioner profile, log into MQA Online Services and select ‘Review, Update & Confirm Profile’.
- Completed Physician Workforce Survey
- Completed Financial Responsibility Form
Additional Information:
You may renew online if you have a credit or debit card to complete the transaction. Please note that you can now renew online, print a copy of your application summary and mail it with your cashier’s check or money order to:
Division of Medical Quality Assurance
P.O. Box 6320
Tallahassee, FL 32314-6320
At least 90 days before your license expires, the department will mail you a renewal notification postcard to your last known mailing address of record. You will have until midnight, Eastern Time, on the day your license expires to renew. Failure to renew an active or inactive license by the expiration date will result in the license being placed in delinquent status. Failure by a delinquent licensee to renew before the expiration of the current licensure cycle renders the license null and void without any further action by the board or the department.
Dispensing Registration
If you are currently registered to dispense medicinal drugs to your patients, you are required to renew your registration at the same time you are renewing your medical license. If you are no longer interested in dispensing medicinal drugs, you can cancel your registration by checking the appropriate box on the renewal application.
If you are not currently registered to dispense medicinal drugs and would like to register, you can complete the registration process at the time you are renewing your license by checking the appropriate box on the renewal application and paying the dispensing registration fee. The registration fee will be in addition to your renewal fee.
Military Exemption
If you are a member of the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty who was in good standing with the board at the time of becoming active and was entitled to practice or engage in the practice of medicine in Florida, you may be eligible to be exempted from renewal requirements for the duration of active duty, and for a period of six months after discharge, but not practicing the profession in the private sector for profit.
If you are the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States, you may be eligible to be exempted from licensure renewal requirements, but only in cases of absence from the state because your spouses’ duties with the Armed Forces.
Volunteer Health Services Exemption
If you volunteer 160 hours of medical services to the indigent residents of Florida with incomes at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level during the previous biennium, or 800 hours if you are fully retired from compensated practice, you may be eligible for a waiver of your biennial renewal fee and up to 25% of the continuing education hours required for license renewal. Mandatory continuing education requirements for domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, medical errors and prescribing cannot be waived.
Public School Health Volunteer Exemption
If you volunteer your services in public schools for a minimum of 80 hours a year or if retired, at least 400 hours a year, you may be eligible for a waiver of your biennial renewal fee and some of the continuing education hours (no more than 25%) required for license renewal; however, the continuing education requirements for domestic violence, HIV and AIDS, and medical errors cannot be waived.
Member of the Florida Legislature Exemption
If you are a member of the Legislature, the requirements for biennial renewal of your license shall stand continued and extended without the requirement to apply for renewal with the board or department and such license shall be an active status license throughout the period that you are a member of the Legislature and for a period of 60 days after you cease to be a member of the Legislature; however, at any time during your legislative term of office and during the 60 days after your term ends, you may file a completed application that shall consist solely of:
- A renewal fee of $250 for each year your license was continued and extended since the last otherwise regularly scheduled biennial renewal year and each year during which the renewed license shall be effective until the next regularly scheduled biennial renewal date.
- Documentation of completing 10 hours of continuing medical education credits for each year from the effective date of your last renewed license until the year in which you apply for renewal.
- Compliance with practitioner profile requirements in s. 456.039(1)(a)1-8 and (b), and (4)(a), (b), and (c).
Health Care Price Transparency Exemption
If you post a sign with a schedule of your charges, you may be exempt from paying license fees and completing continuing medical education for one biannual renewal period. Section 381.026(4) Florida Statutes created provisions for exemption from one two-year reporting cycle of continuing medical education credits and license fees for primary care physicians who post a schedule of medical charges. This waiver does not include the unlicensed activity fee, background check fee or dispensing fee. Primary care physicians include medical doctors, osteopathic physicians and advanced registered nurse practitioners who provide medical services commonly provided without referral from another health care provider, including family and general practice, general pediatrics and general internal medicine.
Renewal Instructions:
- Go to www.flhealthsource.gov and click the “Renew A License” button.
- Enter your Personal Identifying Information (PII), then click the Login button.
- Confirm or update your MQA Services Account email address, then click the “Continue” button.
- You are now in the Dashboard. During renewals, a “Renew My License” option will populate no later than 90 days prior to your license expiration date. (Note: If you do not see the “Renew My License” option, please check back at a later time.)
*** If the “PII Failed” screen displays, click the “Other Login Option” button and enter your existing User ID and password to access your account.***
You may RENEW ONLINE if:
- You do not need to change your license to an Active Status
- You have a credit card/debit card to complete the transaction
You must RENEW BY MAIL if:
- You need to change the status of your license to Active
- You need to pay using a cashier’s check or money order
- You do NOT have a credit card/debit card to complete the transaction.
- You need to request a name change
If your license is Delinquent/Active or Delinquent/Inactive you may still renew prior to the renewal deadline. The following actions must be taken prior to renewing your license:
- Prior to renewing your license, you must report your continuing education (CE) hours to the Department of Health’s tracking system.
- To renew a delinquent license, you will need to report your CE hours for your current cycle, as well as your previous cycle.
- If you did not complete CE courses in your last renewal cycle, you may complete them now and report them to the CE tracking system.
- To report course completion, log onto your MQA Online Account. From your dashboard, go to “Additional Activities” and select Report CE/CME.
Please note, when renewing your license, a delinquent fee will be assessed in addition to all applicable renewal fees.
A licensee who remains on inactive status for more than two consecutive biennial licensure cycles and has not practiced at least 2 out of the preceding 4 years, and who wishes to reactivate the license, may be required to demonstrate the competency to resume active practice by sitting for a special purpose examination (SPEX) or by completing other reactivation requirements.
Dispensing Registration
If you are currently registered to dispense medicinal drugs, you can renew your registration by paying the registration fee when you renew your medical license. If you are no longer interested in dispensing medicinal drugs, you can cancel your registration by checking the appropriate box on the renewal application.
If you are not currently registered to dispense medicinal drugs and would like to register, you can complete the registration process at the time you are renewing your license by checking the appropriate box on the renewal application and paying the dispensing registration fee. The registration fee will be in addition to your renewal fee.
Military Exemption
To receive an exemption from the renewal requirements, please provide a copy of your orders which provides the beginning and end date of your current enlistment or a copy of your spouse’s orders. If you are a Commissioned Officer, you may provide a letter from your commanding officer that reflects the length of your contract with a beginning and end date to fulfill this requirement.
Volunteer Health Services Exemption
To receive an exemption from the biennial renewal fee and some of the continuing education hours (no more than 25%), you will be required to submit a letter certifying the total number of uncompensated health care service hours volunteered during the renewal cycle along with your renewal application. Online renewal is available if you provide the Certification of Hours letter to the Board at least 30 days prior to renewal of license.
Member of the Florida Legislature Exemption
No action is needed; however, at any time during your legislative term of office and during the period of 60 days after your term ends, you may file a completed renewal application as described under the renewal requirements tab.
Health Care Price Transparency Exemption
Online renewal is not available at this time for practitioners requesting this exemption. To receive an exemption from paying license fees and completing continuing medical education for one biannual renewal period, you will be required to provide proof of your compliance with Section 381.026(4), Florida Statutes, prior to renewing your license. Examples of proof may include but are not limited to:
- A receipt of invoice for the sign with the date paid and the dimension of the sign;
- A photo of the sign with some reference as to the size include in the photo; or
- Other official documentation of the size of the sign and its posting in a conspicuous place in the reception area of the provider’s office.
The specific requirements for the sign are listed below:
- Your sign must be posted in a conspicuous place in the reception area of your office.
- Your sign must be at least 15 square feet.
- Your sign must list the 50 most common services provided to an uninsured person paying by cash, check, credit card or debit card.
- Your sign must be continuously posted for the duration of licensure in Florida when primary care services are provided to patients.
Information for requesting a Name Change
Name changes require legal documentation showing the name change. Please submit a request including your full name as it appears on your license, profession, license number, your new name, your date of birth, the last four digits of your social security number, and your signature. Attach supporting documents, which must be one of the following:
- a copy of a state issued marriage license that includes the original signature and seal from the clerk of the court
- a divorce decree showing the name change
- a court order showing the name change (Adoption, legal name change, federal identity change)
Any one of these will be accepted unless the department has a question about the authenticity of the document. A social security card is not considered legal documentation. Please Note: The last four digits of the SSN are requested as required by DOH Policy Number DOHP 385-LS05-12 Name Changes for Existing Licensees, which was established for security purposes due to past instances of fraudulent activity.
Note: If you were initially licensed in 2013 or later, you may see a reduction of $24 in your renewal fee.
If renewing BEFORE your license expires, your fees will be:
| Active to Active | $379.00* |
| Inactive to Inactive | $149.00 |
| Active to Inactive | $499.00 |
| Inactive to Active | $629.00* |
| Active to Retired | $55.00 |
| Inactive to Retired | $55.00 |
If renewing AFTER your license expires, your fees will be:
| Active to Active | $729.00* |
| Inactive to Inactive | $499.00 |
| Active to Inactive | $949.00 |
| Inactive to Active | $1,079.00* |
| Active to Retired | $505.00 |
| Inactive to Retired | $505.00 |
If renewing 120 day Notified Delinquent, your fees will be:
| Active to Active | $1,094.00* |
| Inactive to Inactive | $625.00 |
| Active to Inactive | $975.00 |
| Inactive to Active | $1,344.00* |
| Active to Retired | $770.00 |
| Inactive to Retired | $531.00 |
* If you are currently registered to dispense medicinal drugs to your patients in the regular course of your practice, you can renew your dispensing registration by paying the additional $100.00 registration fee, along with the appropriate renewal fee indicated above.
If you are not currently registered to dispense medicinal drugs and would like to register when you renew your medical license, indicate your request for registration to dispense medicinal drugs by checking the appropriate box on the renewal form and submit a $100.00 registration fee, along with the appropriate renewal fee indicated above.
First Biennium Renewal: If you are renewing your license for the first time you are exempt from the general CME requirement and are only required to complete 2 hours of Preventing Medical Errors and 1 hour of HIV/AIDS. Rule 64B8-13.005, Florida Administrative Code, requires the Prevention of Medical Errors course contain the five most mis-diagnosed medical conditions in Florida for the previous two years. Currently those conditions are: cancer related issues; neurological/spine related issues; cardiac/stroke related issues; infectious/communicable diseases; pulmonary related issues.
Continuing Education (CE/CME) Requirements
To locate board approved CE Courses for this profession, please click here
| REQUIRED SUBJECT AREA | REQUIRED NUMBER OF HOURS | IMPORTANT INFORMATION |
| General Hours | 38 | |
| Medical Error | 2 | Course MUST include information regarding the 5 most mis-diagnosed conditions, in accordance with Rule 64B8-13.005, F.A.C. |
| Domestic Violence | 2 | Required every third biennium – Included in the 38 general |
| Controlled Substance Prescribing Course | 2 | Section 456.0301, Florida Statutes, requires all physicians who are registered with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and authorized to prescribe controlled substances to complete a board approved 2-hour course on prescribing controlled substances. These CME organizations have been approved by the Board to provide the course:
To search for the courses, go to https://cebroker.com/. |
NOTE: The Domestic Violence course must be approved by any state or federal government agency, or nationally affiliated professional association, or any provider of Category I or II American Medical Association Continuing Education. Home study courses approved by one of these entities are acceptable. The Prevention of Medical Error course must be approved by any state or federal government agency, or nationally affiliated professional association, or any provider of Category I or II American Medical Association Continuing Education. One hour of a two hour course which is provided by a facility licensed under Chapter 395, Florida Statutes, for its employees may be used to partially meet this requirement.
Board Rule Approved Providers
- Organized courses approved for American Medical Association Category I Continuing Medical Education credits or accepted for the American Medical Association Physician recognition award.
- Any postgraduate training program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
- The following specialty training: American College of Emergency Physicians, Category I; American Academy of Family Physicians prescribed credit; American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists cognates; and study courses required by those specialty certification boards approved by the Board for the purpose of sitting for specialty recertification examinations.
Other Methods of Obtaining Continuing Medical Education per Biennium
- 5 hours in the subject area of ethics or risk management for attending one full day or eight (8) hours, whichever is more, of disciplinary hearings at a regular meeting of the Board of Medicine
- Any volunteer expert witness who is providing expert witness opinions for cases being reviewed pursuant to Chapter 458 or 468, F.S., shall receive 5.0 hours of credit in the area of risk management for each case reviewed up to a maximum of 15 hours per biennium
- Current and former Board members shall receive up to a maximum of 5 hours of credit per biennium in the area of risk management for serving on the Board’s probable cause panel
- A physician who serves as a supervising physician for a licensed physician who is under direct supervision, as a result of being disciplined, for a period of at least one year, shall be entitled to receive 6 hours of continuing medical education credit in risk management.
- Any physician who serves as a monitoring physician for a licensed physician who is under indirect supervision, as a result of being disciplined, for a period of at least one year, shall be entitled to receive 3 hours of continuing medical education credit in risk management
- Up to 5 hours, per biennium, of continuing education credit may be fulfilled by performing pro bono medical services, for an entity serving the indigent or underserved populations or in areas of critical need within the state where the licensee practices. The standard for determining indigency shall be low-income (no greater than 150% of the federal poverty level) or uninsured persons. Credit shall be given on an hour per hour basis.
- The Board approves for credit under this rule, the following entities:
- The Department of Health;
- Community and Migrant Health Centers funded under section 330 of the United States Public Health Service Act; and
- Volunteer Health Care provider programs contracted to provide uncompensated care under the provisions of Section 766.1115,F.S., with the Department of Health.
- For services provided to an entity not specified under this rule, a licensee must apply for prior approval in order to receive credit. In the application for approval, licensees shall disclose the type, nature and extent of services to be rendered, the facility where the services will be rendered, the number of patients expected to be served, and a statement indicating that the patients to be served are indigent. If the licensee intends to provide services in underserved or critical need areas, the application shall provide a brief explanation as to those facts.
- Any physician who participates in the public school volunteer health care practitioner program and thereby agrees to provide his or her services, without compensation, in a public school for at least 80 hours a year for each school year during the biennial licensure period, or, if the health care practitioner is retired, for at least 400 hours a year for each school year during the licensure period, upon providing sufficient proof from the applicable school district that the health care practitioner has completed such hours at the time of license renewal under procedures specified by the Department of Health, shall be eligible for the fulfillment of a maximum of 25 percent of the continuing education hours required for license renewal under s. 456.013(9). A health care practitioner must complete all forms and procedures for participation in the program prior to the applicable license renewal date. Waiver does not apply to mandatory continuing education hours (HIV/AIDS, Prevention of Medical Errors, Domestic Violence).
Click on Chapter or Section Number to View
Florida Statutes
381.026 Florida Patient’s Bill of Rights and Responsibilities
456.013 Department; general licensing provisions
456.024 Members of Armed Forces in good standing with administrative boards or the department; spouses
456.031 Requirement for instruction on domestic violence
456.033 Requirement for instruction for certain licensees on HIV and AIDS
456.035 Address of record
456.036 Licenses; active and inactive status; delinquency
456.038 Renewal and cancellation notices
456.039 Designated health care professionals; information requirement for licensure
456.048 Financial responsibility requirements for certain health care practitioners
456.0635 Medicaid fraud; disqualification for license, certification, or registration
458.319 Renewal of license
458.3191 Physician survey
458.320 Financial responsibility
458.321 Inactive status
465.0276 Dispensing practitioner
766.1115 Health care providers; creation of agency relationship with governmental contractors.
766.1116 Health care practitioner; waiver of license renewal fees and continuing education
Florida Administrative Code
64B-2.001 Practitioner Profile
64B-9.001 Biennial Licensing
64B8-12.001 Financial Responsibility applicability
64B8-12.005 Financial Responsibility procedures
64B8-12.007 Financial Responsibility exemptions for persons not practicing in Florida; Change of status
64B8-13.001 Criteria for license renewal
64B8-13.005 Continuing education for biennial renewal
64B8-13.0051 Delinquent status license
64B8-3.003 Renewal fees
64B8-3.004 Change of Status fees
64B8-3.006 Dispensing fee
64B8-3.009 Unlicensed Activity fee
