Physician Assistants


Click on the appropriate tab below to see the Renewal Requirements, Process, Fees and Continuing Medical Education (CME) for Physician Assistants.

Licensees requesting to reactivate their license from inactive or retired status are required to pay additional fees and comply with specific continuing education requirements. Please contact the board office at BOM_PostLicensure@flhealth.gov to request your reactivation requirements.

The department will renew your license upon receipt of:

  1. Completed Renewal application
    a. Including acknowledgment of no felony convictions in the previous two years
  2. Required fees
  3. Your current primary place of practice address
  4. Confirmation of required continuing education hours reported into the continuing education tracking system, CE Broker.

To ensure you receive notification from the department regarding the renewal, you must have on file with the department your current mailing address. 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 become active or inactive before the expiration of the current licensure cycle renders the license null and void without any further action by the board or the department.

A licensee who remains on inactive status for more than two consecutive biennial licensure cycles and who wishes to reactivate, must:

  1. Submit original inactive license
  2. Provide licensure verification from each state licensed in, or if only licensed in Florida submit a statement affirming the licensee is only licensed in Florida
  3. Provide a statement of medical activities from the date becoming inactive to the present or if have not practiced at least two of the four years preceding application for reactivation, the licensee must: a. Successfully complete a 16 credit hour Graduate Clerkship program approved by the council and b. Practice under the direct supervision of a supervising physician approved by the council for one year. In lieu of proof of completion of the Graduate Clerkship or the equivalent, may submit proof of recertification by the NCCPA
  4. Acknowledgment of no felony convictions in the previous two years
  5. Submit proof of completion of the CME requirements in compliance with paragraphs 64B8-30.005(2)(c), (d), (e), and (f), F.A.C., for each biennium in which the license was inactive
  6. Pay the appropriate fees

Military Exemption

If you are a member of the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty not practicing in the private sector for profit, 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.

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, 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.

All physician assistant licenses expire at midnight, Eastern Time, January 31, of each even year, unless renewed. At least 90 days before your license expires, the department will mail you a renewal notice to your last known address of record. You will have until midnight on the day your license expires to renew. Failure to renew your active or inactive license by midnight of the expiration date will result in the license being placed in delinquent status and a delinquent fee will be assessed in addition to the renewal fees. Failure by a delinquent licensee to become active or inactive before the expiration of the current licensure cycle renders the license null and void without any further action by the board or the department.

You may RENEW ONLINE your license if:

  1. You do not need to change the status of your license
  2. You have a credit card/debit card to complete the transaction
  3. Your license status is not ‘Military, Active’
  4. You are not requesting a Volunteer Health Services Exemption

Renewal Instructions:

  1. Go to www.flhealthsource.gov and click the “Renew A License” button.
  2. Enter your Personal Identifying Information (PII), then click the Login button.
  3. Confirm or update your MQA Services Account email address, then click the “Continue” button.
  4. 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.***

If you lose your user identification and password you may recover it by clicking the button at the right of the screen titled “Login Help.” After logging in to the renewal system, licensees will be prompted to answer a series of questions and required to provide certain information, if appropriate. The renewal process typically takes 10-15 minutes and licensees pay their renewal fee by Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover when they are done.

You may RENEW BY MAIL if:

  1. You need to change the status of your license
  2. You do NOT have a credit card/debit card to complete the transaction and need to pay using a cashiers check or money order
  3. Your license is in ‘Military, Active’ status
  4. Your license is in a Volunteer status
  5. 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.

Failure to renew an active or inactive license by the expiration date will result in the license being placed in delinquent status and a delinquent fee will be assessed in addition to the renewal fees. Failure by a delinquent licensee to become active or inactive before the expiration of the current licensure cycle renders the license null and void without any further action by the board or the department.

Our professions have a minimum licensure period of 5 months. Due to the fact that physician assistant licenses only expire in even years, some licensees end up with a much shorter licensure period, while others have a much longer licensure period, depending on when the licenses are issued. PA licenses that are issued before September in an odd year will have a renewal date of January 31 of the following year. Those issued after September of an odd year will have a longer initial licensure period before having to renew for the first time.

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

Online renewal is not available at this time for practitioners requesting this 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.

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.

If renewing BEFORE your license expires, your fees will be:

Active to Active$280.00*
Inactive to Inactive$280.00
Active to Inactive$280.00
Inactive to Active$380.00*
Active to Retired$55.00
Inactive to Retired$55.00
Prescribing Registration*$10.00

If renewing AFTER your license expires, your fees will be:

Active to Active$380.00*
Inactive to Inactive$380.00
Active to Inactive$480.00
Inactive to Active$580.00*
Active to Retired$255.00
Inactive to Retired$255.00
Prescribing Registration*$10.00

If renewing 120 day Notified Delinquent, your fees will be:

Active to Active$660.00*
Inactive to Inactive$660.00
Active to Inactive$660.00
Inactive to Active$760.00
Active to Retired$435.00
Inactive to Retired$435.00
Prescribing Registration*$10.00

*If you are not currently authorized to prescribe medicinal drugs and would like to obtain a prescribing license number at the time you are renewing your license you may do so by checking the appropriate box on the renewal application. No fee is required for the initial prescribing license number; however, once you obtain your prescribing license number, there is an additional fee of $10.00 added to the license renewal fee for the current renewal cycle.

Continuing Education (CE/CME) Requirements

To locate board approved CE Courses for this profession, please click here

REQUIRED SUBJECT AREAREQUIRED NUMBER OF HOURSIMPORTANT INFORMATION
General Hours98
Medical Error2
Domestic Violence2Required every third biennium – Included in the 100 total hours required

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First Biennium Renewal: If you are renewing  your license for the first time you are required to complete two hours in Medical Errors, One hour of HIV/AIDS and 97 hours of general CME.  A current NCCPA certification can substitute for the 97 general CME hours. The HIV/AIDS course must be Category I.

NOTE:
The Prevention of Medical Errors 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.

CE Reporting Information →Reporting Schedule →

Board Rule Approved Providers

  • Minimum of 50 hours must be Cat I CME the remaining 50 hours can be Cat II CME
  • Approved by any of the following: American Academy of Physician Assistants; Accreditation Council for CME; American Medical Association; American Osteopathic Association Council on CME and American Academy of Family Physicians
  • A copy of the NCCPA certificate will count for the 98 required CME hours.  You will need to show proof of Medical Errors & Domestic Violence and your specialty areas of practice if applicable.

Prescribing Physician Assistants

  • In addition to the above requirements, prescribing physician assistants must complete 10 hours of CME in each specialty area of the supervising physician. These hours are included in the 98 general CME. Effective January 1, 2017, three of the ten specialty hours must consist of a course on the safe and effective prescribing of controlled substance medications given by a statewide professional association of physicians in this state accredited to provide educational activities designated for the American Medical Association Physician’s Recognition Award Category I credit or designated by the American Academy of Physician Assistants as a Category I credit.

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
  • 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.

Click on Chapter or Section Number to View

Florida Statutes

458.347 Physician Assistants
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 FS Requirement for instruction for certain licensees on HIV and AIDS
456.035 FS Address of record
456.036 FS Licenses; active and inactive status; delinquency
456.038 FS Renewal and cancellation notices
456.0635 FS Medicaid fraud; disqualification for license, certification, or registration
458.347 FS Physician Assistant Licensure
766.1115 FS Health care providers; creation of agency relationship with governmental contractors.
766.1116 FS Health care practitioner; waiver of license renewal fees and continuing education

Florida Administrative Code

64B8-30.005 Continuing Education for Biennial Renewal
64B-9.001 Biennial Licensing
64B8-30.005 Physician Assistant Licensure Renewal and Reactivation, Delinquent
64B8-30.019 Fees