Frequently Asked Questions

You are required to pay the NICA fee unless you meet the following exemption criteria per s. 766.314, F.S.:

• Resident physicians, assistant resident physicians and interns in postgraduate training programs approved by the Board of Medicine
• Retired physicians who maintain an active license, but who have withdrawn from the practice of medicine
• Physicians who hold a limited license, as defined by s. 458.317, F.S., who do not receive any compensation for medical services
• Physicians employed full-time by the Veterans Administration whose practice is confined to VA hospitals
• Any licensed physician on active duty with the Armed Forces of the United States
• Physicians employed full-time by the State of Florida whose practice is confined to state-owned correctional institutions and state-owned mental health facilities

Proof of qualification for a claimed exemption must be submitted to NICA, P.O. Box 14567, Tallahassee, FL 32317-4567. Please contact NICA at (850) 488-8191 for further information or visit their website.

Section 456.013(1)(a), Florida Statutes does not allow for an extension. An application is only valid for one year.

Your e-license will be issued within 2 business days once your licensure application has been approved.  Please login to your MQA Online Services account and navigate to ‘License Documents’ on your ‘My Dashboard’ page to retrieve your e-license. 

You are not required to send in all of your documents at the same time.  However, we encourage you to send as much information as possible to help expedite the licensure process.

Please mail all required supporting documents to:

Department of Health
4052 Bald Cypress Way, BIN C03
Tallahassee, Florida, 32399-3253

You may apply for your license  by visiting the Licensing Page >>

If the practitioner is found to have violated the law, the department or regulatory board may issue a citation or impose one or more of the following penalties:

• letter of guidance
• reprimand
• fine
• restriction of practice
• continuing education probation
• license suspension
• license revocation

The department may contact the person filing the complaint to request additional information or to testify in a formal hearing before the Division of Administrative Hearings.

No; however, the person filing the complaint may be required to pay for copies of medical records.

No, but a copy of the complaint form may be printed from the website and mailed or faxed.

Complaints remain confidential until ten days after the probable cause panel of the Board has determined that a violation has occurred. Patient identity and patient records remain confidential at all times.

Florida Statutes require that if the complaint is opened for investigation, the healthcare practitioner be given a copy of the complaint.