The Florida Board of Medicine general statutes require that you must have a valid Florida medical license to practice medicine in Florida.
If you have been named in any malpractice suits, or have answered “yes” to any of the questions in the application, anticipate the possibility that additional information be requested.
You can check the status of the application by clicking the “Check Status” link. Once you have submitted your application, it will take up to 10 business days before the information on your status is up to date. You will need to know your File ID number and your date of birth to access the information. Your File ID number will be given to you once you start the application.
We recommend that you do not make any commitments based upon expectation of licensure until you are actually licensed. Some applicants suffer significant costs by signing mortgages and committing to a start date prematurely.
Read instructions before and while you complete the application. Failure to do so may result in delays in processing your application.
One application is not accelerated at the expense of another, particularly if there is a premature commitment to start practicing medicine. All applicants are handled equally and fairly. The application process may take between two to six months to complete depending on your credentials. You will not be able to start work until you have been granted a full medical license.
Applicants can help expedite the application process by including all relevant materials with their application packets (medical school diploma, residency certificates, etc). We will mail you a deficiency letter approximately 30 days after receiving your application. Please refrain from contacting our office until after you have received your initial deficiency letter. E-mail contact is more efficient. Time spent on the telephone impacts time available for staff to process applications.
Please direct questions or comments to info@flboardofmedicine.gov.
We process applications, mail, e-mails, and telephone calls in date order.
Licenses will not be issued without the background check results and will be issued in date order.
When issuing licenses, we have a strict policy of fairness. One application will not be accelerated at the expense of another. All applications will be handled equally and fairly. Also, the less time reviewers spend responding to duplicate e-mails and telephone calls, the faster applications can be reviewed.The standard procedures for the reviewers are:
Return phone calls within 24 hours.
Check mail within one week from receipt date.
Respond to e-mails within one week.
It could take up to 10 business days to issue your license after completion of your application. It will take approximately 7 business days to receive your license in the mail after issuance. To view your license before receiving the actual license in the mail, click LOOKUP. Your license number will appear on the web site 24 to 48 hours after it is issued.
Federal Credentials Verification Services (FCVS) will primary source verify and provide a copy of the medical school transcript(s), medical school diploma, medical school verification, name change document(s), national examination score report, ECFMG certificate, and ECFMG verification. For more information about FCVS, visit their web-site at www.portal.fsmb.org/MyFsmb/.
Note: If you have not completed the FCVS certification process prior to applying for license in Florida it could take longer to receive your Florida license.
The State of Florida operates under Chapter 286, Florida Statutes, commonly referred to as the “Sunshine Law.” This law requires that board meetings are public. All information that you provide to the Department is public record and shall be open to public inspection as required by 119.07 F. S., except financial information, examination records, and patient records.
Personal Appearances before the Credentials Committee or the Board of Medicine may be required for a variety of reasons: e.g., malpractice, medical education, postgraduate training, disciplinary actions, etc. If an appearance is required, we will notify you by mail including the date, time, location, and reason(s) for the appearance. The Credentials Committee meets in conjunction with the full Board of Medicine meetings. In order for the Committee members to review all the information that is provided for this committee, other committee meetings at the same time, and for the full board meeting, a deadline for applications must be established and respected. The cut off for a complete application to be considered is six (6) weeks prior to the committee meeting. All Board and Committee meetings dates, click Meetings
Any document submitted in a language other than English must be accompanied by a literal translation. Acceptable translators are: An employee of a professional translating company, a member of a professional translation company, a member of the American Translators Association, a faculty member of the modern languages or linguistics department of a United States college or university. Translations must be prepared on letterhead paper or bear the translator’s certification seal. All information appearing on the original document must also appear on the translation each time it appears on the original document. This includes pre-printed information.
For example, the letterhead of the university, titles, etc.
All stamps and seals must be translated if legible. If not legible, state that it is not legible and cannot be translated.
All signatures and photos must be identified.
All numbers must be translated unless they appear as follows: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0. If they do not appear on the document as they do above, they must be accurately transcribed.
Any other information on the document must be translated.
Note: Translations prepared in international countries often have certifications on the translation. If a certification is in a language other than English, it must also be translated. Omissions or errors will cause a delay in the application process.