Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does Florida have reciprocity with other
states?
A: No. Licenses issued in the State of Florida are separate from
other jurisdictions. Licenses are issued through examination and
endorsement only. Individual states must be contacted to obtain
licensure requirements in the applicable jurisdiction.
Q: If I fail the exam, or do not take the exam for which I was
seated, what happens to my temporary permit?
A: The permit is immediately null and void if you either fail the
exam, or fail to take the exam as assigned. If you fail to take the
examination as assigned, you may not have a refund of the exam fee you
paid. You will have to repay all application and exam fees to be seated
for another exam.
Q: If I pass the exam on my own through the CDR, will they notify
you of my passing?
A: No. The CDR is not responsible for notifying the state that
you have passed the exam.
Q: Does the position that I am working in require licensure?
A: There are many exempt settings. You may refer to 468.505, F.S.
for a list of exempt employment settings. Please keep in mind that your
employer's standards may vary. Although the State of Florida may not
require licensure within these settings your employer has the right to
impose a licensure requirement.
Q: There is a diet technician working with me, what task can be
performed by the technician?
A: The State does not directly regulate or license diet
technicians, you may refer to your facility risk manager. See
64B8-44.008, F.A.C., Performance of Delegated Task by Non-Licensed
Personnel. You as a licensee are responsible for all delegated acts
performed by persons under your direct or indirect supervision.
Q: When will my license expire?
A: All licenses expire on May 31 of each odd year, regardless of
the date of issuance.
Q: Are Medical Errors Prevention, AIDS education and domestic
violence courses required for license renewal?
A: Thus far the Dietetics and Nutrition Practice Council has not
implemented an education requirement for domestic violence. All renewing
licensees are required to complete two hours of Medical Errors
Prevention and if this is the licensee's first renewal, then (3) hours of HIV/AIDS continuing education is required.
Q: How do I know the courses I am taking are accepted as
continuing education by the board? Who does my continuing education
courses need to be approved by?
A: Check with the provider of the course to make sure they hold
approval through one of the organizations named in 64B8 -45.002, F.A.C.
When you are awarded your certificate, make sure their approval number
is noted prominently and clearly on the certificate. The Council does
not offer review and approval of individual CE courses.
Q: Define a licensing biennium?
A: Licensing biennium is a twenty-four month period prior to the
expiration of the license. An individual's first license may expire
before twenty-four months, depending on when the license was actually
issued. All licenses in this profession run on the same cycle and all
licenses currently will expire on May 31 of each odd year.
Q: How many continuing education contact hours are required
during a biennium?
A: Licensees are required to complete 30 contact hours during a
licensing biennium to maintain licensure in Florida. One contact hour is
equal to fifty minutes in duration. It is not required that a licensee
obtain 15 hours in the first year and another fifteen in the second, all
hours may be completed at any point throughout the biennial period.
However, thirty hours are required for license renewal, see 64B8-45.001, F.A.C., General Requirements.
Q: The Commission on Dietetic Registration required 75 hours over
a 5-year period, will completing their requirements enable me to satisfy
Florida continuing education requirements?
A: Although your continuing education may be considered for
license renewal, if taken during the applicable biennial period, Florida
requires thirty hours per biennium. Many licensees fail to meet the
State requirements due to the misconception that CDR and Florida have
parallel standards.
Q: Does the state maintain my records for me?
A: The Dietetic and Nutrition Practice Council does not
maintain your continuing education records. Rule 64B8-45.001(3), F.A.C.,
requires all licensees to maintain certificates of attendance for a
period of 4 years. You may use the continuing education determination to
track your continuing education. Starting April 2006, the Department of
Health will begin to conduct 100% audits of Department licensee’s
continuing education credits through the new continuing education
compliance determination system (CE Broker). The Department currently
audits 2% of health care licensee’s continuing records and those
licensees found lacking in their mandated CE requirements are sent to
the appropriate regulatory Board for discipline.
Q: If I take more than the required 30 hours in one biennium, can
I count the excess towards the next biennium?
A: No. All hours must be completed within the 24 months of the
license biennium, no hours can be carried forward or counted
retroactively.
Q: If I place my license on inactive status, am I exempt from
continuing education requirements?
A: You are not required to obtain the continuing education
throughout the period of inactive status. However, to renew your
license, you must complete the required number of continuing education
credit for the periods of inactivity, even if it is just prior to
applying for reactivation of the inactive license.
Q: What does the license prefix NC mean?
A: That designation applies to persons that were licensed as
nutritional counselors under the grandfather clause. That avenue for
licensure is no longer available, but the NC licenses will remain valid
as long as the licensee maintains the license in good standing.
Q: How can I become a Council member?
A: Council members are appointed by the Board of Medicine. You
may apply by contacting the Council's Staff Office and submitting your
resume and letter of intent for consideration.
Q: Who can attend Council meetings?
A: All Council meetings are open to the public and you are
encouraged to attend.
Q: How can I get a Council agenda?
A: The agenda outlines are posted approximately 2 weeks
prior to each meeting under Agendas.
Alternatively, you may request to be placed on the Council's Interested Parties list to receive a copy by email, fax or U.S. mail. Staff routinely sends out
agenda outlines 7-10 days prior to an upcoming council meeting.
Q: How can I get an item placed on the Council's agenda?
A: Send the item to the Council's staff office with a letter
requesting that it be included on the next meeting's agenda. Advance
notice to the Council is mandatory. The deadlines for all agenda items
is one month prior to the date of the meeting. If you miss the deadline,
you will be scheduled for the following meeting.
Q: How can I file a complaint against a licensee?
A: You may print the Complaint Form with the Authorization for Release of Patient
Records from the list below or call 1-888
419-3456 or (850) 414-1976 to request one by mail. To avoid delays in the process, please complete all sections of the form and attach the requested information. All complaints must be legibly written or typed and signed.
To file a complaint on a non-medical related business or
profession, please visit the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Q: How can I check if someone is licensed?
A: You may use our License
Look-Up Search Screen. The best results often occur when the system receives the
least amount of information. Some techniques include only providing the county where the practitioner is located or the
last name or the first letter of his name, or select
a profession. If licensee is one of our profiled professions, there will be a
link at the upper right portion of the screen that says Link to Practitioner Profile. This
will take you to practitioner reported information about their
education, specialty certification, etc.
Q: How can I get a list of licensee information?
A: To obtain an electronic listing of active and inactive
licensee’s mailing addresses and license status for DOH/ MQA regulated professions use
our Licensee Data Information service. Please note: The department does
not maintain email addresses, fax or telephone numbers in the normal
course of business.
Section 119.083(4), F.S., requires only that the agency provide electronic data in some common format such as, but not limited to, the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) text format. Therefore, the download files provided on this page are formatted as ASCII text, pipe delimited.
Financial information, medical information, school transcripts, examination questions, answers, papers, grades and grading keys, which are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1),
F.S.,. will be withheld pursuant to Chapter 456, Florida Statutes. Social Security numbers will also be redacted pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)(vii)(1).
Back to Top |
