Important Info for Florida Therapists regarding License Renewal – August 2013

Here are some quick links to information for Florida massage therapists relating to the 2013 license renewal and a heads up as to some rules that have changed this year: (scroll to bottom of page for step-by-step renewal instructions)

 

That time of the year is rolling around again. Florida massage therapists must renew their licenses on or before August 31, 2013. Navigating the State of Florida MQA website can be a little bit tricky so we have put together what we hope will be some useful links to make your renewal experience easier.  (You might want to bookmark this page in case you ever need to refer back it.)

RenewalInfo

Do you know the status of your license or did you forget your license number? Here is a link to the State of Florida, Department of Health, Medical Quality Assurance Division. Use this link to confirm the status of your license or that of any other professional licensed by the State of Florida Department of Health. In the event that you don’t know what your license number is, you can find out here.

New this year You must complete your continuing education prior to renewing your license.  Beginning with licenses renewing in 2013, the State of Florida MQA will begin using an electronic tracking system (ie CE Broker) to verify the completion of your continuing education record prior to renewing your license. This should actually work in your favor because you will be alerted if you do not have the necessary hours required. Continuing education providers in the State of Florida must be approved by Florida CE Broker. There are certain exceptions to this rule where you will need to self-report your hours. (Scroll to bottom of this page for guidance on self-reporting.)

All approved continuing education providers should report the CE hours you have earned directly to CE Broker. If you believe that you have completed all of your hours and they were not properly reported, contact the CE instructor immediately. It is imperative that you provide your correct massage license number to your instructor when you take your class so your are correctly reported.

You do not need to pay CE Broker in order to renew your license! You will be offered “an opportunity” to set up a CE Broker account. If you have problems with your license renewal and need to see what is listed on your account you can accept a “free trial” offer to see what courses have been reported and what you are missing. You will be asked for a credit card to start your “free trial” and you are responsible to cancel this account within seven days or you will be billed. If you like the convenience of extra customer service and being able to access this account there is a $29 annual membership fee. Maybe it is worth the price to have the piece of mind to have access to your file, but again, you do NOT need to have a membership to renew your license. (Who knows what will happen future years, but as of 2013, you are good.)

Here is how to avoid providing any credit card information: You can also select the “basic” option if you only need to post your courses or check what has been reported. You do not receive as much information, but it might be all you need.

You may find the State of Florida, Department of Health’s How Do I page helpful for administrative needs such as changing your address or your name, requesting a duplicate license, etc. (There is a fee for license changes. It’s a good idea to make the changes when you renew your license to avoid many of these fees.)

New this year – HIV Class is No Longer Required for License Renewal –  Florida therapists who are renewing their licenses no longer need to take a 1 hour HIV class.

You are still required to take 2 hours of Ethics, 2 hours of Florida Law and 2 hours of Medical Errors. You are also required to have 12 contact hours (that means you attend a live class on a subject matter that involves contact. If you are in doubt about this, check with your instruction, ideally before you enroll in the class.) Then you will require an additional 6 credit hours which can be earned in a variety on ways, additional live classes, online classes, etc. (For a grand total of 24.)  *HINT: the CE Broker system will not allow you to renew unless you have the number and type of CE hours that are required. In other words if you take a 24 hour seminar but you do not have your Ethics, Law and Medical Errors, an error message will occur because you are lacking particular courses.

Here is a link to the State of Florida’s page regarding license renewal. You can find information on this page for both therapists and massage establishments. You will also find links a Pro Bono Affidavit and Reactivation Requirements from this page. (Opinion: Do your best not to have to reactivate. It is a costly way to keep your license. Even if you are not currently practicing, if you intend to ever practice again, it is waaaay cheaper and easier to just remain active.)

New this Year – Florida Therapists are now required to have a photo attached to their license. This new rule has gone into effect in an effort to deter human trafficking which is unfortunately something that is commonplace in our profession. Not only should your license have a passport sized photo of you attached to it (similar to what your stylist at a hair salon has) but also you should carry a photo id on you. If you work at multiple locations, you need this for each location you work.

 

Still need to renew your license?

Here is how to enroll online:

Go to this page on the State of Florida Department of Health website:

Renew License

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Select your profession:  Massage Therapist
Enter User ID:       

Enter Password: 

Don’t know your id or password? The State of Florida sent a postcard with this information on it. (Ha, yeah, right, like you know where that is. No worries, there is a link for “get login help.”)

logon help

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t know your license number? Okay, you really should know your license number, but you can find that, well, on your license, or on your business card (you should have your license number on all marketing material), or you can look it up here.

Armed with this information, navigate back to the renewal link and the system will guide you through the process.

The fee for license renewal is $105.00 to renew an active account. The renewal fee is substantially higher if you do not renew online.

A word of advice. Give yourself extra time just in case you have any problems with the renewal process. You may not be able to get customer assistance if you wait until the last day of renewal and it could cost you $100 or more.

Are you a student who is attending classes on renewal day (August 31, 2013)? You will have a couple of extra steps in the renewal process. Please view this blog post for a step-by-step process to follow.

 

Want even more information?  Okay, then try this link.

cecme