Florida

Board

of

Physical Therapy

Rule 64B17-9.001(7) states: The board shall make exceptions for licensees from the continuing education requirements including waiver of all or a portion of these requirements or the granting of an extension of time in which to complete these requirements upon a finding of good cause by majority vote of the board at a public meeting following receipt of a written request for exception based upon emergency or hardship. Emergency or hardship cases are those:

1. Involving long term personal illness or illness involving a close relative or person for whom the licensee has care-giving responsibilities;
2. Where the licensee can demonstrate that the required course(s) are not reasonably available; and
3. Other demonstrated economic, technological or legal hardships that substantially relate to the ability to perform or complete the continuing education requirements.

If you wish to request an exception and you have a hardship listed above, you must submit your request in writing to info@floridasphysicaltherapy.gov, or mail to:

Florida Board of Physical Therapy
4052 Bald Cypress Way, C-05
Tallahassee, FL 32399-3255

Your request will be placed on the next available board meeting agenda for consideration.

A newly licensed physical therapist or physical therapist assistant is required to take an approved one hour HIV/AIDS course for his/her first renewal.

Up to 12 hours per biennium.

All continuing education information must be maintained for at least 4 years from the date the course was taken. If your license is Inactive, you are encouraged to keep your certificates for an indefinite period of time as proof of completion will be required when you reactivate.

You can obtain individual course approval from the Florida Physical Therapy Association who can be reached at 850-222-1243. You may also visit https://www.fpta.org/page/ConEducationFAQ for more information.

The Florida Board of Physical Therapy staff does not perform this service.

Yes.

With a free Basic Account you can view your basic course history, which will list the course name, educational provider name, date of completion and hours reported. It would then be up to you to determine whether all of the courses that have been reported will complete all of your specific continuing education requirements. You can also self-report any continuing education that may be missing.

A Professional Account (paid subscription) provides you with all of the tracking tools that CE Broker offers. Your transcript will display what your specific CE requirements are and will calculate what requirements have been met and what may still be outstanding.

A Professional Account is a subscription service and is not a requirement but it can be a useful tool in managing your Florida continuing education requirements should you chose to subscribe.

You will be able to view your course history free of charge. Your course history will show all the courses that have been reported.

No, subscriptions remain optional. There are a number of services you can receive by subscribing, however, it is optional. You can always search for courses, report your hours, and view your course history free of charge by creating a Basic Account

No, you can report your hours free of charge anytime during the biennium. For more information please visit www.CEBroker.com.

Please note, if you take a course from a Florida Board approved Provider they are required to report on your behalf. If you take a course from a National organization it is your responsibility to report completion. There may be other ways for you to obtain credit towards continuing education required for license renewal.

For specific approved methods of obtaining continuing education for your profession please review the Board rules by visiting www.flhealthsource.gov

Beginning in 2015 you will not be able to renew a license without having your continuing education reported into the continuing education tracking system.

If you do not have the hours to report, your license will move to a delinquent status at expiration. In order to renew a delinquent license you will be required to complete the continuing education requirements. Additional fees may apply.

Beginning with licenses expiring May 31, 2013, practitioners will be prompted to report continuing education credits during the renewal process.

Continuing Education is a requirement to renew a professional license. Section 456.025(7), F.S. requires the Department to implement an electronic continuing education tracking system for each biennial renewal cycle and to integrate such system into the licensure and renewal system.