Overview: Florida is relatively new to the genetic counseling licensure scene, launching their program in 2021. Originally renewal was set for 31 July 2023, the state decided to move the renewal date to 31 December 2023, and will continue to be every two years in December.
Renewal Date: Dec 31st every odd-numbered years
Difficulty: ⏳⏳ 2 out of 4 hourglasses. The renewal website for Florida is not challenging, it's just the preparation required before one can renew is what makes it more difficult.
Timeline: About 45 minutes, including time spent to set up CE Broker, and completing error prevention course.
Price: $5 (the cheapest state for renewal🎉)
Late Fee: N/A, cannot renew after deadline
State Contacts:
Website: https://flhealthsource.gov/
Address: 4052 Bald Cypress Way Bin C-08 Tallahassee, FL 32399-3258
Email: MQA.GeneticCounseling@flhealth.gov
What you'll need:
CE Broker account
Complete 2 hours course on prevention of medical errors. Refer to our page on special training requirements for a list of websites to find an applicable course. Make sure you receive a certificate of completion.
Maintain ABGC or ABMGG certification to stay licensed. Also have digital copy of the certificate on hand.
Process:
CE Broker - Like Louisiana, Florida requires that all CEUs, ABGC, and Error Prevention course certificates are uploaded to the CE Broker website.
To set up an account, go to the CE Broker website and click “Sign in”. Click “Sign up” to begin the process.
(a) For Location, choose location of the license NOT your physical location. In this case, choose "New Hampshire".
(b) For Profession, choose "Genetic Counselor". Then hit "Continue".
(b) Once Florida has been selected, choose your plan. Here at Elsie, we have found that the Basic plan (free) for the CE Broker has the necessary functions to complete a renewal.
(c) Type in your Florida license number. Note, that the format should look like this GC111. There is NO spaces after “GC”.
(d) Set up account. This website allows you to use the email address OR username to sign into the account.
(e) Set up complete! It should then take you to your dashboard.
If you already have a CE Broker account for your Louisiana license, then no need to set up a new account. Follow these steps to add your Florida license to your account.
(a) Sign into your CE Broker account. Then near the top left, you will see your Louisiana license number listed. This means you are currently on your Louisiana dashboard page. To add Florida, click on the dropdown box and click “Add a New License/Certificate”.
(b) On the next page, input the information for location, profession, and your Florida license number. Click “Add License/Certificate”.
(c) It will then reload the page, but it will still be on the Louisiana dashboard. To confirm the addition of your Florida license, click on the same dropdown and your Florida license should now be listed. Use this function to also switch between your Louisiana dashboard and Florida dashboard.
NOTE: The website has to verify the license before you can add any documents to that dashboard. It takes a few days for this to occur.
Adding medical errors prevention course certificate to CE Broker
(a) On your Florida dashboard, click on one of the “Report CE” buttons. You will then be given two options. You will use both eventually, but for this step click on “Begin” for “Medical Errors Course…”
(b) Input the date you completed the course and the amount of hours (should be at least 2 hours to meet the requirement). Refer to your course certificate for this info.
(c) In the following pages, put in the name of the course, name of the provider, and MQA (Florida) Board that approved this course.
Note: Since Florida does not currently have an medical errors prevention course specific to genetic counselors, you will find that the Florida Board of Nursing is the organization that approved the courses Elsie suggested.
(d) Attach course certificate. Then click “Submit CE”. If you are ready to upload your ABGC certificate, click “Report Additional CE” but if not click “View Course History” to go back to the dashboard home page.
Adding your ABGC certificate to CE Broker
(a) Follow same steps for adding course certificate, except this time click on “Begin” for “Active National Genetic Counseling Certification”.
(b) Here is where it gets a confusing. We have been told that for the “Date Completed” put the date you were first issued this ABGC certificate. Then for the hours just put in 1 hour.
(c) Attach ABGC certificate.
Once both the course certificate and ABGC certificate have been uploaded correctly, the "Compliance Status" should change from Not Completed (red) to Completed (green). DO NOT move forward with your renewal until this change has occured.
Renewing your Florida license
Sign in to Florida portal either using the “Licensed Practitioner Login” or “Returning Applicant/Licensee Login”. Under “Renew My License”, click the blue “Select” button to begin.
Answer disclosure questions.
Review name and contact information - FYI, the physical location address will be made public on their verification website.
Fill out contact preference and answer if you would be available for a disaster in Florida.
Add ABGC certification details - number, issue date, and expiration date.
Review summary and answer attestation.
Pay the renewal fee. You can download a receipt by clicking on "View PDF Summary Report".
You will receive a copy of your new license in the mail within 7 to 10 business days after renewal.
Tips and Tricks:
If you do not have a copy of your ABGC certificate, you can upload a verification letter to the CE Broker website. If you do not have a verification letter, login to your ABGC account and follow these steps. Request a verification be sent to Florida (or anywhere really) and you will be sent a copy too, which you can then use to upload to the CE Broker.
If you need another copy of the license, you can download it by logging into the Florida portal and clicking on "Licensure Documents". Select your license number and then click "Select". Lastly click on "Active e-license". Note, you will need to give the system a few days after a renewal for the changes to be reflected in these downloads.
Need help tracking your CEUs or managing your multi-state licenses? Click here to get started with our CEU tracker!
Now, if you want to take it a step further and have our team at Elsie take care of your renewals so you can spend more time on what's important to you, contact our team here and we would love to get you set up for our AutoRenew program.
Note that these requirements are subject to change at the discretion of the Board. Please defer to the Board if questions or discrepancies arise.
