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Florida Background Screening Requirements for Healthcare Professionals

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As of July 1, 2025, all healthcare professionals in Florida must comply with background screening requirements when applying for initial licensure or renewing their license.

How to Start a Background Screening

Screening Process Timeline

The full process typically takes 5 to 7 business days. While fingerprint transmission from the Livescan vendor to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) can take 24 to 72 business hours, the Background Screening Unit generally completes its review within 5 to 7 business days after receiving the results.

Check Screening Status

You can check the status of your screening with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) by entering your Transaction Control Number (TCN) here:
cchinet.fdle.state.fl.us/search/app/tcnlookup?3

If you are unable to view the status, please confirm with the Livescan provider that they have submitted your fingerprints to FDLE and that your TCN is correct. You may search for screenings completed within the last 6 months. They cannot research the status of your screening until it shows as ‘Complete’ on the TCN lookup site.

Helpful Links:

Background Information

Section 456.0135(6)(1), Florida Statutes, requires that applications for initial licensure received on or after January 1, 2013, include fingerprints.

  • Fingerprints must be submitted electronically to the Department of Law Enforcement for state processing and forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for national processing.
  • The Department of Law Enforcement retains the fingerprints and may request the FBI to process them for national checks.
  • The costs associated with fingerprint processing, including retention, are borne by the applicant.
  • All fingerprints submitted must be entered into the Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse.

2025 Amendments

As of July 1, 2025, all healthcare professionals must comply with background screening requirements when applying for initial licensure or renewing their license.

Beginning July 1, 2025, the amendments made by this act to s. 456.0135, Florida Statutes, apply to applicants seeking initial licensure in any of the healthcare professions specified in that section. To ensure that all healthcare practitioners practicing in the health care professions subject to the background screening requirements for initial licensure under s. 456.0135, Florida Statutes, as amended by this act, are screened, healthcare practitioners who were already licensed in such health care professions before July 1, 2025, must submit to background screening in accordance with s. 456.0135, Florida Statutes, by their next licensure renewal that takes place on or after July 1, 2025, notwithstanding the fact that s. 456.0135, Florida Statutes, applies to initial licensure only. The Department of Health may not renew the license of such a health care practitioner after July 1, 2025, until he or she complies with these background screening requirements.

Changes as of July 1, 2025

If applying for initial licensure: You must complete the new background screening as part of your application.

If renewing your license: Be prepared to complete the screening requirements ahead of your next renewal date.

The renewal period begins approximately 90-120 days before your license expires. Visit the “Florida Boards” tab at www.FLHealthSource.gov, select your board, click on renewals, and choose your profession for more details about the renewal process.

About the Clearinghouse

The Florida Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse) is a first-in-the-nation enterprise system for background screening results of individuals required by law to undergo screening for employment in positions that provide services to vulnerable populations.

Instructions on how to register an account and initiate a new screening in the Clearinghouse Results Website (CRW) are provided @ https://devfloridaclearinghouse.com/.

There is also a ‘contact us’ chat bot available to submit questions.

Fingerprint Retention

All screened professions are required to retain their fingerprints every 5 years and may do so at a cost of $43.25. The window to retain your fingerprints opens 75 days prior to the expiration date and closes 15 days prior to the expiration date. This provides a full 60 days to complete the renewal process. If you do not retain your fingerprints, you are required to complete a new screening. The Department cannot extend your retention window.

The cost of a new screening is almost double the retention cost and set by the LiveScan Provider. You can manage this requirement by registering on the Clearinghouse Applicant Initiated (CHAI) website. After your account is created, you will be able to view the date of your most recent screening and check renewal availability to learn if the window of opportunity to retain your fingerprints is open.

Fingerprint retention is separate from the licensure renewal process. The results of your initial fingerprint screening are stored in Florida’s Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse). Under section 456.0135, Florida Statutes, licensees are required to retain their fingerprints every 5 years and may do so at a cost of $43.25.

Learn more and initiate a screening >

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) is managing the Clearinghouse and provides instruction guides on their website. Contact ACHA.

Questions?

For questions regarding background screening, please email: [email protected]

For questions regarding fingerprint retention, please email: [email protected]

Professional Development Resources is a Florida nonprofit educational corporation 501(c)(3) organized in 1992. PDR is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Professional Development Resources maintains responsibility for all programs and content. Professional Development Resources is also approved by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC ACEP #5590); the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB #1046, ACE Program); the Continuing Education Board of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA #AAUM); the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA #3159); the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR Prior Approval Program); the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling, Board of Psychology, Office of School Psychology, Board of Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology, Board of Occupational Therapy, and Dietetics and Nutrition Practice Council; the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists (#PSY-0145), State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors (#MHC-0135) and marriage and family therapists (#MFT-0100), and the State Board for Social Workers as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers (#SW-0664); the South Carolina Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage & Family Therapists (#193); the Texas Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists (#114) and State Board of Social Worker Examiners (#5678); and is CE Broker compliant (#50-1635 – completions are reported next business day, currently reporting for 47 boards).

Enjoy 20% off all online continuing education (CE/CEU) courses @pdresources.org! Click here for details.

Renewal Information for Florida Psychologists

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Florida Psychologist earning CE credits online

Click to view approved online courses

Florida psychologists have a biennial license renewal deadline of May 31st (of even-numbered years). Every licensee must complete 40 hours of approved continuing psychological education (CE) within the two year licensure period (biennium) including 2 hours on the prevention of medical errors, 3 hours on ethics and Florida laws, and 2 hours on domestic violence (every third renewal).

Professional Development Resources is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Professional Development Resources maintains responsibility for all programs and content. Florida psychologists may earn all 40 required hours through coursework @ http://www.pdresources.org/Courses/Psychology/AllCourses/CourseID/1/

Continuing Psychological Education Credit

As a condition of biennial licensure renewal, each licensee must complete forty (40) hours of continuing psychological education.

  • Three (3) of the forty (40) hours must be on professional ethics and Florida Statutes and rules affecting the practice of psychology. Of those three hours, at least one hour shall be on professional ethics, and at least one hour shall be on Florida laws and rules relevant to the practice of psychology and shall include Chapters 456 and 490, F.S. and Rule Chapter 64B19, F.A.C.
  • Two (2) of the forty (40) hours must relate to prevention of medical errors. In addition to the study of root-cause analysis, error reduction and prevention, and patient safety, the course content shall also be designed to discuss potential errors within a psychological setting, such as inadequate assessment of suicide risk, failure to comply with mandatory abuse reporting laws, and failure to detect medical conditions presenting as a psychological disorder. If the course is offered by a facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 395, F.S., for its employees, the Board will approve up to one (1) hour of the two (2) hour course to be specifically related to error reduction and prevention methods used in that facility.
  • Every six years, each licensee shall complete two (2) hours of continuing psychological education on domestic violence as defined in Section 741.28, F.S.; these two (2) hours shall be part of the forty (40) hours otherwise required for each biennial licensure renewal. The licensee shall maintain documentation to substantiate timely completion of these two (2) hours and make said documentation available upon request every third biennial licensure renewal period.
  • Passage of the laws and rules examination of the Board constitutes forty (40) hours of continuing education credit, including credit for professional ethics and Florida Statutes and rules affecting the practice of psychology. Passage of the laws and rules examination, however, does not satisfy the requirement for the two (2) credit hours of continuing education on domestic violence required every third biennial licensure renewal period, nor the requirement for two (2) hours relating to prevention of medical errors.

Continuing psychological education credit will be granted for:

  • Completion of graduate level courses approved for credit by sponsors approved by the American Psychological Association;
  • Completion of graduate level courses in psychology provided by a university or professional school which is regionally accredited, except that no more than ten (10) hours of continuing psychological education credit may be obtained for each semester hour;
  • Completion of a colloquium, a presentation, a workshop or a symposium offered for continuing education credit by a doctoral psychology program or an internship or residency which is part of a psychology program that is accredited by the American Psychological Association;
  • Full attendance at workshops/seminars offered by providers approved by the American Psychological Association or any of its affiliates, or providers approved by the Board. A list of Board approved providers is available from the Board office upon request;
  • Simple attendance at a state, regional or national psychology convention or conference. Only four (4) credits will be allowed each biennium regardless of how many state, regional or national conventions or conferences are attended during that biennium;
  • Attainment of diplomate status in a specialty area from the American Board of Professional Psychology, for which thirty-seven (37) continuing psychological education credits, not including the two-hour continuing education course on domestic violence required by Section 456.031(1), F.S., and the two-hour continuing education course on the prevention of medical errors required by Section 456.013(7), F.S., will be allowed only during the biennium during which the diplomate is first awarded;
  • Presenting or moderating for the first time only a continuing psychological education program sponsored by a provider approved by the Board, except that credit will be limited to the number of credits allowed by the program;
  • Each hour of attendance at a Board meeting or Board committee meeting. Only one credit will be granted for each hour of full attendance and only ten (10) credits will be allowed each biennium regardless of how many hours are attended during the biennium. Attendance at a Board or committee meeting shall also satisfy, hour by hour, the requirement of professional ethics and legal issues credit set out in subsection (3) of this rule.
  • Continuing education courses approved by any Board within the Division of Medical Quality Assurance of the Department of Health, provided that such courses enhance the psychological skills and/or psychological knowledge of the licensee.
  • The provision of volunteer expert witness opinions for cases being reviewed pursuant to laws and standards relevant to the practice of psychology. Two hours of credit shall be awarded for each case reviewed up to a maximum of ten hours per biennium. In this regard, volunteer expert witnesses are expected to perform a review of the psychological, medical, legal, and/or ethical literature, as appropriate to the case being reviewed.

No continuing psychological education credit may be earned for:

  • Regular work activities as a psychologist;
  • Membership, office in, or participation on boards or committees of professional organizations;
  • Independent, unstructured or self-structured learning;
  • Personal psychotherapy or personal growth experience;
  • Authoring or editing books or articles;
  • Obtaining or providing supervision or consultation from or under a psychologist or other professional who is not a Board approved continuing psychological education provider;
  • Home study except from providers approved by the American Psychological Association or any of its affiliates.

The licensee shall maintain, and make available upon request, documentation to substantiate continuing psychological education credit required by the Board. The licensee shall retain such documentation for two (2) years following the renewal period during which the continuing psychological education credit was required.

Florida Board of Psychology: http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/psychology/