Florida

Board

of

Opticianry

Each application is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The board considers the nature, severity, and recency of offenses, as well as rehabilitation and other factors. The board cannot make a determination for approval or denial of licensure without evaluating the entire application and supporting documentation.

No. All applicants must take the Florida State Board Examination. They must also meet the requirements to be certified eligible to sit for the examination.

The initial licensure fee must be paid within one year of successfully passing the examination. If the required fee is not paid within one year, you must re-apply, re-take, and re-pass the State Board Examination.

Apprentices do not have a limited time in which to apply for examinations; they may apply at any time upon the completion of their apprenticeship. (Passing of the ABO and NCLE are required to be considered eligible for the State Board examinations.)

Please mail all required supporting documents directly to the board office. For your board’s mailing address, please visit the Contact page.

We encourage you to send as much information as possible to help expedite the licensure process.

Your e-license will be issued within 2 business days once your licensure application has been approved.  Please login to your MQA Online Services account and navigate to ‘License Documents’ on your ‘My Dashboard’ page to retrieve your e-license.

Section 456.013(1)(a), Florida Statutes does not allow for an extension. An incomplete application is only valid for one year.

All convictions, guilty pleas, and nolo contendere pleas must be reported, except for minor traffic violations not related to the use of drugs or alcohol. This includes misdemeanors, felonies, “driving while intoxicated (DWI)” and “driving under the influence (DUI).”

Crimes must be reported even if they are a suspended imposition of sentence. All prior disciplinary action against any other professional licenses must be reported, whether it occurred in Florida or another state or territory.

If this feature is currently available for your profession, you may check the status of your application in real time via our Online Services. You will need your User ID and password in order to log in. If you lose your User ID and password, you can log in alternatively using the ‘Get Login Help?‘ link located below the login fields.

Yes. Offenses must be reported to the board even if you received a suspended imposition of sentence and the record is now considered closed.

• If you have a criminal record, you must submit certified official court documents related to your criminal record, showing the date(s) and circumstance(s) surrounding your arrest(s)/conviction(s), sections of the law violated, and disposition of the case(s). Documents would normally consist of a complaint or indictment, a judgment, a docket sheet, or other documents showing disposition of your case. Some courts refer to these documents as an order of probation. A court clerk must certify these court documents before we can accept them.
• If you have received discipline against any license that you have held, you must submit certified copies of the documents related to the disciplinary action taken. The documents must come from the agency that took the disciplinary action and must be certified by that agency.
• You must submit a detailed description of circumstances surrounding your criminal record or disciplinary action.

You are required to report all criminal offenses to the board. Each application will be evaluated on an individual basis. For more information on offenses that may prevent you from obtaining a medical license, see the links below:

• Chapter 456, F.S.: Health Professions and Occupations: General Provisions
• s. 766.301 through 766.316, F.S.: Medical malpractice and related matters

We will send you notification about the status of your application within 30 days after we receive it.

The division’s call center at (850) 488-0595. We are open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. We’re closed on weekends and state holidays. You may email us at MedicalQualityAssurance@flhealth.gov.

By visiting your board’s licensing page. Select your profession then click on Requirements.

Mail your application and fees to:

Department of Health
Post office Box 6330
Tallahassee, FL 32314-6330