All licensees are required to comply with Continuing Education (CE) every two years during their birth month. What happens if you fail to complete the required CE hours on or before the deadline? There are two options available to remedy this situation. A licensee may be able to qualify for an extension by meeting "good cause" outlined in Rule 69B-228.230, F.A.C. Examples of good cause include disabling accident, illness, death of a family member. If applicable, a licensee can complete and return a CE extension request form and include supporting documentation for the Department to review. If an extension is not applicable, licensees can enter into a Settlement Stipulation Agreement for Consent Order. The Settlement Stipulation Agreement for Consent Order is included in the Preliminary Notice of CE Non-Compliance, which is sent directly to a licensee’s MyProfile account approximately 45 days after the CE due date. The Department does not email licensees about CE compliance and all Department communications are sent directly to each licensee's MyProfile account. Entering into the agreement will allow the licensee 60 days to complete any deficient CE and 30 days to pay a $250 fine. Meeting these conditions will maintain a licensee’s CE compliant status and preserve any active appointments they have.

If a licensee does not qualify for an extension or enter into the Settlement Stipulation Agreement for Consent Order, the CE cycle will go into ‘Default’ approximately 90 days after the due date. This will terminate all active appointments of the licensee which will prevent them from lawfully transacting business and receiving commissions or fees. It's the licensee's sole responsibility to attain CE compliance to be eligible to obtain appointments. Appointments are not automatically reinstated, and the licensee must contact each appointing entity (usually an insurance company) to request appointment reinstatement. Reinstatement can get expensive for a licensee. If an appointment is cancelled for CE noncompliance, the appointing entity can make the licensee pay for the appointment fee of $60 and the $25 reinstatement fee. Some licensees have dozens of appointments. If each carrier made the licensee pay for the appointment and reinstatement fee, the cost could be thousands of dollars. This is why it is so important to make sure you are compliant with your CE by completing all required hours before the due date.

The Education Team is always ready and willing to answer questions and offer assistance with this, and all education related inquiries. Please contact our unit at Education@myfloridacfo.com with any questions you may have.