Florida Radiologic Technologist Licensing Guide

Florida Radiology License Overview

Florida licenses radiology as more than a single credential. Alongside the general radiologic technologist license, it also recognizes:

• Base licenses: Radiation Therapist; Nuclear Medicine Technologist; Medical Physicist
• Add-on authorizations: CT Technologist; Mammography
• Limited-permit tier: Limited-Scope X-Ray Operator (Basic X-Ray Machine Operator)

A few other modalities are not licensed by the state at all, rather than carrying their own Florida license. The specialty section below covers each.

A license you hold in another state does not transfer automatically, so you apply to Florida's licensing board before your first assignment there.

Florida Radiology License Requirements

The baseline below is the general Florida radiologic technologist license. The specialty section covers the modalities that differ from it.

• National certification: confirm with the board which ARRT credential Florida accepts, and whether it must stay current.
• Credential required: Graduation from a two-year accredited radiologic technology program; pass the certification examination administered for the Florida DOH by ARRT (via Pearson VUE). Certified Radiologic Technologist (CRT) - General Radiographer category.
• Scope of the base license: Full diagnostic radiography (use of ionizing radiation on humans) under Chapter 468, Part IV, F.S. and Chapter 64E-3, F.A.C.
• Verification: ARRT or direct board verification.

Florida Radiology License Fees and Credentials

Florida issues more than one radiology credential, so fees vary by what you actually do. The table below is one row per state-recognized credential.

There is no state fee line for MRI Technologist and Sonographer (Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound), because Florida does not license those modalities.

$45 by endorsement (the traveler path); $40 by exam.

Florida Radiology License Renewal and CE

• Renewal cycle: every 2 years, prior to last day of license holder's birth month.
• Continuing education: Florida requires 12 hours per 2-year cycle for the general license (from our records; confirm with the board).

How to Get a Florida Radiology License

In outline, applying takes four steps:

1. Confirm the credential Florida requires for the work you will do (the requirements above and the specialty section below).
2. Complete a board-approved program if the state requires one for your credential.
3. Apply to Florida Department of Health through the application portal.
4. Arrange the verification the board asks for: ARRT or direct board verification.

Common slip-ups travelers hit here: incomplete or outdated ARRT certification documentation; Florida requires current verification of ARRT credentials, and applicants often submit expired or unverified copies that trigger requests for re-verification from ARRT.

Florida Radiology License Processing Time

Board processing time is how long the board takes once it has a complete application. In Florida: 10-13 business days. Treat this as a planning number rather than a promise.

Recommended lead time before your start date is the total runway, and it runs longer than the board's processing window. Start the application as early as you can, because your ARRT verification has to reach the board before it can act.

If you need more than one credential here, for example a base license plus an add-on authorization, they may process as separate items rather than in one pass. Do not assume you can layer the second credential on at the last minute.

No workarounds exist, making advance planning critical.

Florida Radiology Specialty Rules

Below is one subsection per credential that differs from the general Florida license, then roll-up lines for everything else.

CT Technologist

Divergence: add-on authorization. Computed tomography. Recorded on the CRT certificate as a CRT-CT specialty designation.

• Fee: $45 application, every 2 years
• Credential: Proof of current post-primary/specialty certification in Computed Tomography from an approved national organization (ARRT or NMTCB), evidenced by an unexpired wallet card; application to the department under Rule 64E-3.0034, F.A.C

MRI Technologist

Divergence: no state credential. Magnetic resonance imaging, uses no ionizing radiation, so it falls outside Chapter 468, Part IV, F.S.

How it differs from the general license: Florida does not license or certify MRI technologists. The DOH determined Ch. 468, Part IV applies only to persons who use ionizing radiation on humans, and stopped issuing or renewing MRI certificates. Hiring facilities may require national (e.g., ARRT MRI) registration.

Radiation Therapist

Divergence: separate license. Radiation therapy / therapeutic use of ionizing radiation. Issued as its own CRT - Radiation Therapy category.

• Fee: $40 application, every 2 years
• Credential: Graduation from a two-year accredited radiologic technology program in radiation therapy and passage of the radiation therapy certification examination (ARRT-administered for FL DOH)

How it differs from the general license: A distinct primary certification category with its own accredited program and certification examination, separate from the general radiographer credential rather than an add-on to it.

Nuclear Medicine Technologist

Divergence: separate license. Nuclear medicine technology. Issued as its own CRT - Nuclear Medicine category. (PET is handled as a separate post-primary specialty designation via NMTCB.)

• Fee: $40 application, every 2 years
• Credential: Graduation from a two-year accredited radiologic technology program in nuclear medicine and passage of the nuclear medicine certification examination

How it differs from the general license: A distinct primary certification category with its own accredited program and certification examination, separate from the general radiographer credential rather than an add-on to it.

Sonographer (Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound)

Divergence: no state credential. Diagnostic medical ultrasound, uses no ionizing radiation, so it falls outside Chapter 468, Part IV, F.S.

How it differs from the general license: Florida does not license or certify sonographers; ultrasound is not within the ionizing-radiation scope of Ch. 468, Part IV. Hiring facilities may require national registry credentials (e.g., ARDMS).

Mammography

Divergence: add-on authorization. Mammography. Recorded on the CRT certificate as a CRT-M specialty designation. (Federal MQSA personnel standards also apply.)

• Fee: $45 application, every 2 years
• Credential: Proof of current post-primary/specialty certification in Mammography (M) from ARRT, evidenced by an unexpired wallet card; application under Rule 64E-3.0034, F.A.C. Mammography technician is a named certification category

How it differs from the general license: Not folded silently under the radiographer license, Florida names it as a separate certification category and issues it by endorsement on top of the base certificate, requiring proof of ARRT post-primary mammography certification.

Limited-Scope X-Ray Operator (Basic X-Ray Machine Operator)

Divergence: limited-scope tier. Limited / basic x-ray machine operation, a reduced-scope credential below the full general radiographer license.

• Fee: $40 application, every 2 years
• Credential: Completion of a formal educational program is NOT required; applicants study department-provided materials and pass the BMXO examination. Certified Radiologic Technologist - Basic X-Ray Machine Operator (BMXO) category

How it differs from the general license: Below the full general radiographer license: no accredited program required, a reduced-scope examination ($150 vs. $200), and a restricted scope of practice limited to basic x-ray machine operation.

Medical Physicist

Divergence: separate license. Medical physics services in the licensed area. Governed by a separate board/rule chapter (64B23-2, F.A.C.), distinct from the radiologic technologist scheme.

• Fee: $500 application, every 2 years
• Credential: Active Florida Medical Physicist license in the area of practice, issued under Rule 64B23-2, F.A.C. Four areas: Diagnostic Radiological, Therapeutic Radiological, Medical Nuclear Radiological, and Medical Health Physicist

How it differs from the general license: Not a radiographer credential at all, Florida is one of the few states that licenses Medical Physicists, under a separate MQA rule chapter (64B23-2) with its own four practice areas, far higher fees, and graduate-level physics qualifications rather than the radiologic-technology pathway.

Before You Pay: Confirm Your Modality

States differ on whether a radiology modality needs its own state credential. MRI, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy, sonography, and CT can each be a separate state license in one state, a facility credential checked against your ARRT registration in the next, and nothing extra in a third.

The specialty differences we have on file for Florida are above. What we cannot see is your specific assignment and the site you land at. Before you submit any application fee for an advanced modality, check whether Florida issues a state credential for it or whether the facility handles that against your certification. We would rather you ask first than pay for something the role never required.

Florida Licensing Board and Resources

Florida Department of Health

Board Website · Application Portal · License Verification

Phone: (850) 488-0595

Email: [email protected]