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Professional Certification For Health Inspectors
The objective of this program is to assure that department of health staff that are assigned the responsibility to perform environmental health evaluations for food hygiene facilities and onsite sewage disposal systems are knowledgeable in their specific areas of practice and will conduct themselves in a professional and ethical manner.
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Stop! If you are looking for information on the licensure of medical professionals (doctors, nurses, etc.) please look under Licensure, medical professionals or call (850)488-0595. |
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Do You Want to be a Health Inspector in Food or Septic Systems?
There are three agencies in our state that hire them,
read "How Can I Become a Health Inspector" below.
What are the ways I can become certified as a Health Inspector with DOH?
By Reciprocity By Examination
What are the educational requirements to be a Health Inspector employed by DOH and certified through examination?
They must have graduated from an Accredited 4-year college with 30 semester hours in the in public health, environmental health, environmental science, or a physical or biological science. Click here to learn more.
Is any additional training/education required once my application has been approved?
Yes, working in either Food or Septic systemsadditional training is required, however it is Free to department employees. It must be completed prior to taking the tests. Click here to learn more.
What are the fees associated with becoming certified?
Click here to see the fee schedule.
I want to download copies of the statute, administrative rule, and applications.
Please follow this link.
How do I renew my certification?
For those with current Registered Sanitarian or Registered Environmental Health Specialist credentials you just need to submit a renewal application and proof your credential is in good standing (no fees are required).
For those with Certification through Examination, you must submit a renewal application, proof of continuing education, and appropriate fees.
Click here to learn more.
There are three state
agencies in Florida that use health inspectors to perform food and other types
of inspections for sanitation and safety purposes. They are the Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS), The Department of Business and
Professional Regulation (DBPR) and the Department of Health (DOH). The web site
for DACS is located at
http://www.doacs.state.fl.us
and the web site for DBPR is located at
http://www.myflorida.com/dbpr.
DBPR is the Agency which performs restaurant inspections in Florida. DACS is the
agency which inspects food processors, grocery stores, convenience stores, etc.
At DOH we inspect child care facilities, hospitals, foster homes, public &
private schools, onsite sewage systems, mobile home parks, migrant housing, body
piercing establishments, biomedical waste generators, tanning facilities, etc.
The two ways to become certified are either by reciprocity or by examination.
The county health departments will not hire you until you prove that you can be
certified in one of these methods.
We are unaware of the requirements to become a health inspector for the other
two agencies however, for DOH there are specific educational requirements for
individuals seeking to become health inspectors. The applicant must have been
graduated from an accredited 4-year college or university with a degree or major
coursework in public health, environmental health, environmental science, or a
physical or biological science. (Major course work is no less than 30 semester
hours or 40 quarter hours of class work.) Training or work experience does not
count toward the educational requirements.
If you were graduated from a university outside of the United States that is not
accredited by the American Council on Education, you must have your transcripts
evaluated by an evaluation service. The evaluation must list all of the
coursework taken, the semester hour equivalent and must indicate your degree is
at least equivalent to a baccalaureate degree from an accredited university in
the United States. The two evaluation services we see being used the most are
World Education Services and Josef Silny & Associates. They both have web sites
on the internet. The State of Florida is not endorsing either of these nor any
other evaluation service. They are mentioned here as a convenience for you.
To apply to become certified, a complete application package must be submitted.
The application package consists of a fully completed Application for
Environmental Health Professional Certification (available online), official
transcripts (unopened) from your college or university, and the appropriate fees
(listed later on this website). After it has been determined you meet the
educational requirements, you will be required to successfully complete the
precertification coursework requirements before you can sit for the
certification examination.
To become certified in Food Hygiene, the precertification coursework consists of
20 online courses that take approximately 30 hours to complete. After successful
completion, we will set up an examination for you in your area. If you are not a
department employee, the cost of this coursework and all other expenses must be
paid by you. The cost of the course is approximately $1100.00. To become
certified in Onsite Sewage, the precertification coursework consists of a week
long course near Lake Alfred, FL. If you are not a department employee, the cost
of this coursework must be paid by you. The cost of the course is approximately
$1000.00. In addition, you will incur expenses for lodging, meals and
transportation.
Please keep in mind that becoming certified in Food Hygiene and/or Onsite Sewage
does not guarantee employment with the Florida Department of Health. For this
reason most people concentrate on obtaining a position with the department first
and then becoming certified. To get an idea what positions are being advertised,
go to https://peoplefirst.myflorida.com/logon.htm
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Other agencies may use inspectors but not call them health inspectors. These may
include the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Children &
Families, Fish & Wildlife Conservation, etc. A list of all the state agencies is
located at
http://www.myflorida.com/directory.
Helpful Telephone Numbers:
Agriculture & Consumer Services (850) 487-2785
Business & Professional Regulation (850) 413-0755
Children & Families (850) 488-2840
Environmental Protection (850) 245-2011
Fish & Wildlife Conservation (850) 488-6411
General State of Florida Information (850) 488-1234
People First 1-877-562-7287
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Individuals desiring to become certified by Reciprocity must have a Registered Sanitarian (RS) or Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) credential with the Florida Environmental Health Association (FEHA) or the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA). We can not accept credentials from other states or other countries. All applicants must have their credential current with FEHA or NEHA. For information on how to obtain registration with FEHA or NEHA just click on their links. If your RS or REHS credential is current and in good standing with FEHA or NEHA, complete an application (20KB Adobe PDF)
and return it along with a copy of the wallet sized card which shows your name, number and year of expiration. No fees are required for certification by reciprocity.
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Examination Link/Educational Requirements
Individuals desiring to become certified by examination must meet specific educational requirements to become certified. You must have been graduated from an accredited 4-year college or university with 30 semester or 40 quarter hours, in public health, environmental health, environmental science, or a physical or biological science. We use
"Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Education" by the American Council on Education, to determine if your college or university is accredited. Official Transcripts must be submitted to the Department to determine your eligibility. If you were graduated from a foreign college or university not listed in Accredited Institutions of Post Secondary Education click here.
Examples of courses that count as well as academic disciplines and courses which do not count are listed in our guidelines document. If a determination is unable to be made from the official transcripts or a course would otherwise not be allowed the Department will request the applicant to provide a course syllabus to clarify the courses in question. If you meet the educational requirements, complete an application and return it along with Official transcripts from your college(s) or university(s) and the appropriate fees. After we determine you to be eligible you will have to successfully complete precertification coursework prior to sitting for the certification examination(s). Return to Top.
Foreign Universities (non-accredited)
When the individual is a graduate of a foreign college or university not listed in Accredited Institutions of Post Secondary Education a transcript evaluation service must perform a credential analysis and specifically state the degree the individual received is equivalent to a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution. In addition, the evaluation service must list all coursework taken at foreign institution. The coursework must be broken down by type, Chemistry, Biology, Anatomy, etc., and include the equivalent in semester hours and the grade for each course. The two most commonly used evaluation services are Josef Silny & Associates and World Education Services. The Department of Health does not endorse either of these companies but lists them as a convenience for you. Return to Top.
The following is the schedule of fees that must accompany applications for certification.
(1)(a) Application for certification including initial examination. $25
(b) Initial certification. $25
(c) Additional program certifications. $10
(d) Renewal of certification. $25
(2) The fee listed in paragraph (1)(b) is for the biennial period, and shall be pro-rated to a half-period fee if certification is initially granted during the second year of the biennial period. Return to Top.
The rules governing Standards for the Certification of Environmental Health Professionals are found in 64E-18 (40 kb PDF) , Florida Administrative Code and Chapter 381.0101 , Florida Statutes. You can also view and print Chapter 64E-18 from the Department of State, Division of Elections site. This version includes all of Chapter 64 in the pdf file making it a large file.
You can also download a copy of the Certification of Environmental Health Professionals Application Form (24 kb PDF) and the Renewal Form (24 kb PDF) in pdf format. If you cannot read pdf files, you must first download Adobe Acrobat Reader from the Adobe Internet site at http://www.adobe.com/. Adobe offers this product at no charge. Return to Top.
For Food inspectors view the following document on precertification coursework (20 kb
PDF) in pdf format.
For Onsite Sewage inspectors your precertification course work and certification examinations is incorporated into a week long training in Polk county. This is typically done after employment is secured. If you are not a health department employee you will have to incur the cost of the precertification training.
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The current Environmental Health Professional Certification renewal period runs from October 1, 2005 through September 30, 2007. During this renewal period, you are required to obtain continuing education for each program in which you are certified. A minimum of 24 hours per primary program area is required for renewal. However, continuing education hours are prorated on a semi-annual basis. For example:
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If certified before October 1, 2007 |
24 hours are required per program area |
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Between October 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008 |
24 hours are required per program area |
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Between April 1, 2008 and September 30, 2008 |
18 hours are required per program area |
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Between October 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009 |
12 hours are required per program area |
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Between April 1, 2009 and September 30, 2009 |
6 hours are required per program area |
If you are certified by Examination or by Grandfathering, you must complete the application for renewal form, submit fees in the amount of $25.00 per program and provide proof you have completed the required number of approved continuing education hours per the matrix above.
If you are a Registered Sanitarian or Registered Environmental Health Specialist with the Florida Environmental Health Association or a Registered Sanitarian or Registered Environmental Health Specialist with the National Environmental Health Association, you must complete the application for renewal form and include proof your credential is current at the time of the Certified Environmental Health Professional renewal. No fees are required.
For information on trainings that are available, go to FEHA and click on the training link. In addition, contact your local FEHA District Chairperson at FEHA to see what trainings are planned for your area. For a list of OSTDS specific training, go to the FOWA website and click on courses.
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Contact Us
Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you
do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records
request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this
office by phone or in writing (F.S. 668.6076).
If you have any questions about becoming a health inspector,
please read the information above, or write to:
The Department of Health
Bureau of Community Environmental Health
4052 Bald Cypress Way, BIN A08
Tallahassee, Fl 32399-1710.
Attention: Environmental Health Professional Certification
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