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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, click here to learn more.
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.
do so by clicking here.
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.
Being a health inspector for any agency can involve numerous types of inspections but in the State of Florida, there are three agencies that perform food Inspections. 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/ . DACS regulates food at grocery stores, convenience markets/stores, shellfish, food processors and all food labeling. DBPR regulates food at restaurants, caterers and mobile food vehicles. DOH regulates food mostly at institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes, schools, child care centers and 24-hour care facilities. DOH is only agency with septic system inspectors. Inspectors for DOH must become certified in order to remain employed. 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. Return to Top.
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 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. Return to Top.
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 (43kb 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 (17kb PDF) and the Renewal Form (16kb 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 (18kb) 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.
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).
Please contact David B. Wolfe by email or at (850) 245-4277 to for further information about this course.
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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, 2005 |
24 hours are required per program area |
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Between October 1, 2005 and March 31, 2006 |
24 hours are required per program area |
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Between April 1, 2006 and September 30, 2006 |
18 hours are required per program area |
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Between October 1, 2006 and March 31, 2007 |
12 hours are required per program area |
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Between April 1, 2007 and September 30, 2007 |
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, contact David Wolfe via email or phone (850) 245-4277, or write
The Department of Health, Bureau of Community Environmental Health, HSEC
4052 Bald Cypress Way, BIN A08
Tallahassee, Fl 32399-1710. Attention: Environmental Health Professional Certification
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