69A-46.017. Required Continuing Education

(1) Fire Protection System Contractors shall complete a continuing education course or combination of courses in compliance with section 633.332, F.S., within each biennial license period, except that a contractor who completes the competency examination and receives a license issued for 1 year or less shall be required to complete a continuing education course or combination of courses prorated at 50 percent of the required hours for a biennial license.

(2) The continuing education course or combination of courses shall be in a fire protection discipline related to the Certificate of Competency held by the Fire Protection System Contractor. All licensed Fire Protection System Contractors are required to complete an approved course or courses providing one hour of workplace safety, one hour of business practices, and one hour of a workers’ compensation as part of the required continuing education for each biennial renewal period.

(3) The course or combination of courses shall be conducted by persons approved by the Regulatory Licensing Section. Approval of such persons shall be based on the person’s training, experience and expertise in fire protection under Florida law. The instructor must be qualified by education or experience to teach the course, or parts of a course, to which the instructor is assigned. Any person with a four year college or graduate degree is qualified to teach any course in his or her field of study. Any state certified fire protection system contractor with at least five years’ experience may teach any technical course within the scope of the contractor license held; however, no contractor whose license is suspended or revoked as a result of administrative action shall teach or serve as a continuing education instructor. The Regulatory Licensing Section is not permitted to reject a course based upon the proposed instructor, but is permitted to approve a course contingent on certification that all instructors meet those minimum requirements before conducting the course and before advertising that the course is approved for continuing education credit.

(4) Written instructional materials and any audio-visual aids must provide instruction relevant to fire protection under Florida law.

(5) The course or combination of courses shall be approved by the Regulatory Licensing Section. The Regulatory Licensing Section shall approve any course, seminar, or conference in the technical areas provided by any university, community college, vocational-technical center, public or private school, firm, association, person, corporation or entity which meets the criteria provided in this rule.

(6) The number of contact hours assigned to any course shall be determined by the Regulatory Licensing Section based on the course content and length of the course.

(a) Requests for approval shall be submitted on Form DFS-K3-1239 (3/00), “Request for Approval of Fire Protection System Contractor Continuing Education Coursework” as adopted and incorporated herein by reference.

(b) Forms are available from and submissions shall be sent to: Regulatory Licensing Section, 200 East Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0342.

(c) Each Fire Protection System Contractor shall be notified by the Regulatory Licensing Section, in writing, if the coursework does not satisfy the continuing education requirement in section 633.332, F.S. No notification will be given over the telephone.

(d) The application shall include the total number of classroom or interactive distance learning hours, the course syllabus, a detailed outline of the contents of the course, and the name and qualifications of all instructors. The Regulatory Licensing Section shall approve continuing education courses which appropriately relate to the technical skills required of fire protection contractors and contain sufficient educational content to improve the quality of the contractor’s performance and are taught by qualified instructors. Continuing education coursework approval shall be valid for two years from the date of issue, provided that no substantial change is made in the approved coursework.

(e) The number of classroom hours must be devoted to course content and does not include registration periods, meals, and keynote speakers or similar nonsubstantive time periods.

(f) Examples of courses which will be approved if the criteria and procedures of this rule are met:

1. Florida Fire Sprinkler Association trainings and seminars;

2. American Fire Sprinkler Association trainings and seminars;

3. NFPA seminars; and,

4. Training sessions conducted by manufacturers.

(g) The Regulatory Licensing Section shall approve continuing education courses within 90 days from the date of receipt. Such approval will be based upon the submission of coursework which relates to the technical skills of the fire protection system contractors and which contains educational content to improve the quality of work being performed.

(h) Each approved course will be assigned a course number and the course will be identified by course title as submitted and the number of continuing education hours awarded. A listing of approved courses will be available from the Regulatory Licensing Section. The course list will include the course number, the course title, the course submitter, and the type of course.

(i) Within 90 days of the conclusion of each approved course, the organization or person offering the course shall inform the Regulatory Licensing Section that the course was completed and shall supply the Regulatory Licensing Section with a sign-in sheet or roster. The sign-in sheet or roster shall contain:

1. The course name;

2. The course number;

3. The course provider;

4. The date the course was offered;

5. The duration of the course;

6. The contractor’s name;

7. The contractor’s license number;

8. The contractor’s signature.

For interactive distance learning courses, in lieu of the original sign-in sheet required above, the course provider shall maintain and provide a record of the registration login, course access log, and course completion, which shall include the information required in subparagraphs 1. through 7., above. In lieu of providing a document bearing the contractor’s signature, the course provider shall provide the contractor’s identity verification data which shall include the contractor’s password and the contractor’s mother’s maiden name.

(j) Each person who completes an approved course shall be issued a certificate of completion by the course provider. The certificate of completion shall contain the name of the person who completed the course, the course provider’s name, the course name as approved by the Regulatory Licensing Section, the course number, the date the course was taken, and the number of continuing education hours awarded for the course as approved for the course by the Regulatory Licensing Section. The course provider shall maintain a list of the names and license number of each person who completes each course conducted by the course provider for four years from the date of the course.

(7) Each Fire Protection System Contractor is responsible for attending the appropriate course or courses and for maintaining proof of completion of the course or courses. Such proof shall be in the form of copies of certificates of completion awarded. The Regulatory Licensing Section will not accept any proof of completion except that submitted in accordance with subsection (8), below.

(8) Prior to the annual expiration of the Certificate of Competency, the Fire Protection System Contractor shall submit proof of completion of the required course or courses to the Regulatory Licensing Section. Submissions shall be submitted on a “Fire Protection System Contractor Continuing Education Coursework” Form DFS-K3-1240 (5-18-08), as adopted and incorporated herein by reference. Forms are available from and submissions shall be sent to: Regulatory Licensing Section, 200 East Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0342. Each Fire Protection System Contractor will be notified by the Regulatory Licensing Section, in writing, if the coursework does not satisfy the continuing education requirement in section 633.332, F.S. No notification will be given over the telephone.

(9) Any Fire Protection System Contractor who does not complete the continuing education requirement shall not have his or her certificate renewed. If the Fire Protection System Contractor is not renewed, the contractor shall perform no work for which a license is required. A contractor wishing to become licensed again shall meet the requirements of section 633.318, F.S.

(10) A Water-Based Fire Protection Inspector shall complete 16 hours of approved continuing education coursework in compliance with section 633.332, F.S., within each biennial license period.

Rulemaking Authority 633.104 FS. Law Implemented 633.318, 633.332 FS. History–New 10-2-96, Amended 6-18-97, 6-8-98, 11-21-01, Formerly 4A-46.017, Amended 5-18-08, 7-19-16.