Starting residency · FL
Starting residency in Florida
Florida requires residents to hold a training license from the Florida Board of Medicine: the Registration of resident physicians. Florida has no state income tax on wages.
Training license
- Status
- Training license required
- Called
- Registration of resident physicians, interns and fellows (physician-in-training registration)
- Apply
- Submit the application and fee at least 60 days before the training start date.
- Fee
- $200
- Renewal
- Expires after 2 years unless renewed; residents pay no renewal fee
Who applies: Resident, individually; the board says the physician is responsible for obtaining a registration number before training starts. Each hospital reports its list of registered residents to the state.
Residents without an active Florida license must register and may not begin training until a registration number is issued. Registration limits practice to the approved training program. Residents may prescribe controlled substances under the hospital's DEA number with an individual suffix. Electronic fingerprinting is required.
Full license: MD: after 1 year of approved residency for US graduates and graduates of foreign schools Florida has certified; 2 years in one specialty for other IMGs. DO: after 12 months of internship or residency. A full license matters if you plan to moonlight.
Source: Florida Board of Medicine
State income tax
No state income tax on wages.
Source: taxfoundation.org
Match Day to your first loan payment
Assumes you enroll in RAP or IBR when the grace period ends, recertify once a year, and file each tax return by April. Your servicer's dates govern.
Mid-March
Match Day
You learn where you'll train. Your program sends its residency (GME) agreement and onboarding steps.
March–April
Florida training license
Apply for your Florida training license as soon as your program sends instructions. Applications often need school records and background checks that take weeks.
April–June
Credentialing and onboarding
Hospital credentialing, health screening, payroll and benefits forms, and a DEA registration if your program requires one.
Late June–July 1
Move and start
Intern orientation usually starts in the last week of June. When the first paycheck arrives depends on the hospital's payroll schedule, so budget for a few weeks of moving costs without one.
About 6 months after graduation
Federal loan grace period ends
Payments start 6 months after you leave school. Choose a plan before then, or request residency forbearance, during which interest accrues and months don't count toward PSLF.
First year of payments
Payments use last year's income
RAP and IBR use the adjusted gross income on your most recent tax return, which for most new residents is a student year. Payments rise after you recertify with a resident's income.
DO residents register with the separate Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine: $100 initial fee, renewed every year for $100, the same 60-day lead time, and the board states that moonlighting is not allowed.
Related
- Compare RAP, IBR and Tiered Standard on a resident's income
- Florida physician non-compete law, for when you sign your first attending contract
- All states
General information, checked on the date above. Board requirements and fees change; confirm with the Florida Board of Medicineand your program before you apply.