3.2 Inactive, Delinquent & Retired Status: Election, Reactivation and Board Appearance

Licence Status and Its Consequences

Section 456.036, F.S., supplies the framework for every Department of Health profession; Rule Chapter 64B5-10 applies it to dentistry.

The statutory basis — s. 466.015

Section 466.015, F.S., "Inactive status," is the Chapter 466 hook for the whole scheme:

• Subsection (1): the Board shall adopt rules relating to application procedures for inactive status, the renewal of inactive licences, and the reactivation of licences. The Board must prescribe by rule an application fee for inactive status, a biennial renewal fee for inactive status, a delinquency fee, and a fee for reactivation. Critically, "None of these fees may exceed the biennial renewal fee established by the board for an active license." Every inactive-status fee is capped by the active renewal fee.
• Subsection (2): the Department shall not reactivate a licence unless the inactive or delinquent licensee has paid any applicable biennial renewal or delinquency fee, or both, and a reactivation fee.

Rule Chapter 64B5-10 is adopted under this section together with s. 456.036, F.S.

Inactive status — Rule 64B5-10.005

A licensee may elect inactive status at any time, by filing a completed application for inactive status as set forth in s. 456.036, F.S., together with the appropriate fees.

Inactive licences are not dormant paperwork: inactive licences must be renewed biennially, including payment of the inactive renewal fee. Letting an inactive licence lapse produces the same delinquency consequences as letting an active one lapse.

Reactivating an inactive licence — Rule 64B5-10.007

An inactive licence shall be reactivated on payment of the applicable Chapter 64B5-15 fees and demonstration that the licensee:

1. Has completed the continuing education requirements set out in Rule 64B5-12.013, F.A.C.

That is the ordinary case. But a second, heavier tier applies:

Any licensee whose licence has been inactive for more than two consecutive biennial licensure cycles and who has not practised for two out of the previous four years in another jurisdiction shall be required to appear before the Board and establish the ability to practise with the care and skill sufficient to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

Both conditions must be present. A dentist who was inactive in Florida for three biennia but practised actively in Georgia for two of the last four years does not trigger the appearance requirement.

At that appearance the licensee must:

• Show compliance with the continuing education requirement;
• Account for any activities related to the practice of dentistry in Florida or any other jurisdiction during the inactive period, and establish the absence of malpractice or disciplinary actions pending in any jurisdiction;
• Prove compliance with the financial responsibility requirements of s. 456.048, F.S., and Rule 64B5-17.011, F.A.C. — dentists only; and
• Prove compliance with s. 456.033, F.S. (the HIV/AIDS education requirement).

The fee sequence for moving inactive → active mirrors the sequence for going inactive: at renewal, the renewal fee (64B5-15.006) plus reactivation fee (64B5-15.009) plus any delinquency fee plus the change-of-status fee; at any other time, the reactivation fee plus the change-of-status fee.

Delinquent status

Rule 64B5-10.010, "Delinquent Status License," was repealed 10-29-15; delinquency for dentistry is now governed directly by s. 456.036, F.S. Under that statute a licence that is not renewed by the end of the biennium becomes delinquent, and a delinquent licensee who fails to become active or inactive before the expiration of the current licensure cycle renders the licence null and void without further action by the Department or the Board. A null-and-void licence cannot be reactivated; the person must apply as a new applicant.

Practising on a delinquent licence is not a paperwork problem. Section 466.026(1)(a), F.S., makes practising dentistry or dental hygiene without an appropriate, active licence a third-degree felony, and s. 466.026(1)(b) does the same for using a suspended or revoked licence.

Retired status — Rule 64B5-10.011

A licensee may place an active or inactive licence in retired status at any time.

Reactivating from retired status requires:

• Paying the reactivation fee mandated by s. 456.036(12), F.S., which requires the licensee to "pay any renewal fees imposed on an active status licensee for all biennial licensure periods during which the licensee was on retired status" — retirement defers the fees, it does not forgive them;
• Documentary proof of satisfying the continuing education requirements of Rules 64B5-12.013 and 64B5-12.016 for each biennial period the licence was retired; and
• For dentists, demonstrated compliance with Rule 64B5-17.011 (financial responsibility).

The five-year trigger. Any dentist whose licence has been on retired status for more than five (5) years, or a licensee from another state who has not been in the active practice of dentistry within the past five (5) years, must appear before the Board and establish the ability to practise with care and skill sufficient to protect the public. At that appearance the dentist must demonstrate compliance with the reactivation requirements and account for any dentistry-related activities during the retired or non-practising period, establishing the absence of pending malpractice or disciplinary actions.

Investigation hold. Rule 64B5-10.011(4): the Department shall refuse to reactivate the licence of a retired-status dentist who is under investigation or prosecution in any jurisdiction for an action that would violate Chapter 466 or another act administered by the Department and the boards — until 15 days after the Department receives the final results of that investigation or prosecution.

Status comparison