ARRT Certification in Florida: Steps, Costs, and Renewal

To work as a radiologic technologist in Florida, you need two credentials, not one: a national R.T. credential from the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), and a separate state certificate from the Florida Department of Health (DOH). ARRT certification in Florida is the standard route because the DOH accepts the ARRT exam as proof you’ve met the state’s testing requirement for general radiographers, nuclear medicine technologists, and radiation therapists. 1Florida Department of Health. Licensing – Radiologic Technology Plan on earning the ARRT credential first, then applying to Florida with your ARRT results.

Why You Need Both Credentials

The ARRT is a national body. Its “R.T.” designation shows you’ve met uniform education, ethics, and examination standards across the country, but on its own it does not authorize you to work in Florida.

Florida law requires anyone who uses radiation on a human being to hold a state-issued certificate from the DOH, with narrow exceptions such as licensed physicians. 2Florida Senate. Florida Code 468.302 – Use of Radiation; Identification of Certified Persons; Limitations; Exceptions The statute calls this credential a “certificate” rather than a “license,” and the DOH is the issuing agency. 3Florida Senate. Florida Code 468.301 – Definitions So one credential proves competency; the other grants permission to practice in the state. You need both.

How to Earn the ARRT Credential

The ARRT’s primary eligibility pathway rests on three requirements: education, ethics compliance, and a passing exam score. Most candidates work on all three at the same time during their radiologic technology program.

Education

You need an associate degree or higher, plus completion of an ARRT-approved educational program in the specific discipline you’re pursuing, such as radiography, radiation therapy, or nuclear medicine technology. 4ARRT. Primary Eligibility Pathway Requirements The program’s accrediting agency must be recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. 5ARRT. Didactic and Clinical Competency Requirements Most accredited radiography programs in Florida run two years through community colleges or hospitals, though bachelor’s programs also qualify.

During the program you’ll also have to demonstrate clinical competence on a specified list of procedures. The ARRT splits these into mandatory and elective competencies, and each procedure must be performed independently and consistently on real patients, not simulated in a lab. 5ARRT. Didactic and Clinical Competency Requirements

Ethics

Every ARRT applicant has to comply with the ARRT Standards of Ethics, which includes disclosing potential violations such as criminal convictions, military courts-martial, or disciplinary actions by regulatory bodies. If you have something to disclose, submit an ethics review pre-application before you graduate. You can file it when you’re more than eight months from graduation, and a ruling can take three months or longer. 6ARRT. Ethics Review Preapplication Doing this early avoids finding out after graduation that a past issue blocks you.

The Exam

The ARRT exam in your discipline is the final piece. It’s a computer-based multiple-choice test given at Pearson VUE testing centers, and the application fee is $225 for a primary credential. 7ARRT. Fees A reapplication after a failed attempt is $200. Your program’s publicly reported pass rate is worth checking before you enroll.

How to Get the Florida Certificate

Once your ARRT credential is in hand, you apply to the DOH for your state certificate. Florida Statute 468.304 sets out what you need to show:

  • You’re at least 18 years old.
  • You hold a high school diploma or equivalent, including a GED.
  • You’re of good moral character, which the DOH evaluates from your disclosure of criminal history and disciplinary actions.
  • You completed an approved educational program in your discipline.
  • You passed the required examination, which the ARRT exam satisfies for general radiographers, nuclear medicine technologists, and radiation therapists.

You file the application with the fee and provide sworn evidence of each qualification. 8The 2025 Florida Statutes. Florida Code 468.304 – Certification One trap worth knowing: an incomplete application expires six months after you file it, so don’t let missing documentation sit.

Fingerprint-based background screening isn’t generally required for radiologic technologists, except for applicants coming through the military active-duty spouse pathway. 9FL HealthSource. Background Screening Requirements You still have to disclose criminal convictions and disciplinary actions on the application itself.

Military veterans and spouses of veterans at the time of discharge pay no application fee if they apply within 60 months of an honorable discharge. The waiver covers the state application fee only, not the ARRT exam fee. 8The 2025 Florida Statutes. Florida Code 468.304 – Certification

What It Costs

Add up the fees before you start:

All fees are nonrefundable. Budget roughly $275 in up-front fees for the ARRT exam plus the initial Florida application, on top of your education costs.

Keeping Both Credentials Active

Once you’re working, you’ll manage two separate renewal cycles.

ARRT Renewal

ARRT certification renews every year by the last day of your birth month, with a $65 fee. 12American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. FAQ – Continuing Education and Renewal You also report 24 credits of approved continuing education every two years, in a cycle the ARRT calls a biennium. You report CE once at the end of each biennium, not annually. 13American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. Continuing Education and Renewal Public

Florida Renewal

Your Florida certificate expires at midnight on the last day of your birth month on a two-year cycle, with a $300 renewal fee. 14Florida Department of Health. Radiologic Technology – Renewal Florida requires 12 contact hours of continuing education per biennium, and you cannot get credit for repeating the same course within a single biennium, even if it has a different approval number or is delivered in a different format. 15Cornell Law Institute. Florida Administrative Code 64E-3.008 – Continuing Education

Of those 12 hours, at least 9 must be technical and directly related to your field, and no more than 3 may be personal development courses. You also have to complete a DOH-approved one-hour HIV/AIDS update course each cycle. Florida’s 12 hours and the ARRT’s 24 credits are separate requirements, but courses that qualify for both can serve double duty if you plan ahead.

What Happens If Either Credential Lapses

Miss your Florida renewal and your certificate goes into expired status immediately. The DOH does not send renewal reminders once you’re expired or inactive, so tracking the date is on you. 14Florida Department of Health. Radiologic Technology – Renewal

Reactivation costs $155 to move from expired to active status, with another $40 for each certification category beyond the first. If the certificate has been inactive or expired for 10 years or more, it becomes permanently void and you’d have to start the application process from scratch. 14Florida Department of Health. Radiologic Technology – Renewal

If you miss the ARRT annual renewal by less than six months and your CE is current, you can reinstate online for $75. Longer lapses may require retaking the ARRT exam. The ARRT and the DOH operate independently, so letting one lapse doesn’t automatically affect the other, but you need both active to legally practice in Florida.