SLPA Requirements in Florida: Qualifications, Scope, and Renewal

To work as a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant in Florida, you must hold a certification from the Florida Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. The SLPA requirements in Florida are a bachelor’s degree that includes 24 specific semester hours of speech-language coursework, a completed background screening with electronic fingerprints, and a $130 application packet. Once certified, you practice only under the direct supervision of a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist, who carries legal responsibility for everything you do.

What You Need to Qualify

Florida requires a full bachelor’s degree from a college or university accredited by a regional association recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. The 24 required semester hours must come from an institution accredited by an agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.¹

Those 24 hours split into two groups:²

9 foundational hours in normal human growth and development, psychology, and the normal development and use of speech, hearing, and language.
15 clinical hours in speech, hearing, and language disorders, general phonetics, basic articulation, screening and therapy techniques, basic audiometry, or auditory training.

One boundary to flag: an associate’s degree does not qualify in Florida, even though ASHA’s national credential and some other states accept one. The state statute requires a bachelor’s, and nothing shorter satisfies it.

How to Apply and What It Costs

Applications go to the Florida Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, either through the Board’s online portal or by mail using the downloadable form.

The total cost is $130:³

$75 application fee, non-refundable even if the application is denied
$50 initial certification fee
$5 unlicensed activity fee

Your school has to send official transcripts directly to the Board. Transcripts you submit yourself will not be accepted.³

You also have to complete a background screening under Florida’s health care practitioner screening law. That means electronic fingerprints through a vendor approved by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, processed at both the state and federal level, with the fingerprinting costs falling on you.⁴ Electronic fingerprinting became mandatory for this profession after House Bill 975 passed in the 2024 session, and your application cannot be approved until the screening clears.²

Disqualifying offenses include anything on Florida’s Level 2 screening list, plus any conviction, guilty plea, or pending charge for battery against a vulnerable adult or a patient in a licensed facility.⁴ Your fingerprints are enrolled in the FBI’s arrest notification program, so any future arrest will flag your certification file automatically.

What You Can and Can’t Do on the Job

Florida law defines a certified SLPA as someone who performs speech pathology services under the direct supervision of a licensed SLP.⁵ The Board’s rules in Chapter 64B20 list the specific tasks you may perform. Typical permitted work includes recording case histories, conducting standardized speech and language screenings, and carrying out treatment plans the supervising SLP designed.

The hard line is diagnostic interpretation. You can run a screening and record the result, but you cannot interpret what it means or decide the course of treatment. That decision belongs to the supervising SLP, and crossing the line is grounds for discipline.

How Supervision Works

Supervision in Florida is substantive, not nominal. The supervising SLP has to provide you with a Board-approved on-the-job training plan when you start, and that SLP takes full legal responsibility for every service you deliver.¹

“Direct supervision” means the SLP is physically present for consultation and direction. The one exception is when you provide services under protocols the Board has established by rule, which can allow off-site work in specified circumstances.⁵ Chapter 64B20 also caps how many assistants a single SLP may supervise and sets the share of your duties that must be directly observed early on.

Supervising SLPs have skin in the game too. Delegating professional responsibilities to someone the SLP knows or should know is unqualified is itself grounds for discipline against the SLP’s license.⁶

Renewing Your Certification

SLPA certifications renew every two years.⁷ Each biennial cycle requires 20 hours of Board-approved continuing education. Two of those hours must cover prevention of medical errors. The other 18 must be clinically related to speech-language pathology practice.⁸

The Board runs random CE audits. If you’re picked, you have 21 days from the Board’s request to produce proof you completed the required hours.⁸ Hold onto your certificates.

Missing the Renewal Deadline

Lapses escalate quickly. The sequence looks like this:²

If you miss the expiration date, your certification goes delinquent and you owe a delinquency fee on top of normal renewal costs, pushing the total to $105 or more depending on your status change.
During the notified delinquent period of 120 days, fees climb further, starting at $160 for an active-to-active renewal.
Fail to renew for two consecutive renewal cycles and the certification becomes null and void. At that point you have to contact the Board about reapplying from scratch.

Working on a delinquent or expired certification is a separate violation and its own grounds for discipline.⁶

Grounds for Discipline

The Board can deny, suspend, or revoke an SLPA certification for a range of violations. The ones most relevant to assistants include:⁶

Fraud in obtaining certification, including misrepresenting your education, qualifications, or background on the application.
Negligence, incompetency, or misconduct in speech-language pathology practice.
Practicing while suspended or delinquent.
Aiding or employing someone who is not properly certified to provide speech-language pathology services.

Penalties range from fines and mandatory education up to full revocation under Florida’s general health care practitioner disciplinary statute.

ASHA Certification as a Separate Option

The national C-SLPA credential from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association is optional in Florida. Some employers prefer or require it, but it does not replace your state certification, and holding it does not exempt you from any Florida requirement.

ASHA’s maintenance cycle is independent of Florida’s. You complete a certification maintenance assessment module (MOCA) in the third year of each three-year interval, pay annual fees, and follow ASHA’s Code of Conduct for Assistants. If you fall behind, your status flips to “Not Current” on April 1, with until August 31 to catch up before the credential expires.⁹ ASHA accepts certain associate’s degree pathways, but that does not change Florida’s bachelor’s requirement.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 468.1215 – Speech-Language Pathology Assistant and Audiology Assistant; Certification
2
Florida Board of Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology. Speech-Language Pathology Assistant
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Florida Board of Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology. Application for Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology Assistant Certification
4
Florida Senate. Florida Code 456.0135 – General Background Screening Provisions
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The Florida Senate. Florida Code 468.1125 – Definitions
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 468.1295 – Disciplinary Actions; Grounds; Penalties
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Florida Board of Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology. Licensing and Renewals
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Cornell Law Institute. Florida Admin Code 64B20-6.001 – Continuing Education as a Condition of Renewal
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American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Assistants Certification Policies and Procedures