Florida is one of the few large states that lets out-of-state practitioners treat its residents via telehealth without obtaining a full Florida license — but only if you register first. For telehealth companies expanding into Florida, the Out-of-State Telehealth Provider Registration under Fla. Stat. § 456.47 is usually the fastest compliant path into the third-largest patient market in the country.
Here's exactly how it works in 2026, and where founders get tripped up.
Who the registration is for
The registration exists solely for practitioners licensed outside Florida. If a clinician already holds a Florida license, they don't register — they simply practice under that license. And if a clinician plans to see Florida patients in person, registration won't cover them: it authorizes telehealth services only.
The 2026 eligibility requirements
To register with the Florida Department of Health, a practitioner must:
- Hold an active, unencumbered license in another state, D.C., or a U.S. territory that is the same or substantially similar to a Florida license type listed in § 456.47(1)(b).
- Have a clean five-year history — no pending investigations, discipline, or license revocations within the last five years.
- Designate a Florida registered agent with a physical address in the state to accept service of process.
- Carry professional liability coverage (or demonstrate financial responsibility) that covers telehealth services delivered to patients outside the provider's home state, at limits equal to or greater than Florida's requirements for in-state licensees.
Applications are submitted online through the DOH's MQA portal, and there is no registration fee.
The two restrictions that matter most
Registered providers may not open an office in Florida and may not provide in-person services to patients located in the state. The registration is a telehealth-only lane. Companies that plan a hybrid model — virtual-first with periodic in-person visits — need fully licensed Florida clinicians for the in-person component.
Registered providers are also subject to Florida's standard of care and to discipline by the relevant Florida board. A registration can be suspended if the provider's home-state license is disciplined.
The part most founders miss: registration doesn't solve CPOM
The telehealth registration answers a licensure question. It does not answer the entity question. Florida enforces the Corporate Practice of Medicine at a moderate level, and a lay-owned company still can't employ physicians to deliver care to Florida patients — even fully registered ones.
That means multi-state telehealth companies typically need both:
- Registered (or licensed) clinicians for every state where patients are located, and
- A compliant MSO-PC structure, with a physician-owned professional entity delivering care and the management company handling everything non-clinical.
See our MSO-PC Structure Explained guide for how the two layers fit together.
Practical checklist before you launch in Florida
- Confirm each clinician's license type maps to a category in § 456.47(1)(b)
- Screen for any discipline or open investigations in the past 5 years
- Engage a Florida registered agent
- Verify malpractice policy explicitly covers out-of-state telehealth
- Register each provider through the MQA portal before the first Florida patient encounter
- Confirm your entity structure is Florida-CPOM compliant
- Remember: no controlled-substance prescribing for certain conditions and no in-person care under the registration
How Foundry PC helps
Foundry PC sets up the entity side of Florida expansion — matching you with a Friendly PC Owner, forming the professional entity, and building the MSO-PC structure so your registered clinicians can treat Florida patients compliantly.