What does Section 720.3033 require of HOA directors in Florida?

Every newly elected or appointed HOA director must complete a department-approved board certification course within 90 days, covering financial literacy and transparency, recordkeeping, levying of fines, and notice and meeting requirements. The certificate is valid for four education years (July 1 to June 30) as long as the director serves without a break, and directors owe continuing education by June 30 of each education year (4 hours under 2,500 parcels, 8 hours at 2,500 or more).

What does Section 718.112 require of condominium directors in Florida?

Each newly elected or appointed condo director must submit a written certification to the secretary plus a certificate of completing a course of at least four hours, within one year before or 90 days after taking office. The certificate is valid for seven education years (July 1 to June 30) as long as the director serves without a break, and directors owe one hour of continuing education on recent changes to the law by June 30 of each education year, except the year they complete the course.

Florida board certification laws, explained

Current as of September 6, 2026

Two Florida statutes set the certification and continuing-education rules for community-association boards: Section 720.3033 for homeowners associations and Section 718.112 for condominiums. Below is a readable summary of each, with citations to the primary source. This is education, not legal advice. For your association’s specific situation, talk to a Florida community association attorney. Where the law is genuinely unsettled, we say so and label it as an interpretation.

HOA boards: Section 720.3033, Florida Statutes

Who must certify. Every newly elected or appointed HOA director. The requirement follows your seat on the board, not any officer title.

The 90-day window. Section 720.3033(1)(a) requires each director, within 90 days after being elected or appointed, to submit a certificate of having satisfactorily completed the educational curriculum administered by a department-approved education provider. The department is the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR).

What satisfies it. Since HB 1203 (2024), simply signing that you read the governing documents is no longer enough. An actual certificate of completion is required. The curriculum must cover financial literacy and transparency, recordkeeping, levying of fines, and notice and meeting requirements.

How long it lasts. Section 720.3033 says the certificate is valid for up to four years. Rule 61B-19.004, Florida Administrative Code, effective September 7, 2026, counts that time in education years, which run from July 1 to June 30: the certificate is valid for four education years, as long as the director serves without a break. The year you complete the course counts as the first, so it runs through June 30 of the fourth year. Finish in September 2026 and it runs through June 30, 2030. That is our reading of the rule; the Division has not published an example. A gap in service ends the certificate, and a director who comes back after a break takes the course again.

Renewal. To renew, complete the course again and file the new certificate with your secretary by September 29 of the year it runs out, which is 90 days after the next education year starts on July 1. After that date, the board must suspend the director until it is on file, and may fill the seat temporarily in the meantime.

Continuing education. Directors owe at least 4 hours of continuing education annually if the association has fewer than 2,500 parcels, and at least 8 hours if it has 2,500 or more.

If a director does not comply. Section 720.3033(1)(b) provides that a director who does not timely file the educational certificate is suspended from the board until he or she complies. This is a curable suspension, not a removal.

How the annual period works. Section 720.3033 says continuing education is due “annually” without defining the period in the statute text. Rule 61B-19.004 defines it: the period is the education year, July 1 through June 30, and the hours are due by June 30. You may split the hours across courses, but you may not take the same course twice in one education year. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation confirmed to us in writing that the Board Member Certification course counts toward that requirement, once, for the education year you complete it in, which works out to once every four years. A director whose certificate lapses is suspended from the board until a new certificate is filed with the association’s secretary, which cures the suspension. We cover these in the continuing education article and the certificate-expiration article.

Condominium boards: Section 718.112, Florida Statutes

Who must certify. Every newly elected or appointed condominium director, under Section 718.112(2)(d)5.b. (placed there by HB 1021 in 2024 and renumbered by HB 913 in 2025).

The window. A director must submit the written certification and educational certificate within one year before, or 90 days after, being elected or appointed. The course may be taken up to a year in advance.

What satisfies it. Two things, both mandatory: a written certification to the secretary that the director has read the governing documents and will uphold them and their fiduciary duty, plus a certificate of completing a course of at least four hours. The course must cover milestone inspections, structural integrity reserve studies, elections, recordkeeping, financial literacy and transparency, levying of fines, and notice and meeting requirements.

How long it lasts. Section 718.112 says the certificate is valid for seven years after the date of issuance. Rule 61B-19.001, Florida Administrative Code, effective September 3, 2026, counts that time in education years (July 1 to June 30): the certificate is valid for seven education years, as long as the director serves without a break, and it does not have to be resubmitted during that time. The year you complete the course counts as the first, the same reading we apply to HOA certificates, so it runs through June 30 of the seventh year. Finish in September 2026 and it runs through June 30, 2033. A gap in service ends the certificate, and a director who comes back after a break takes the course again.

Renewal. To renew, complete the course again and file the new certificate with your secretary by September 29 of the year it runs out. After that date, the board must suspend the director until it is on file.

Annual update hour. Section 718.112 calls for at least one hour of continuing education on recent changes to Chapter 718 and its administrative rules, one year after the most recent certification and annually after that. Rule 61B-19.001 sets the period: one hour per education year, due by June 30, in every education year in which the director does not complete the certification course. So no hour is owed in the education year you certify.

Enforcement. HB 913 gave the Division of Florida Condominiums express enforcement authority over board-education violations, effective July 1, 2025. A director who fails to timely file the certification is suspended until he or she complies.

For the full walkthrough, read condo board certification after the 2024 and 2025 laws.

Where to go next

When you are ready to complete the requirement, start the HOA training or the condo training. For answers to specific questions, browse the Knowledge Center.