Yes, and the condominium requirement has two halves, which is where boards trip. Within 90 days of being elected or appointed, a Florida condominium director must both sign a written certification and complete a state-approved educational course of at least four hours (Fla. Stat. §718.112(2)(d)). Doing one without the other does not satisfy the statute.
This page covers both halves, how long the certificate lasts, and what an owner can do to check.
The two halves
The written certification is a signed statement that the director has read the association's declaration, articles, bylaws and current written policies, that they will work to uphold them, and that they will faithfully discharge their fiduciary responsibility to the members. It goes to the secretary and is kept with the official records.
The course is a curriculum approved by the state, at least four hours, covering eight statutory topics. Because this is Chapter 718, the list runs wider than the HOA equivalent and includes the building-safety material: milestone inspections and structural integrity reserve studies, alongside elections, recordkeeping, financial reporting, and the rest of the association's operations.
One useful quirk: a condominium director may take the course up to a year before being elected. Someone planning to run at the next annual meeting can arrive already certified.
How long it lasts, and the catch
A condominium director's certificate is valid for seven education years, which is considerably longer than the HOA's four. Florida counts an education year from July 1 to June 30 (Rule 61B-19.001, Florida Administrative Code, effective September 3, 2026), and the year the course is completed counts as the first, so a director who certified in September 2026 is covered through June 30, 2033. The catch is in the condition: the seven years run only while service is uninterrupted. A gap in service ends it, and a returning director starts over with a fresh 90-day clock. To renew, the director completes the course again and files the new certificate with the secretary by September 29 of the year it runs out.
Counting the completion year as the first of the seven is our reading of the rule; the Division has not published an example.
The rule uses the words "a gap in service" without saying how short a gap counts, and we read it conservatively: any dated gap between leaving the board and rejoining is treated as a break. A director who steps down in March and is re-appointed in June should expect to recertify. Treat that as our reading, not a settled rule, and ask your association's attorney if the answer changes something important for your board.
The annual hour
On top of the initial certification, a sitting condominium director completes one hour of continuing education each education year covering recent changes to Chapter 718 and the Division's rules. The hour is due by June 30, and the education year runs July 1 to June 30, so every director on the board is on the same calendar (Rule 61B-19.001).
The rule excuses the hour in the education year in which the director completes the certification course: it is owed "in each education year that a BMC is not completed." So the year of the course is covered by the course, and every education year after that owes one hour by June 30. (The HOA rule works differently: an HOA director counts the certification course toward that year's hours.)
Directors who were already serving
The requirement took effect July 1, 2024. DBPR confirmed in writing in July 2026 that directors elected or appointed before that date had to comply by June 30, 2025. After that deadline the ordinary rules apply, and a director is judged on whether they hold a valid certificate now rather than on when they first joined the board.
This one has an enforcer
Condominiums differ from HOAs in a way that matters here. The Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes has express jurisdiction over education violations, so a certification failure is not purely an internal argument between owners and their board. It is something the state can be asked to look at.
That does not make a complaint the right first move. It does mean the requirement has a backstop that the HOA side lacks.
How to check on your own board
Both the written certification and the course certificate are filed with the secretary, which makes them official records you can request.
- Send a written records request for the certifications and education certificates of each sitting director. See how to request condo records in Florida.
- If the association does not produce them, condominium owners have escalation routes that HOA owners do not, including the Ombudsman and the Division. See condo complaints and remedies and how to use the Florida condo Ombudsman.
If you are the director reading this
If you were just elected, remember it is both halves: the signed written certification and the course, both within 90 days. The written form comes from your association. The course comes from a state-approved provider, and there are free options as well as paid ones. BoardComply's condominium course is one of the approved options and is free to start.