What does Florida Statute 718.112(2)(d)5. require of a new condo director?

Two separate filings. The director certifies in writing to the association secretary that they have read the condominium's governing documents, will work to uphold them to the best of their ability, and will fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities. The director also submits a certificate showing completion of an educational curriculum administered by the division or a division-approved provider, which must be at least 4 hours long.

How long does a Florida condo director have to complete certification?

The filings are due within 1 year before being elected or appointed, or 90 days after the date of election or appointment. The window therefore opens a full year before the election, so a candidate can complete the course in advance and take office already compliant rather than working against the 90-day deadline.

How long is a Florida condo board certification valid?

Seven education years, as long as the director serves on the board without interruption. Florida counts board education in education years, July 1 to June 30, under Rule 61B-19.001, and the year the course is completed counts as the first, so the certificate runs through June 30 of the seventh year. A gap in service ends it, and a director who leaves the board and later returns takes the course again.

What counts as an interruption in condo board service?

The statute does not define it. It does not address whether a same-day handoff, a seat left vacant for a month, or a lapsed term filled later by appointment breaks continuity. This is an open question rather than a settled rule. The conservative reading treats any dated gap as a reset, and a board with a borderline case should have its counsel commit to a position in writing.

How much continuing education does a condo director need?

At least one hour per education year on recent changes to the condominium act, due by June 30 under Rule 61B-19.001. The education year runs from July 1 to June 30. No hour is owed in the education year in which the director completes the certification course, and every director on the board has the same June 30 due date.

When did condo directors serving before July 2024 have to comply?

By June 30, 2025. The certification requirement took effect July 1, 2024, and directors elected or appointed before that date were not placed on the 90-day clock but had to comply by the June 30, 2025 transition deadline. That window has closed, so a sitting director who never completed it is now non-compliant under the ordinary rule.

Florida Statute 718.112(2)(d): the condo director certification rule.

Q: Does an HOA certification satisfy the Florida condo requirement?

No. They come from different chapters with different curricula. The condominium curriculum must cover milestone inspections, structural integrity reserve studies, elections, recordkeeping, financial literacy and transparency, fining procedures, and meeting requirements, and must run at least 4 hours. A person serving on both an HOA board and a condominium board completes both requirements.

By Carlos Castellano · Current as of September 6, 2026

Section 718.112, Florida Statutes, is the long bylaws section of the condominium act, and most people who search the bare number are after one piece of it: the rule that says a newly elected director has to certify and get educated. That rule is at 718.112(2)(d)5. HB 913 renumbered it in 2025, so older articles and older management letters cite a subparagraph that no longer matches. This page covers that provision, in the statute’s own words.

A condo director files two separate things, not one: a written certification signed by the director, and a certificate showing completion of an approved course. An HOA director files only the course certificate. Boards routinely submit one and think they are done.

How to read this article

BoardComply provides education and compliance tools, not legal advice. This article explains Florida law as we read it, with citations to the statutes. Where the law is unsettled we say so, and where regulators clarify a point we will update this article and note the change. For advice about your association’s specific situation, talk to a Florida community association attorney.

The written certification

The director certifies in writing to the association secretary that they have read the condominium’s governing documents, that they “will work to uphold such documents and policies to the best of his or her ability,” and that they will fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities. It is signed by the director and goes to the secretary. No course produces it for you.

The educational certificate, and the four hours

The second filing is “a certificate of having satisfactorily completed the educational curriculum administered by the division or a division-approved condominium education provider.” Unlike the HOA statute, this one sets a length: the curriculum must be at least 4 hours long. Its topics are named too, and there are more of them than on the HOA side: milestone inspections, structural integrity reserve studies, elections, recordkeeping, financial literacy and transparency, fining procedures, and meeting requirements.

The window is wider than people think

Both filings are due “within 1 year before being elected or appointed or 90 days after the date of election or appointment.” The part worth noticing is the front half. A candidate can complete the course up to a year before the election and walk in already compliant. Anyone expecting a contested seat, or filling a vacancy they can see coming, can take the ninety-day scramble off the table entirely.

Seven years, with a condition attached

The certification and the educational certificate are “valid for 7 years after the date of issuance and do not have to be resubmitted as long as the director serves on the board without interruption during the 7-year period.” The Division’s rule says how the years are counted. Florida counts board education in education years, which run from July 1 to June 30. Rule 61B-19.001(6)(c), Florida Administrative Code, effective September 3, 2026: the certificate is “valid for a director for seven (7) education years so long as the director continually serves as a director during that period of time.” The year you complete the course counts as the first, so it runs through June 30 of the seventh education year. That is our reading of the rule; the Division has not published an example. Seven years is longer than the HOA’s four, and uninterrupted service is the condition. The rule says it outright: “A director must take a new BMC course whenever there is a gap in service.”

Renewal has its own window. Under Rule 61B-19.001(6)(a)1., a sitting director who must renew files the new certificate within 90 days after the start of the education year in which the renewal is due, which is September 29. After that, paragraph (6)(b) says the board shall suspend the director until compliant.

What neither the statute nor the rule does is define an interruption, and that gap is real rather than a summarizing shortcut. It does not say whether a same-day handoff counts, or a seat left vacant for a month, or a term that lapses and is filled by appointment weeks later. We treat any dated gap as a reset because that is the conservative reading, but a board with a borderline case should get its counsel to commit to a position in writing rather than pick the answer it prefers.

One hour a year, due by June 30

“One year after submission of the most recent written certification and educational certificate, and annually thereafter,” a director completes at least one hour of continuing education on recent changes to the condominium act. The rule puts that on the education year. Rule 61B-19.001(6)(d): a director completes “a minimum of one (1) hour of CE instruction per education year in each education year that a BMC is not completed,” and paragraph (6)(a)2. makes it due on or before the end of the education year, June 30. Two consequences. Every director on the board has the same due date. And no continuing-education hour is owed in the education year the certification course is completed, so a first-year director is never asked to do the course and the annual hour at once.

Directors who were already serving in 2024

The requirement took effect July 1, 2024. Directors elected or appointed before that date were not on the 90-day clock; they had to comply by June 30, 2025. The Division confirmed that date to us in writing. That transition has closed, so a sitting director who never completed it is now simply non-compliant under the ordinary rule.

Where condo and HOA actually diverge

Filings: condo files two, HOA files one.
Course length: condo is at least 4 hours by statute, HOA has no statutory length.
Validity: condo seven education years, HOA four education years, both only while the director serves without a break.
Annual hours: condo 1 hour, HOA 4 or 8 depending on parcel count, both due by June 30.
Window: condo allows the course up to a year early, HOA runs 90 days from the seat.

An HOA certificate is not a condominium certification and does not satisfy this section. They are different chapters with different curricula. A person who serves on both boards completes both.

The current version

The text above reflects the section as amended by chapter 2025-175, the HB 913 overhaul, which is the current reading. The 2026 regular session did not amend it. The Division’s rule for this subparagraph, 61B-19.001, was amended effective September 3, 2026. Because Florida revises its statutes annually effective July 1, check leg.state.fl.us before relying on any summary, this one included.

Related: milestone inspections and SIRS, two of the topics this curriculum has to cover, and how condo elections run.

Our condominium board member certification is built to the eight topics this subparagraph names, and you can take it in pieces on a phone. The certificate is issued as soon as you finish, so you can file it with the secretary alongside your written certification.