HOA directors now need continuing education every year. Here is what we actually know.
By Carlos Castellano · Current as of
Getting certified when you join the board is a one-time step. Staying current is not. Florida now requires HOA directors to complete continuing education every year they serve. The number of hours is written into the statute, and since September 2026 the Division’s rule says exactly which year they are counted in.
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 part that is settled: the hours
The hour requirement depends on the size of your association, measured in parcels. Section 720.3033(1)(a), Florida Statutes, sets it out:
- A director of an association with fewer than 2,500 parcels must complete at least 4 hours of continuing education annually.
- A director of an association with 2,500 parcels or more must complete at least 8 hours of continuing education annually.
Both figures are in the current statute text. Parcel count only affects the annual continuing education hours. It does not change the initial certification course, which is the same regardless of association size.
What “annually” means: the education year
Section 720.3033 says only that the hours are due “annually” without naming a start date. The Division of Florida Condominiums filled that gap in Rule 61B-19.004, Florida Administrative Code, effective September 7, 2026. Florida counts board education in education years, which run from July 1 to June 30. Continuing education is due by June 30 each education year.
The clock is the education year, not your own certification date. Every HOA director on every board in the state has the same deadline: June 30. If you were certified in March, your hours are still due by June 30, the same as a director certified in October.
A worked example. Say you complete the certification course on September 1, 2026. That falls in the education year that runs from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, and the course counts toward your hours for that year. Your next hours are due by June 30, 2028, and by every June 30 after that for as long as you serve. If your association has 2,500 or more parcels, a 4-hour certification course covers only half of the 8 hours, so you owe the other 4 by June 30, 2027.
One separate date is worth not confusing with this. Directors seated before July 1, 2024 had a one-time transition deadline of June 30, 2025 to complete their first round of hours. That was a transition rule for the new law, not the recurring annual period. Going forward, your deadline is June 30 of each education year.
Does the certification course count toward CE?
Yes, for HOA directors, with a limit. The Department confirmed in writing that an HOA director may count the Board Member Certification toward the continuing-education requirement, and the rule is silent on it. The certification course counts toward your continuing education for the education year you complete it in, once. It is not a stand-in for all of your hours every year.
So the certification you take when you join can satisfy continuing education for that education year, and again for the education year in which you recertify, but you cannot reuse the same certificate in a later year to avoid fresh hours. Rule 61B-19.004(6)(d) also lets you split the hours across more than one course, but not take the same course more than once in the same education year. For an association at the 8-hour level, a 4-hour certification would cover only half of that year’s requirement. The Department noted that for the specifics of how to apply this you should consult legal counsel, and that this allowance is for HOA directors, not condominium directors.
What a careful board should do
The rules are clear enough to act on with confidence. Practically, that means:
- Record each director’s certification date and the June 30 their certificate runs through. The hours deadline is the same for everyone: June 30.
- Track hours as they are completed, with the date and provider of each course, within each education year, July 1 to June 30.
- Keep every certificate. The proof is what protects a director from a compliance question later.
- Do not reuse the certification course for more than one education year of CE. Outside the year you certify or recertify, plan to complete fresh continuing education every education year.
None of this is complicated once you have a system for it. The mistake to avoid is guessing at a deadline you never wrote down. If you are new to the board, start with your 90-day certification clock, explained.
Every certificate BoardComply issues carries its own completion date, and we keep a copy in your account, so which education year it counts for and when your next hours are due is something you can look up instead of reconstruct. Start the HOA training.