STANDARDS FOR CERTIFICATION

(a) Standards for Certification. The minimum standards for certification are prescribed below. Each area of certification established under this chapter may contain higher or additional standards if approved by the Supreme Court of Florida.

(b) Eligibility for Application. A member in good standing of The Florida Bar who is currently engaged in the practice of law and who meets the area’s standards may apply for certification. The applicant must continue to practice law and remain a member in good standing of The Florida Bar from the date the application is filed to the date the certificate is issued. The certificate issued by the board of legal specialization and education states that the lawyer is a “Board Certified [area of certification] Lawyer.”

(c) Minimum Requirements for Qualifying for Certification With Examination. Minimum requirements for qualifying for certification by examination are as follows.

(1) Minimum Years of Practice of Law. The applicant must have a minimum of 5 years substantially engaged in the practice of law. The “practice of law” means legal work performed primarily for purposes of rendering legal advice or representation. Service as a judge of any court of record constitutes the practice of law for certification purposes. Employment by the government of the United States, any state (including subdivisions of the state such as counties or municipalities), or the District of Columbia, and employment by a public or private corporation or other business constitutes the practice of law for certification purposes if the individual was required as a condition of employment to be a member of the bar of any state or the District of Columbia. The practice of law in a foreign nation state, U.S. territory, or U.S. protectorate, or employment in a position that requires as a condition of employment that the employee be licensed to practice law in that foreign nation state, U.S. territory, or U.S. protectorate, counts as up to, but no more than, 3 of the 5 years required for certification if provided in the applicable certification area standards.

(2) Substantial Involvement. The applicant must demonstrate competence and substantial involvement in the applicable certification area during 3 of the last 5 years preceding the application for certification.

(3) Continuing Legal Education. The applicant must complete the continuing legal education requirement in the applicable certification area as set by that area’s standards. No certification area’s standards may be less than 10 certification hours per year. Accreditation of educational hours is subject to polices established by the applicable certification committee or the board of legal specialization and education.

(4) Examination. The applicant must pass a written examination that is applied uniformly to all applicants and is designed to demonstrate sufficient knowledge, skills, proficiency, professional responsibility, and ethics in the applicable certification area. The award of an LL.M. degree from an approved law school in the applicable certification area within 8 years of application may substitute as the written examination required in this subdivision if the area’s standards so provide.

(5) Current Certification by Approved Organizations. The board of legal specialization and education may approve substitution of current certification by an approved organization in the applicable certification area within 5 years of filing an application for partial equivalent credit, including the written examination required in subdivision (c)(4) at the certification committee’s recommendation.

(6) Peer Review. Peer review is used to solicit information to assess competence in the specialty field, and professionalism and ethics in the practice of law. To qualify for board certification, the applicant must be recognized as having achieved a level of competence indicating special knowledge, skills, and proficiency in handling the usual matters in the specialty field. The applicant must also be evaluated as to character, ethics, and reputation for professionalism. An applicant otherwise qualified may be denied certification on the basis of peer review. Certification may also be withheld pending the outcome of any disciplinary complaint or malpractice action. As part of the peer review process, the board of legal specialization and education and its area committees must review an applicant’s professionalism, ethics, and disciplinary record. This review must include both disciplinary complaints and malpractice actions. The process may also include solicitation of public input and independent inquiry apart from review of completed peer review forms. Peer review is mandatory for all applicants and may not be eliminated by equivalents.

(d) Limitations on and Minimum Requirements for Qualifying for Certification Without Examination.

(1) Limitations on Qualifying for Certification Without Examination. When certification without examination is available in an area, it may be granted only as follows.

(A) Two-Year Post-Approval Period. Certification may be granted to individuals who apply within 2 years after the date on which the applicable certification area is approved by the Supreme Court of Florida.

(B) Individual Certification Standards. Certification may be granted as otherwise permitted in the particular standards for the applicable certification area.

(2) Minimum Requirements for Qualifying for Certification Without Examination. When certification without examination is available in an area, the minimum requirements are as follows.

(A) Practice of Law. The applicant must demonstrate a minimum of 20 years in the practice of law as defined above on a full-time basis.

(B) Substantial Involvement. The applicant must demonstrate competence and substantial involvement in the applicable certification area during 5 of the last 10 years, including the year immediately preceding the application for certification. Substantial involvement in the particular area of law for the 1 year immediately preceding the application may be waived for good cause shown.

(C) Continuing Legal Education. The applicant must complete continuing legal education in the applicable certification area as set by that area’s standards of at least 15 hours per year.

(D) Peer Review. The applicant must undergo peer review as set forth above.

(E) Fees. The applicant must pay any required fees.

(e) Good Cause. In determining good cause under this chapter, the board of legal specialization and education and applicable certification committee must consider the applicant’s supervisory responsibility in the certification area; the applicant’s special knowledge, skills, and proficiency in the certification area; the nature and complexity of matters in the certification area handled by the applicant; the number of matters in the certification area handled by the applicant over the course of the applicant’s career; and any career or other factors relevant to the applicant’s request for a waiver of compliance.

(f) Extensions. The board of legal specialization and education may adjust the time for completion of the application requirements on the executive director’s or board of governors’ request for good cause shown, which may include, but is not limited to:

(1) national or regional emergency;

(2) flood, fire, hurricane, extreme weather, or explosion;

(3) disease, epidemic, pandemic, or quarantine;

(4) war, invasion, or terrorist threats or acts;

(5) extended riots, protest, civil unrest, civil strife, or political unrest; or

(6) local, state, federal, or foreign government recommendation, regulation, mandate, order, law, statute, or advisory. Requests for extensions from individual members will not be considered. Amended Sept. 21, 1989, effective Oct. 1, 1989 (548 So.2d 1120); July 23, 1992, effective Jan. 1, 1993 (605 So.2d 252); July 1, 1993 (621 So.2d 1032); Sept. 24, 1998, effective Oct. 1, 1998 (718 So.2d 1179); December 8, 2005, the Supreme Court of Florida issued a revised version of its original October 6, 2005 opinion adopting this amendment, effective January 1, 2006 (SC05-206); November 19, 2009, effective February 1, 2010 (SC08-1890) (34 Fla.L.Weekly S628a); amended August 22, 2024, effective October 21, 2024 (SC2024-0237); amended November 20, 2025, effective January 20, 2026 (SC2025-0017).