Florida doesn’t license medical assistants. It doesn’t require certification, and its medical assistant statute sets no education requirement either. Legally, what you need to become a medical assistant in Florida is a physician willing to hire you and supervise your work.
But Florida does codify the job in law, including a list of clinical tasks a medical assistant can perform. And the state doesn’t decide who gets hired. Physicians do.
Becoming a medical assistant in Florida comes down to 4 steps, and the programs in this post run from 4 months to 15 months. Below, you’ll find what each step involves, which certification each program qualifies you for, what the job pays, and which tasks require their own state certificate.
Florida lists what you can do, as long as a physician is on site
Florida’s medical practice law has a section just for medical assistants (Fla. Stat. §458.3485). Under a licensed physician’s direct supervision, you can:
- take vital signs and get patients ready for the physician
- draw blood and give injections that don’t go into a vein
- give medication as the physician directs
- collect routine lab specimens and run basic lab procedures
- assist with exams or treatments, give basic first aid, and handle the office’s administrative work
- observe and report patients’ signs or symptoms, and perform dialysis procedures, including home dialysis
Direct supervision has a specific meaning in Florida. The Board of Medicine’s supervision rule, which implements this section, defines it as the supervising physician being physically present on the same premises and available as needed (Rule 64B8-2.001).
The physician doesn’t have to be in the room with you. But they can’t be across town, either.
X-rays are the one exception
Florida law says only a licensed practitioner or a certificate holder may use radiation on a person (Fla. Stat. §468.302). And none of that law’s exemptions covers medical assistants.
If you need to work with x-rays, you need a Basic X-Ray Machine Operator certificate from the Florida Department of Health.
To get one, you need to be 18 or older with a high school diploma or the equivalent (Fla. Stat. §468.304). Then you review the state’s approved study material or an equivalent course and pass a limited-scope exam from the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (Rule 64E-3.003).
The state fee is $50 plus the exam fee, and the certificate renews every 2 years for $55 (Rule 64E-3.001). And you don’t need a formal x-ray program first.
Even then, a basic operator works under a licensed practitioner who’s in the building, and CT scans and mammograms stay off limits (Rule 64E-3.002). So the certificate is something you can add after you’re already working as a medical assistant. What you can’t do is take an x-ray before you have it.
Does Florida require certification to become a medical assistant?
No. Florida’s duty list doesn’t make certification a legal requirement, and the state has no license for medical assistants either.
A Florida Senate staff analysis of a 2016 bill said plainly that “an MA is not required to be certified” (Florida Senate). Florida rewrote that subsection in 2017, but it still treats certification as optional rather than a requirement.
Certification is a credential you earn from a certifying body by passing its exam. A license is different and represents the state giving you permission to work. Florida asks for neither.
What the law does is define what it means to be a medical assistant. It reserves “certified medical assistant” for someone certified by a program accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), a national or state medical association, or an entity the Board of Medicine approves.
The CCMA (NHA) and the CMA (AAMA) both meet that definition. The law doesn’t require you to have either, but in order to be called a “certified medical assistant” in Florida you need either one of those two certifications or an equivalent one.
Employers are the ones who decide what qualifications you need to get hired. Florida laws put your supervising physician accountable for your work, so the credential the hiring team puts in a job posting is what you need to have, though that can vary depending on each employer’s needs.
The 4 steps, and the one to get right before you pay
1. Finish high school or earn a GED
Florida law doesn’t set an education requirement for medical assistants. But the certifying bodies ask for one, and so do the Florida programs in this post, so in practice that’s where you start.
2. Pick a program that trains you for job requirements, and check which exam it qualifies you for
This is the step that matters most. The program you choose decides which certification exams you can sit for, and it’s easy to learn that after you’ve already paid.
So ask any school 2 things before you pay. Which exam do its graduates take? And how many hours of classroom instruction and externship does it include?
The CMA (AAMA) and the RMA (AMT) take graduates of accredited programs, so ask whether CAAHEP or ABHES has accredited the program itself rather than just the school. CAAHEP lists 11 accredited programs in Florida.
The CCMA (NHA) runs on different conditions. It takes a training program from an accredited or state-recognized provider, or supervised work experience instead.
That’s the exam Springboard’s Certified Medical Assistant program prepares you for, and it’s designed in partnership with the NHA. It runs 4 months online at 10 to 15 hours a week, with weekly live sessions, a clinical externship, and one CCMA exam voucher included. No healthcare experience needed.
3. Do an externship
An externship is supervised clinical time at a real physician’s office or clinic, arranged through your program. It’s where you stop practicing on classmates and start working with actual patients.
Some schools call it a practicum instead. Programs vary a lot in how many hours they include, so get that number in writing along with the instruction hours.
Then ask who finds the site, which is the clinic where you’ll do those hours. Some programs introduce you to clinics they already work with, and others have you find your own while they handle the paperwork. That second route is harder if you don’t already know people in healthcare.
Either way, a site usually wants a background check, immunization records and CPR certification before it takes you. And no program can promise that a site will say yes. Our externship guide covers what to expect.
4. Pass the exam
You’ll sit for the certification exam once you finish your program. The CCMA (NHA)) then renews every 2 years, with 10 continuing education credits and a $195 fee.
These are national certifications, so a Florida credential travels with you if you move. And if your externship went well, tell that clinic you’re looking for a job. While you don’t need certification to get a job from Florida state regulations, hiring managers will likely want to see some level of certification and some level of real-life clinical experience before taking a chance on you.
Which certification can you actually sit for?
The third column is an important one to read to determine your ideal certification path.
| Credential | Issued by | How you qualify | What it costs |
| CCMA (NHA) | National Healthcareer Association | No CAAHEP or ABHES accreditation needed. NHA takes a program from an accredited or state-recognized provider finished in the last 5 years, and also accepts apprenticeship, military or employer training. Supervised work counts instead, at 1 year in the last 3 or 2 years in the last 5. Diploma or GED either way. | $169 exam application |
| CMA (AAMA) | American Association of Medical Assistants | Usually. CAAHEP or ABHES graduates qualify directly. Most other candidates need the Alternative Pathway, which asks for 560 academic hours plus a 160-hour externship, or 1,000 hours of medical assisting experience after the program. | $125 for members and recent graduates, $250 otherwise |
| RMA (AMT) | American Medical Technologists | An accredited program with 720 hours, including a 160-hour externship, finished in the last 4 years. Or 3 years of work in the last The RMA does offer alternate routes as well. | $150 application, covering the exam and the first annual fee |
For the CMA (AAMA), accredited means the medical assisting credential itself holds CAAHEP or ABHES accreditation, which is a separate thing from the school being accredited. The CCMA (NHA) doesn’t ask for that. Programs are usually built toward one credential/certificate or the other, so ask which one.
What medical assistants earn in Florida
Florida’s 66,110 medical assistants earn a median of $21.00 an hour, or $43,680 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025). That’s the middle of the range, and pay climbs with experience.
The bottom quarter earns $18.19 an hour or less, which is nearer what a first job pays, and the top tenth earn $23.58 or more.
Median pay runs close across the big metros and drops in the smaller ones.
| Metro area | Median hourly | Median annual |
| North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota | $21.94 | $45,620 |
| Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach | $21.60 | $44,930 |
| Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater | $21.39 | $44,480 |
| Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford | $21.06 | $43,800 |
| Cape Coral–Fort Myers | $20.61 | $42,860 |
| Jacksonville | $20.48 | $42,600 |
| Pensacola–Ferry Pass–Brent | $18.64 | $38,760 |
| Tallahassee | $17.73 | $36,880 |
Median wages for medical assistants in 8 of Florida’s 22 metro areas. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release, occupation 31-9092.
Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville sit within about $1.10 an hour of each other, and Florida’s median sits just under the national median of $21.97 an hour.
Nationally, BLS projects medical assistant jobs to grow 13 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 107,600 jobs added over that decade.
Where the job leads
A medical assistant job is a starting point, and several roles next to it pay more in Florida. Each one takes its own training and credential on top, and none of it is automatic.
| Role | Florida median hourly | What it takes on top |
| Surgical technologist | $30.02 | A surgical technology program |
| Licensed practical nurse | $29.70 | A practical nursing program and a Florida nursing license |
| Registered nurse | $40.48 | An associate or bachelor’s degree in nursing and that same license |
| Medical and health services manager | $57.86 | Usually a bachelor’s degree and years of experience |
Florida median hourly wages, same BLS release: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
All four of these roles sit in the same clinics, surgical centers and hospitals a medical assistant already works in.
What Florida programs cost, and what to compare
Florida’s public schools publish their prices, which makes them a useful benchmark.
| Program | Length | Cost the school lists | Certification it prepares you for |
| Orange Technical College, Orlando | 900 hours, about 9 months full time | $4,826 in tuition, fees and materials, including the 190-hour practicum | CMA (AAMA) or RMA (AMT) |
| Valencia College continuing education | 203.5 contact hours | $5,500 | CCMA (NHA), among other credentials |
| Springboard’s Certified Medical Assistant program | 4 months online, at about 15 hours a week | $2,638 with early enrollment, CCMA (NHA) exam voucher included | CCMA (NHA) |
At $2,638 with early enrollment, Springboard’s price is the lowest of the 3, and it already includes the CCMA (NHA) exam voucher, which costs $169 on its own. And at about 15 hours a week online, it’s built to fit around a job.
It also covers the externship piece. Springboard’s externship runs 80 to 150 clinical hours, and Springboard and its clinical partner can introduce you to a clinic, or you can find your own and Springboard handles the eligibility check and paperwork. Valencia’s course page mentions neither an externship nor an exam voucher, so ask about both before you enroll there.
Career coaching continues for up to 6 months after Springboard’s curriculum ends, or until you start a new job.
The 4 questions to ask before you pay
Price isn’t the first one.
Ask which exam their graduates sit for. That’s the choice you can’t undo later.
Ask whether the exam fee is in the tuition. If it isn’t, that’s a separate bill waiting at the end.
Ask who arranges the externship, and for how many hours. Placement help is worth real money when you don’t have healthcare contacts.
Ask what a retake costs. Nobody plans on one, and plenty of people need one.
Whichever schools you’re comparing, get those answers in writing before you pay a deposit.
Where to start
Pull up 3 medical assistant job postings in your part of Florida and note which credential each one names. Then find 2 programs that make you eligible for that exam, and ask each one which exam its graduates take, what tuition includes, who arranges the externship, and what a retake costs.
Springboard’s Certified Medical Assistant Program offers a 4 month online curriculum with CCMA exam preparation, externship support, and career coaching. Review the curriculum and ask the enrollment team to explain the coursework, certification, and placement schedule for your cohort.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a license to be a medical assistant in Florida?
No. Florida doesn’t license or register medical assistants, and certification is optional under state law. Employers are the ones who might ask for certification.
How long does it take to become a medical assistant in Florida?
It depends on the program. Orange Technical College puts its public program at about 9 months full time, Palm Beach State College’s credit certificate runs 15 months, and Springboard’s online program takes 4.
Can medical assistants give injections in Florida?
Yes. Florida’s medical assistant statute lists injections that don’t go into a vein, along with giving medication as the physician directs, both under a physician’s direct supervision. Injections into a vein aren’t on the list, though.
Can medical assistants take x-rays in Florida?
Only with a Basic X-Ray Machine Operator certificate from the Florida Department of Health. And getting one takes a passing score on a limited-scope x-ray exam, plus a $50 state fee on top of the exam fee.
Do you need a phlebotomy license to draw blood in Florida?
No. Florida licenses clinical laboratory staff, but its law expressly leaves phlebotomists out of that group (Fla. Stat. §483.803). Drawing blood is on the medical assistant duty list in Florida’s statute.
Do online medical assistant programs work in Florida?
The coursework can be online. The clinical hours can’t. Your externship happens in a real office or clinic, so ask how an online program arranges yours before you enroll.
