Indoor Air Quality Solutions, IAQS

Do I currently need a Florida State License to perform Mold related services (assessment or remediation)?

Yes, A license will be required after July 1, 2010; however, Florida Statutes provide that unlicensed activity will not be enforced until July 2011.

If my company does both Mold Assessments and Mold Remediations, will I be required to get two (2) licenses (one for Mold Assessor and one for Mold Remediator?

This would be considered a conflict of interest by the state, Section 468.8419(1)(d), F.S., provides that an assessor may not “perform or offer to perform any remediation to a structure on which the mold assessor or the assessor’s company provided a mold assessment within the last 12 months.” Section 468.8419(2)(d), F.S., provides that a remediator may not “perform or offer to perform any assessment to a structure on which the mold remediator or the remediator’s company provided a mold remediation within the last 12 months

John P. Lapotaire, CIEC
Certified Indoor Environmental Consultant
Microshield Environmental Services, LLC
www.Microshield-ES.com
www.CFL-IAQ.com

When hiring a professional consultant or contractor it is important to hire a company with qualified and certified staff that will be following industry standards and guidelines to ensure a job done right.

ACAC offers training course for various kinds of IAQ and mold specialists, including assessment and remediation programs available to IAQA members in the various indoor air disciplines.

Florida Chooses ACAC Exams for New Mold License

The ACAC is pleased to announce that as of July 1, 2010, the American Council for Accredited Certification (ACAC) is the exclusive provider of mold license examinations for the state of Florida.

ACAC signed an exclusive contract with Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) whereby all applicants for licensure by examination under Florida’s new Mold Related Services law must have passed one of six ACAC certification exams.

Applicants for the Florida mold assessor license may take the Council-certified Indoor Environmentalist (CIE), Council-certified Indoor Environmental Consultant (CIEC) or Council-certified Microbial Consultant (CMC) examinations.

Applicants for the Florida mold remediator license may take the Council-certified Microbial Remediator (CMR), Council-certified Microbial Remediation Supervisor (CMRS) or Council-certified Indoor Environmental Supervisor (CIES) examinations.

If you hold one of these ACAC certifications in good standing, congratulations! You are already qualified for the Florida license. Simply download a Florida license application at http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/pro/mold/documents/mold_app_licensure.pdf and complete the “License by Grandfathering” section.

Florida’s decision to rely on ACAC exams reinforces our position as the industry leader for independent professional certifications. ACAC exams were chosen in part because they are based on widely accepted industry texts, not on proprietary training courses. They are developed by independent industry experts according to stringent psychometric principles and administered in compliance with international consensus standards. ACAC certifications are also the only IAQ designations to earn third-party accreditation by the Council for Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB), a nationally-recognized accreditation body.

The ACAC is constantly working to enhance the value and visibility of ACAC designations, and is pleased to add Florida to our list of accomplishments in this regard.

FL Mold Related Services Summary
John Lapotaire

A line by line helpful overview of the FL HB 713 as it makes its way through its final committee.

Mold Services Requirements

652 Mold Related Services

656 (2) The Legislature finds it necessary in the interest of

657 the public safety and welfare, to prevent damage to real and

658 personal property, to avert economic injury to the residents of

659 this state, and to regulate persons and companies that hold

660 themselves out to the public as qualified to perform mold

661related services.

672 Examinations

673 (1) A person desiring to be licensed as a mold assessor or

674 mold remediator must shall apply to the department after

675 satisfying the examination requirements of this part to take a

676 licensure examination.

682 (a)1. For a mold remediator, at least a 2-year associate

683 of arts degree, or the equivalent, with at least 30 semester

684 hours in microbiology, engineering, architecture, industrial

685 hygiene, occupational safety, or a related field of science from

686 an accredited institution and a minimum of 1 year of documented

687 field experience in a field related to mold remediation; or

688 2. A high school diploma or the equivalent with a minimum

689 of 4 years of documented field experience in a field related to

690 mold remediation.

691 (b)1. For a mold assessor, at least a 2-year associate of

692 arts degree, or the equivalent, with at least 30 semester hours

693 in microbiology, engineering, architecture, industrial hygiene,

694 occupational safety, or a related field of science from an

695 accredited institution and a minimum of 1 year of documented

696 field experience in conducting microbial sampling or

697 investigations; or

698 2. A high school diploma or the equivalent with a minimum

699 of 4 years of documented field experience in conducting

700 microbial sampling or investigations.

Insurance

860 (1) A mold assessor shall maintain general liability and

861 errors and omissions for both preliminary and postremediation

862 mold assessment insurance coverage in an amount of at least $1

863 million

Grandfather Clause

866 468.8423 Grandfather clause.-

867 (1) A person who performs mold assessment or mold

868 remediation as defined in this part may qualify for licensure to

869 be licensed by the department as a mold assessor or mold

870 remediator if the person submits his or her application to the

871 department by March 1, 2011, whether postmarked or delivered by

872 that date, and if the person: meets the licensure requirements

873 of this part by July 1, 2010.

874 (a) Is certified as a mold assessor or mold remediator by

875 a state or national association that requires, for such

876 certification, successful completion of a proctored examination

877 on mold assessment or mold remediation, as applicable, and

878 completes at least 60 hours of education on mold assessment or

879 at least 30 hours of education on mold remediation, as

880 applicable; or

881 (b) At the time of application, has at least 3 years of

882 experience as a mold assessor or mold remediator. To establish

883 the 3 years of experience, an applicant must submit at least 40

884 mold assessments or remediation invoices prepared by the

885 applicant.

John P. Lapotaire, CIEC

Certified Indoor Environmental Consultant

Microshield Environmental Services, LLC

www.Microshield-ES.com