DBPR improves online licensing process

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Feb. 1, 2011 – The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) rolled out a four-phase website improvement project to make licensing and renewals faster and more efficient.

While the change impacts all licensees that fall under DBPR, the upgraded real estate licensing system – part of Phase 4 – was rolled out in January. However, it had some problems, causing DBPR Secretary Charlie Liem to email each Florida real estate licensee in the DBPR system to explain what happened and how it has been fixed.

The improved process allows new and renewing applicants to submit all documentation online. DBPR says the online system reduces the amount of time it takes to review and approve applications compared to the old registration system. Liem called the upgrade “very necessary.”

According to Liem’s letter, the licensing system is not a problem, but DBPR’s online instructions failed to clearly explain the changes. The biggest problem: Real estate licensees already registered with the Internet site are no longer recognized. As a new system under a different vendor, all new and existing Florida licensees are considered first-time visitors and must register as such.

Part of the reason for the change, says Liem, is that the system replaces an old numeric value with an email address. And, using that email address, multiple accounts that manage multiple licensees can now be accessed through a single profile.

In his letter, however, Liem apologizes for any confusion, saying since the steps associated with creating a new account were not clearly explained on the web page, many real estate licensees were confused. He says more information, including “step-by-step tutorials on how to create your new account and how to link your license to your account” have been added.

According to Liem, benefits under the new system include:
• Registration confirmation via e-mail
• Ability to retrieve a forgotten password
• Answers eligibility questions that help applicants use the correct application
• Ability to save an application and complete it later
• Check an application’s status and get summaries
• Make payments and receive payment summaries
• Receive same-day service in many cases for new applications and changes to existing licenses

For more information, visit MyFloridaLicense.com. Liem invites licensees to call, but also warns that wait times have increased following rollout of the new system.

© 2011 Florida Realtors®