Condo Director Education Under Rule 61B-19.001: A Tracking Guide for Board Secretaries
When revised Rule 61B-19.001 took effect on September 3, 2026, one line in it changed who is accountable inside a condominium association. Responsibility for director education compliance, and for keeping the education records, was placed on the association's secretary or equivalent officer. For many Southwest Florida boards, that role has historically been a minutes-and-notices job. It now carries a compliance function with real consequences for the board.
This guide is written for that officer. The underlying duties come from section 718.112(2)(d)5.b.(II), Florida Statutes. The rule supplies the mechanics: how years are counted, which certificates count, and what happens when a deadline is missed.
Two kinds of education, tracked separately
Two requirements are defined in the rule, and they should be kept in separate columns of any tracking log.
Board member certification (BMC) is the initial Division-approved course. Its required subjects are milestone inspections, structural integrity reserve studies, elections, recordkeeping and official records inspection, financial literacy and transparency, levying fines, and notice and meeting requirements.
Continuing education (CE) is ongoing education delivered through a Division-created course. It is focused mainly on changes to Chapter 718 and to Division rules during the previous education year.
A seminar can be useful to a board without counting as either one. Only a course approved for the specific purpose is accepted.
The education year is the unit of measure
Every deadline in the rule is tied to the education year, which runs from July 1 through June 30 of the following calendar year. Once the log is organized by education year, most of the remaining questions answer themselves.
- Initial BMC: the certificate is submitted within one year before, or 90 days after, the director is elected or appointed.
- BMC renewal: the new certificate is due within 90 days after the start of the education year in which renewal is required, which in practice means by late September.
- Annual CE: at least one hour is required in every education year in which a BMC is not completed, and the certificate is due by June 30.
A worked example
Suppose a new director is elected at a February 2027 annual meeting and finishes the BMC course in March 2027. That completion falls in the July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 education year, so no separate CE is owed for that year. One hour of CE is then owed in the 2027-28 education year, with the certificate due by June 30, 2028, and again in each later year.
The BMC certificate is treated as valid for seven education years, provided the director serves without a break. Validity is counted in education years rather than 84 calendar months, so the log should record the education year of completion, not just the date. If the director leaves the board and later returns, a new BMC course is required.
What should be kept on file
Compliance is shown by one document: a valid certificate of completion delivered to the secretary. Registration emails, payment receipts and a director's own assurance are not substitutes. Under the rule, the certificate must match the Division-created course title and must show the provider number and the date the course was completed. A certificate missing either item should be returned to the director before the deadline, not after it.
A workable log usually carries, for each director: the election or appointment date, any gap in service, the BMC completion date and its education year, the renewal education year, and the CE hours received for each year.
When a deadline is missed
If a certificate has not been submitted when the applicable window closes, the board is required to suspend the director until the requirement is met. The seat may be filled temporarily during the suspension. Because the outcome is mandatory, the most useful habit is a reminder sent to each director 60 days before each June 30 and each renewal deadline, with a copy kept in the records.
A note on course providers
Providers are required to take reasonable steps to confirm that a participant completed the entire course before a certificate is issued, whether the class was live, self-paced or a mix of both. Provider approval lasts two years. Credit already earned is preserved even if a provider's approval is later rescinded, so a director is not penalized for a provider's problem.
Precedent helps condominium boards in Southwest Florida set up education tracking alongside the association's official records, so the secretary is not working from memory when a deadline arrives.
