To become an SLP in Florida, you need a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from an ASHA-accredited program (400 clinical hours), completion of a 9-month clinical fellowship, passing the Praxis exam (score 162+), and state licensure through the Florida Board. The process takes 6-7 years with median salaries of $97,150.
- Emerson College - Master's in Speech-Language Pathology online - Prepare to become an SLP in as few as 20 months. No GRE required. Scholarships available.
- Grand Canyon University - Online Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology. - This STEM program focuses on training aspiring speech-language pathologists to offer compassionate, effective services to individuals with communication disorders
- Arizona State University - Online - Online Bachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science - Designed to prepare graduates to work in behavioral health settings or transition to graduate programs in speech-language pathology and audiology.
- NYU Steinhardt - NYU Steinhardt's Master of Science in Communicative Sciences and Disorders online - ASHA-accredited. Bachelor's degree required. Graduate prepared to pursue licensure.
- Pepperdine University - Embark on a transformative professional and personal journey in the online Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology program from Pepperdine University. Our program brings together rigorous academics, research-driven faculty teaching, and robust clinical experiences, all wrapped within our Christian mission to serve our communities and improve the lives of others.
With a population that combines young immigrants and older retirees, Florida has a particularly high concentration of residents who often need speech and language therapy. Whether it’s offering coaching to kids with speech impediments or helping elderly stroke victims recover their communication capacity, demand is strong for SLPs (Speech-Language Pathologists) here.
Florida has begun offering incentives to attract aspiring speech-language pathologists to work in the state’s school system. The Florida Department of Education’s Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services offers an SLP tuition support program that provides financial assistance to cover the cost of a master’s degree for those who agree to work in a Florida public school for a minimum of 2 years in exchange for each academic year of tuition support. For a two-year master’s program, this means committing to four years of practice within the school system.
Speech-language pathologists are in high demand in the state’s public school system and also fill critical roles in Pre-K early intervention, healthcare, and rehabilitation centers. It’s no surprise that, in 2024, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that Florida had the fifth-highest number of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in the nation, with 8,990 professionals working statewide.
This guide has been reviewed for accuracy by licensed speech-language pathologists and updated with current Florida Board requirements and 2024 BLS salary data. Last updated: November 2025.
Step 1: Complete a Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology
To meet Board requirements for licensure, you must earn a master’s or doctoral degree with an emphasis in speech-language pathology through a program that includes a 300-hour clinical practicum.
While online programs accredited by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) have become the preferred option for many aspiring SLPs, Florida is also home to five campus-based SLP graduate programs. Students have plenty of choices for getting a solid education in the field, regardless of their preference.
Admissions and Prerequisites
If you don’t already have an undergraduate degree in communicative sciences and disorders, you’ll be required to complete additional prerequisite courses before beginning the graduate program. Standard prerequisites that establish a foundation for graduate-level coursework include:
- Clinical Phonetics
- Anatomy and Physiology of Speech and Hearing Mechanism
- Introduction to Audiology
- Science of Language
- Speech and Language Development in Children
SLP graduate programs tend to be highly selective, so make sure to put your best foot forward. Most graduate programs will require you to submit at least two letters of academic reference, and admissions departments look for exceptional undergraduate GPAs and high GRE scores.
Clinical Practicum and Graduate Courses
In Florida, you must complete a supervised clinical practicum of at least 300 clock hours, 200 of which must involve direct work in the area of speech-language pathology in order to qualify for licensure.
CAA-accredited programs include 400 hours of practicum, which is also the amount required for a national CCC-SLP credential from ASHA.
SLP license candidates in Florida must have an education in speech-language pathology consisting of at least 75 semester hours, of which 36 must be in graduate-level courses.
Graduate-level core courses typically include:
- Articulation and Phonology Disorders
- Speech and Swallowing Disorders
- Alternative and Augmentative Communication
- Motor Speech Disorders
- Language Development and Disorders in School-Aged Children
- Professional Issues in Communicative Sciences and Disorders
- Dysphagia in Adults and Children
- Phonological Analysis of Normal and Disordered Speech
- Multi-Cultural Issues in Communicative Sciences and Disorders
Electives can include:
- Augmentative and Alternative Communication
- Interdisciplinary Case-Based Dysphagia Management
- Craniofacial Anomalies
- Language and Communication in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Approaches to Natural Language
- Communicative Science and Disorders Research Colloquium
To be eligible for licensure through the Florida Board, you’ll also need to complete one hour of HIV/AIDS education and two hours in Prevention of Medical Errors through Florida Board-approved providers. This coursework is typically conducted outside your graduate program, so double-check to make sure you get it in before you submit your application.
Step 2: Complete 9-Month Post-Graduate Clinical Fellowship
The Florida Board requires SLP license candidates to complete 9 months of professional experience in a hands-on setting with patients. You’ll be under direct supervision by a state-licensed SLP as part of a post-graduate clinical fellowship.
In order to legally perform the therapy tasks that you will practice in your clinical fellowship, however, you will need to obtain a provisional speech-language pathologist license in Florida first. These are available to graduates from qualified educational programs, with the required practicum experience covered, and are issued quickly, typically in less than a week once your application is complete.
A full-time fellowship consists of 30 hours per week for 36 weeks, while a part-time fellowship consists of at least 15 hours per week for 72 weeks.
You and your supervisor will work together to ensure you cover the required competencies of SLP therapy, including on-site observations as you assess, diagnose, and treat patients. You’ll also work with families to develop treatment plans and complete all the record-keeping and administrative steps required of professional SLP practitioners.
Step 3: Pass the Speech-Language Pathology Praxis Examination
As the final qualification for licensure through the Florida Board of Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology, you must pass the National Speech and Pathology Exam.
You can register for the test through Praxis any time after completing your clinical fellowship. You can schedule it at any test center in Florida or arrange to be remotely proctored at home for an online test.
In preparation for the exam, you might want to review the Praxis Information Bulletin for test-taking information. To cover the 132 questions you’ll encounter, it’s also a good idea to check out the Speech-Language Pathology Praxis Study Companion.
The computer-based speech-language pathology test covers the following topics:
- Fluency
- Voice
- Speech and production
- Resonance
- Motor speech
- Cognitive aspects of communication
- Augmentative and alternative communication
- Hearing
- Feeding and swallowing
- Receptive and expressive language
- Social aspects of communication, including pragmatics
The test is scored on a 100-200 scale, and the minimum required score to become licensed is 162. You’ll have Praxis send your scoring information directly to the Board.
Considering CCC-SLP Certification
After passing the national exam, you may also choose to apply for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) credential through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). The CCC-SLP is NOT required for licensure in Florida, but many SLPs find it helpful to hold the credential when seeking employment or starting an independent practice.
When applying for the credential, you’ll be required to send ASHA an official graduate transcript and provide proof of completion of a clinical fellowship by submitting the Clinical Fellowship Report Rating Form. You’ll also have to submit your Praxis exam scores, although the passing grade is identical to Florida state requirements.
Step 4: Become Licensed in Florida
Once you’ve received your results from the national exam, you’ll be qualified to apply for full licensure through the Florida Board.
Applications are made online through the Florida Health Medical Quality Assurance website.
There are two paths to licensure:
- By Evaluation of Credentials: This is the most common route to licensing for anyone who has just completed their degree and requires professional experience placement. You’ll need to have your clinical supervisor submit evaluation forms and documentation of your experience directly to the state, and have your test scores and educational transcripts sent to the Board.
- By MOBILE Endorsement: This is a relatively new path open to SLPs who have been practicing the profession for at least 3 of the 4 years preceding the application. To be eligible, applicants must hold a license in good standing, with no disciplinary actions in the preceding five years, from a state with a licensure scope similar to Florida’s. You’ll need to provide proof of unencumbered SLP licensure as well as your Praxis exam scores.
It usually takes about thirty days to be notified of the status of your application and to be registered as licensed.
Finding Your First Job as a Licensed SLP in Florida
Of course, licensing is really just the first step in building a significant career for yourself. Florida has options opening up all the time. Many of them are in the educational system, testing and treating kids with various speech impediments.
If you participated in the Florida SLP incentive program, your career would begin in a Florida public school, as per your agreement with the state.
Outside of the school system, there are dozens of different opportunities to find work as an SLP as well.
Did you have a good working relationship with your clinical fellowship provider? If so, the clinic may be interested in hiring you. Many clinics prefer to hire SLPs who have completed clinical fellowships with them.
You may also consider starting your own business in order to practice independently. Being your own boss can be scary and takes on administrative and marketing work as well as speech therapy, but it brings great rewards in terms of flexibility and picking your own patients.
As an independent practitioner, you can set your own schedule, develop a tailored approach to working with clients, or choose to serve a specialized population of patients.
There are hundreds of hospitals, clinics, and rehab centers in Florida that require SLPs’ services, too. A few of these employers include:
- Renewal Rehab
- Speech Rehab Services
- Jupiter Medical Center
- Miami Children’s Hospital
- Saint Mary’s Medical Center
- University of Florida
Once you’re licensed, you may also seek specialty certifications through ASHA. These certifications can be extremely helpful, especially for positions in specialty clinics. For instance, practices that focus on treating child language disorders will probably prefer to hire CCC-SLPs who hold an additional certification in that specialty.
Step 5: Maintain SLP Licensure Through Continuing Education
To keep your license current, you must renew it every 2 years through the Florida Board. Licenses expire on December 31st of every odd-numbered year. You’ll receive a mailed notice at least 90 days before your license expires, at which time you can renew it online. Each renewal requires an $80 fee.
During each two-year licensing period, you’ll be required to complete a total of 30 approved continuing education hours. The hours must include:
- 18 hours of clinical-related CEs
- 10 hours of non-clinical-related CEs
- 2 hours of CEs on medical error
If you were initially licensed within six months of the expiration date for licenses, you’re exempt from fulfilling any CE requirements in your first renewal period.
You may also gain CEs through the following methods:
- A maximum of 5 hours per biennium for being a presenter or moderator of approved continuing education hours
- A maximum of 5 hours per biennium may be earned as an instructor of a graduate-level course
- A maximum of 2 hours per biennium may be earned in a non-paid directed clinical experience
You’ll be responsible for tracking your CEs through this online system. The system also lists which courses the Florida Board approves.
Some of those are from the Florida Association of Speech Language Pathologists & Audiologists. The organization exists to help SLPs in the state network with each other and explore new educational opportunities. The Association holds annual conventions and provides continuing educational opportunities for SLPs. Some of the topics they’ve covered in conventions include feeding tubes, boosting the development of emergent literacy, speech apps, and obstructive sleep apnea.
Speech-Language Pathology Salary in Florida
Florida’s SLPs earn a median salary of $97,150 per year, or $46.71 an hour according to 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That’s higher than the national median of $95,410. The state brings high demand with competitive salaries.
Those numbers only go up the more time you spend in the profession. More experienced speech-language pathologists at the high end of salary figures earn upwards of $114,840, or $55.21 per hour.
Salaries for SLPs are increasing nationwide, and Florida is no exception. The state continues to see strong salary growth amid increasing demand for services.
Florida’s High Level of Employment and Job Growth for SLPs
Florida ranks 5th in the country for speech-language pathologists, with 8,990 professionals working statewide as of 2024. Homosassa Springs, in particular, has a high concentration of SLPs, ranking among the highest in the nation.
Over the decade leading up to 2030, projections show that Florida SLP jobs will increase by 31%, well above the national average of 19%. That amounts to an average of 890 job openings statewide every year.
Salaries of Speech-Language Pathologists in Florida’s Major Cities
Of course, high salaries in general don’t mean high salaries in every specific town and region of the state. Just as the cost of living varies between Florida cities, so do average SLP salaries. The following table shows the salary ranges for SLPs in major Florida metropolitan areas based on 2024 BLS data:
| Metro Area | 10th Percentile | Median Salary | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers | $79,680 | $104,305 | $128,930 |
| Crestview-Fort Walton Beach | $63,560 | $91,305 | $119,050 |
| Daytona Beach | $60,460 | $82,745 | $105,030 |
| Gainesville | $54,990 | $82,785 | $110,580 |
| Homosassa Springs | $54,290 | $77,855 | $101,420 |
| Jacksonville | $66,880 | $90,420 | $113,960 |
| Lakeland-Winter Haven | $71,850 | $94,410 | $116,970 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach | $73,010 | $99,570 | $126,130 |
| Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island | $35,980 | $81,620 | $127,260 |
| Ocala | $59,520 | $80,835 | $102,150 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford | $54,090 | $81,130 | $108,170 |
| Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville | $55,330 | $82,945 | $110,560 |
| Panama City | $72,450 | $99,645 | $126,840 |
| Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent | $67,060 | $87,770 | $108,480 |
| Port St. Lucie | $75,270 | $93,265 | $111,260 |
| Punta Gorda | $78,230 | $99,380 | $120,530 |
| Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice | $50,860 | $79,685 | $108,510 |
| Sebastian-Vero Beach | $49,090 | $84,670 | $120,250 |
| Tallahassee | $64,190 | $87,175 | $110,160 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | $71,330 | $90,605 | $109,880 |
| The Villages | $62,670 | $94,655 | $126,640 |
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to become licensed as an SLP in Florida?
The complete process typically takes 6-7 years. This includes 4 years for a bachelor’s degree, 2-3 years for a master’s program with a clinical practicum, and 9 months for a post-graduate clinical fellowship. You can take the Praxis exam during or after your fellowship, and licensure processing takes about 30 days once you submit your complete application.
What’s the difference between a provisional and a full SLP license in Florida?
A provisional license allows you to practice under supervision while completing your clinical fellowship. It’s valid for up to 24 months and is issued quickly after graduation (typically within a week). A full license is issued after you complete your fellowship, pass the Praxis exam (162+), and submit all required documentation. The full license allows independent practice and must be renewed every two years.
Can I take the Praxis exam before completing my clinical fellowship?
Yes, you can take the Praxis exam at any time after completing your graduate degree and the required clinical practicum hours. Many students take the exam during their clinical fellowship or immediately after graduation, while the material is still fresh. Your Praxis scores remain valid, so you can complete your fellowship afterward and then apply for full licensure with your existing test results.
Does Florida accept out-of-state SLP licenses?
Yes, Florida offers licensure by MOBILE endorsement for SLPs who have been practicing for at least three of the preceding four years. You must hold an active, unencumbered license from another state with similar licensure requirements, have no disciplinary actions in the past five years, and provide proof of your Praxis exam scores. This streamlined process is faster than applying as a new graduate.
How much does it cost to become licensed in Florida?
Initial licensing fees include the Praxis exam ($150), HIV/AIDS education (approximately $20-50), Prevention of Medical Errors course (approximately $30-75), and the Florida license application fee. Biennial license renewal costs $80. These fees don’t include graduate program tuition, but Florida offers an SLP tuition support program for those who commit to working in public schools for 2-4 years.
What’s the job outlook for SLPs in Florida?
The job outlook is excellent. Florida currently employs 8,990 SLPs (5th highest in the nation) and projects 31% job growth through 2030, significantly higher than the 19% national average. This translates to approximately 890 new job openings per year statewide. The state’s large elderly population and growing immigrant communities create strong demand for speech therapy services across schools, hospitals, and rehabilitation centers.
Can I work in Florida schools without CCC-SLP certification?
Yes, CCC-SLP certification from ASHA is not required to work in Florida public schools. You only need your Florida state license. However, many school districts and private employers prefer or require the CCC-SLP credential, and it’s necessary if you want to work across state lines or in certain healthcare settings. The requirements are nearly identical (both need the same Praxis score of 162), so many SLPs obtain both credentials simultaneously.
- Emerson College - Master's in Speech-Language Pathology online - Prepare to become an SLP in as few as 20 months. No GRE required. Scholarships available.
- Grand Canyon University - Online Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology. - This STEM program focuses on training aspiring speech-language pathologists to offer compassionate, effective services to individuals with communication disorders
- Arizona State University - Online - Online Bachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science - Designed to prepare graduates to work in behavioral health settings or transition to graduate programs in speech-language pathology and audiology.
- NYU Steinhardt - NYU Steinhardt's Master of Science in Communicative Sciences and Disorders online - ASHA-accredited. Bachelor's degree required. Graduate prepared to pursue licensure.
- Pepperdine University - Embark on a transformative professional and personal journey in the online Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology program from Pepperdine University. Our program brings together rigorous academics, research-driven faculty teaching, and robust clinical experiences, all wrapped within our Christian mission to serve our communities and improve the lives of others.
Key Takeaways
- Master’s degree required from a CAA-accredited program with a minimum of 300 clinical hours (400 hours recommended for ASHA certification)
- 9-month clinical fellowship required after graduation, working 30 hours per week under licensed SLP supervision
- Pass the Praxis exam with a minimum score of 162 to qualify for both the state license and the CCC-SLP credential
- Florida median SLP salary is $97,150 annually, with strong job growth projected at 31% through 2030
- Complete 30 continuing education hours every two years to maintain licensure (18 clinical, 10 non-clinical, 2 medical error prevention)
- Florida offersa tuition support program for SLPs who commit to working in public schools for 2-4 years after graduation
Ready to Start Your SLP Career in Florida?
Explore accredited speech-language pathology graduate programs in Florida. Compare online and campus-based options, review admission requirements, and find the right program for your career goals.
2024 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and job market figures for Speech-Language Pathologists reflect state and national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed November 2025.