Whether you're outfitting a new practice or adding a machine to an existing one, here's exactly what Florida requires before you can put an x-ray system to use — and the one requirement almost everyone underestimates.
If you've just purchased, leased, or otherwise taken possession of an x-ray machine in Florida, there's one rule to keep in mind above all else: the machine must be registered before it's placed into clinical use. There's no 30-day grace period to lean on here — expired or missing registrations are among the most common citations the state issues.
The good news is that the process itself is well-documented once you know what's expected. Here's a complete walkthrough of how registration works with the Florida Department of Health (DOH) Bureau of Radiation Control (BRC) — the agency that oversees more than 64,000 x-ray machines across over 21,000 facilities statewide, from dental and chiropractic offices to hospitals, veterinary clinics, universities, and industrial operations.
Before diving into the steps, it's worth flagging a distinction that trips up a lot of new practices:
1. Facility / machine registration — registering the actual x-ray equipment and the location where it's used with the DOH Bureau of Radiation Control. This is what the rest of this guide covers.
2. Operator licensure — a completely separate requirement for the people who take or supervise x-rays, licensed by the Florida Department of Health under its own radiologic technologist program. More on this below.
Under Chapter 64E-5 of the Florida Administrative Code, any facility that operates a radiation machine must register it with the DOH Bureau of Radiation Control before the machine is placed into use. That requirement applies across the board:
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Entity / facility name | Legal name of the practice, clinic, or company operating the machine |
| Business phone number | Main contact number for the registered entity |
| Physical & mailing address | Where the machine is actually installed and used, and where DOH should send correspondence if different |
| Radiation safety program contact | If you're not already a licensee, DOH requires your radiation safety program to be submitted to the BRC X-Ray Section for review and approval |
| Machine manufacturer & model | As shown on the equipment nameplate |
| Intended use category | Medical, dental, chiropractic, podiatric, veterinary, industrial, or academic |
| Installation date | Confirms your registration is filed before clinical use begins |
| Machine location | Room or suite where the unit physically sits on site |
This is the piece that catches people building out a new room by surprise. Under Rule 64E-5.805, F.A.C., shielding for a new or renovated x-ray room has to be designed or certified by a qualified medical physicist, generally following the methodology in NCRP Report No. 147 for diagnostic x-ray and CT installations (NCRP Report No. 151 for megavoltage/therapy installations). That's a calculation based on your specific room — workload, distance, occupancy of adjacent spaces — not a one-size-fits-all lead thickness you can look up in a table.
What that typically looks like in practice
Don't assume you need lead lining at all: BRC guidance notes that for many general-use rooms, ordinary construction — two thicknesses of drywall on a shared wall, three where the adjoining space isn't under your control — can already provide enough attenuation for scattered radiation. Whether that applies to your room is exactly the calculation a qualified medical physicist is there to run.
One thing worth clarifying: Florida does not require your shielding design to be submitted to the state for review or approval. That responsibility sits with your qualified medical physicist, not DOH. What Florida does require, separately, is that the facility and its x-ray systems be registered with the Department of Health's Bureau of Radiation Control — the process covered throughout this guide.
Once shielding is installed (or a physicist confirms none is needed), a post-construction verification survey confirms it performs as designed. Keep that report on file with your assembly report and physics evaluations — it's one of the first things an inspector asks for if a room's exposure levels are ever in question.
Registration gets most of the attention, but two additional requirements kick in the moment a new x-ray unit is assembled and installed — and both are easy to miss if your installer doesn't flag them:
Assembly report — certified diagnostic x-ray systems require a federal FDA Form 2579 (Report of Assembly) filed by the installer; non-certified systems use Florida's own DH Form 1114. Either way, keep a copy on file — it's routinely requested during inspections.
Physics evaluation — a periodic evaluation (generally annual) covering equipment performance testing, radiation dose measurements, safety interlock verification, and image quality assessment. Mammography units require an annual survey by a qualified medical physicist under federal MQSA rules, and any new shielding or facility construction needs a post-construction verification survey, also certified by a qualified medical physicist.
Florida runs registration on an annual cycle rather than the multi-year cycles you'll see in some other states:
Annual fee, due before October 28
Your annual fee covers both registration and inspection costs, and is due before October 28 each year regardless of when your facility first registered. Missing it is one of the most frequent citations DOH issues, so it's worth calendaring well ahead of the deadline rather than waiting on a reminder notice.
You can look up a facility's registration status and pay fees anytime through the DOH online system at xray.floridahealth.gov, using your registration number and facility zip code.
Questions on state-specific requirements? Contact the Florida Department of Health directly at (850) 245-4888 or RadiationControl@FlHealth.gov.
Registering the machine doesn't authorize anyone to use it. Florida licenses operators directly through the Department of Health, across two main tiers:
All applicants must be at least 18, of good moral character, pass a background check, and avoid the disqualifying offenses listed in section 435.03, Florida Statutes. Application fees run roughly $40–$45, with exam fees around $150–$200. Licenses renew biennially, requiring 12 hours of continuing education per cycle — including one mandatory HIV/AIDS hour and up to 3 hours of personal development, with the rest focused on technical topics like radiation protection and equipment operation.
Personnel monitoring in Florida is triggered whenever a worker is likely to receive more than 10% of an applicable dose limit — for whole-body exposure, that threshold works out to 0.5 rem TEDE per year. In practice:
Don't assume your staff falls below the threshold without checking — your radiation safety program documentation should spell out exactly who's monitored and why.
DOH conducts more than 15,000 inspections a year statewide, on a schedule that varies by equipment type:
If an inspection turns up a deficiency, you generally have 90 days to correct it. Machines found to pose an immediate threat to public health must be removed from service right away, no grace period. To stay in good standing:
Before you start
To register
Ongoing
Bringing a new x-ray system into your practice?
Maven Imaging helps practices across the country source new and refurbished imaging equipment, arrange financing, and get systems installed and running — so registration paperwork is one of the few things left on your plate.
Talk to a Maven Imaging SpecialistThis post summarizes publicly available Florida Department of Health Bureau of Radiation Control information as of July 2026 for general planning purposes and is not legal advice. Requirements, fees, and portal details can change — always confirm current steps and fees directly with the Florida DOH before relying on this guide for a filing.