Use of Titles & Possible Discipline

As a registered intern, are you aware that you cannot abbreviate your intern status following your signature?  You MAY NOT use the following: RCSWI; RCMTI; or RMHCI.  We can either use our educational credentials, such as MSW or MA or our intern status.  Florida Statute 491 tells us that when using intern status we MUST use the following: Registered Clinical Social Work Intern; Registered Marriage and Family Therapist Intern; or Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern.  If you provide your registered intern number and use SW instead of ISW, IMT instesd of MT, or MH instead of IMH, you could face disciplinary action from the Board and be charged with a first degree misdemeanor for holding yourself out as a licensed professional when you are still a registered intern. 

If you hold a license to practice in another state but are not licensed in Florida, you may NOT use your out-of-state license credentials because a license to practice does not cross state lines like our educational credentials do.  You may use your educational credentials but not license credentials from another state when signing your name. 

Many people aren’t aware that if you are disciplined, this is public record and stays on your record for years.  Don’t risk everything you’ve worked so hard for – become aware of the laws and rules that govern us.  We offer both the 8-hour Florida Laws & Rules Course required for initial license and the 3-hour Laws & Rules Review Course required every third biennium for license renewal.