Rehabilitation of Native Wildlife

This information is intended to familiarize you with the laws, regulations, and application procedures for a permit to operate a wildlife rehabilitation facility. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) issues such permits under the authority of Rule 68A-9.006, Florida Administrative Code, and Federal Regulation, 50 CFR 13. The information on this page is intended to be a summary of relevant information, but does not include every regulation pertaining to wildlife rehabilitation. Visit our Rules and Regulations page for links to rules pertaining to captive wildlife in Florida.

Anyone wishing to become a wildlife rehabilitator, must become an Apprentice wildlife rehabilitator for at least one year before upgrading to a General wildlife rehabilitator.

Requirements for Apprentice Rehabilitators:

• Submit an application through Go Outdoors Florida.
• Must be 18 years of age or older.
• Must provide proof of completion of a Commission-approved Basic Wildlife Rehabilitation course provided through the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (IWRC), the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (NWRA), or the Florida Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (FWRA).
  • Currently, only the IWRC Basic Wildlife Rehabilitation course has been approved by the Commission.
• Must have a General wildlife rehabilitator as their Sponsor. Sponsor must provide a notarized letter and cannot be located more than 120 miles from the Apprentice.
• Must have an attending veterinarian who will provide consulting and referral services to the rehabilitator. If the rehabilitator is a veterinarian, they can be their own attending veterinarian.
• Must own or lease the property where the facility is located (unless facility is the same as Sponsor’s facility).
• Facility must pass an initial inspection before a permit will be issued.

Requirements for General Rehabilitators:

• Submit an application through Go Outdoors Florida.
• Must be 18 years of age or older.
• Anyone with a valid rehabilitation permit on April 2, 2024 (date the new rehab rule went into effect) is considered a General rehabilitator.
• Anyone else wishing to upgrade to a General rehabilitator must have been an Apprentice for at least one year. Must provide a notarized letter from their Sponsor verifying their experience as an Apprentice.
• Must have an attending veterinarian who will provide consulting and referral services to the rehabilitator. If the rehabilitator is a veterinarian, they can be their own attending veterinarian.
• Must own or lease the property where the facility is located. Only one General wildlife rehabilitator may be permitted at a facility location.
• Facility must pass an initial inspection before a permit will be issued.

Continuing Education Requirements

Upon renewal of a rehabilitation permit, applicants must provide documentation of sixteen (16) hours of continuing education completed during the current permit period. Approved continuing education includes any courses or symposiums listed on the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (IWRC) Certified Wildlife Rehabilitator Approved Continuing Education List. If a symposium is used for continuing education, documentation must include a list of courses attended and proof of attendance provided by facilitator. The IWRC Approved CE List is very comprehensive and includes many different course and symposium options.

Other relevant Commission-approved courses may also be used to meet the continuing education requirements; however, courses will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and must be submitted to CWApps@myFWC.com for review and approval.

Additional Requirements for Specialized Wildlife

Individuals with a valid rehabilitation permit on April 2, 2024 are grandfathered in for all of the wildlife listed below and are exempt from the experience and training requirements. For all new wildlife rehabilitators, experience or training is required before being authorized to rehabilitate the following species:

• Class I wildlife (panthers, black bears, crocodiles)
• Class II wildlife (bobcats, alligators, coyotes, wolves)
• Venomous reptiles
• Non-venomous reptiles
• Raccoons
• Foxes
• Otters
• Beavers
• Bats

Experience or training may consist of the following:

• Documentation of successful rehabilitation of at least 2 individuals of the listed wildlife under the guidance of a General rehabilitator who is authorized for the specific wildlife requested.
• General rehabilitators also have the option to instead provide education courses which include topics specifically related to the care and treatment of the listed wildlife. Such courses must consist of at least 2 hours of courses from the IWRC Approved CE List

Sponsor Requirements

Any currently permitted wildlife rehabilitators who wish to sponsor an Apprentice should be familiar with the following:

• Your facility must be located within 120 miles of your Apprentice’s facility. An Apprentice can also be located at your same facility location.
• You may only sponsor up to 3 Apprentices at any given time.
• An Apprentice is authorized to take in and rehabilitate any wildlife that their Sponsor is authorized for. This means that if you are authorized for any or all of the specialized wildlife listed above, your Apprentice may also intake specialized wildlife.
• A sponsor is responsible for assisting their Apprentice as necessary with learning about relevant wildlife laws and regulations; basic care of native wildlife, to include animal behavior, husbandry, nutritional requirements, rehabilitative care, and ecology; determining appropriate equipment needed for wildlife rehabilitation; and learning and understanding standards in wildlife rehabilitation, as established by the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council.
• A sponsor must perform a physical site check of each Apprentice’s facility no less than once during every 3-month period. Documentation of each site check must be submitted to FWC no more than 7 days after completion of the site check.
• If you no longer wish to sponsor a current Apprentice, you must notify FWC in writing no later than 1 week after the change in sponsorship status.

Off-site Volunteers

General rehabilitators may utilize up to 10 off-site volunteers to assist with the care of orphaned infant wildlife. Wildlife must be physically admitted to the main rehabilitation facility prior to being transferred to an off-site volunteer’s location and must be returned to the General rehabilitator’s facility once the animal is weaned or reaches 12 weeks in age, whichever comes first.

Off-site volunteers must be approved by the FWC before they can house wildlife (the application of off-site volunteers can be found on Go Outdoors Florida). General rehabilitators who utilize off-site volunteers must maintain a current list of volunteers and the wildlife possessed by each volunteer at all times. Off-site volunteers must maintain a copy of the General rehabilitator’s valid permit at their location at all times wildlife is present.

Migratory Birds

Additional permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are also required to rehabilitate migratory birds (which includes all birds native to Florida, except turkey and quail). This is because both state and federal laws protect these birds. Visit USFWS migratory bird rehabilitation webpage to learn more about federal permits required to rehabilitate migratory birds.

Non-native Wildlife

A rehabilitation permit is not required for the care or treatment of exotic or nonnative wildlife provided that you are appropriately licensed for such wildlife. This would include Class I, Class II, Class III and venomous reptiles. Sick or injured non-native wildlife may not be commingled in the same cage or enclosure with sick, injured or otherwise impaired native wildlife.

Contact Information

If you have any questions, please contact the Captive Wildlife Office.

Phone: (850) 488-6253
Email: CWApps@myFWC.com
Mail: Captive Wildlife Office, 620 S Meridian Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399