Two sets of rules apply when something goes wrong. Rule 65G-2.010, F.A.C., and its form — the APD Incident Reporting Form OP 3-0006 (December 2025) — cover what you report to your APD regional office and when. APD's Zero Tolerance policy covers abuse, neglect and exploitation, which go straight to the Florida Abuse Hotline. Both can affect your waiver enrollment.
The deadlines
Critical incident: notify within 4 hours, report within 1 day
Notify your APD regional office within four hours of becoming aware, then send the completed form within one day. The clock starts when the provider becomes aware, not when the incident happened — which is why the form asks for both times.
Reportable incident: report within 1 day
Send the completed form to your region's incident email address (or the designated reporting system) within one day of becoming aware.
Follow-up: within five days
The form's follow-up section can be completed later, “not to exceed five days”: corrective action, causes and contributing factors, preventive measures, and what was done for the person. A report with no follow-up on file is a finding of its own.
Abuse, neglect, exploitation: the Florida Abuse Hotline, immediately
Allegations go to the Florida Abuse Hotline (1-800-96-ABUSE, 1-800-962-2873) right away, separately from the incident report — the form doesn't replace the call. Staff can't be required to go through management first.
Critical or reportable?
The form sorts every incident type into one of two columns:
Critical
4-hour notice, report in 1 day
- Covered person arrest
- Covered person injured as a result of the client
- Life-threatening injury or illness
- Media involvement
- Missing child or incompetent adult
- Sexual misconduct
- Suspected or confirmed human trafficking
- Unexpected resident/client death
- Unattended in a vehicle
- Verified abuse report
- Violent crime arrest
Reportable
Report in 1 day
- Altercation
- Baker Act (involuntary commitment)
- Voluntary commitment
- ER visit or hospitalization
- Expected resident/client death
- Missing competent adult
- Non-violent crime arrest
- Resident/client injury
- Suicide attempt
A medication error can also be a reportable incident — see medication error reporting for its own 24-hour report.
What the form asks for
The form has fifteen sections on four pages. The first nine are the initial report: when it happened and when you became aware, the people involved (with iConnect IDs), the setting, everyone you notified and when, the incident type, the narrative, a body diagram of any injury, the provider at the time, and who is reporting (with their supervisor and the person's WSC). Sections 10 to 15 are the follow-up: the corrective action plan, causes and contributing factors, preventive measures, and what was done for the person — legal, medical, behavioral, therapeutic, environmental, equipment or other supports.
How to write the narrative
Section 6 is where reports get sent back. The form's own instruction: “Provide all details surrounding the incident. This includes events and details prior to, during, and after the incident. Incorporate the 5 W's.” In practice:
- Type it. The form must be typed, and an incomplete report is sent back for corrections.
- Tell it in order: what led up to the incident, what happened, and what happened after. APD now asks for the precursor events, not just the moment itself.
- Cover the 5 W's — who, what, where, when, why — with clock times.
- Write what was seen and heard, not conclusions. “He said his ankle hurt and would not stand” — not “he sprained his ankle”.
- The first page comes from the person with first-hand knowledge. If someone told you something, name them and say what they said.
- Record every notification: who was called (hotline, police with the report number, guardian, WSC, regional office), by whom, and when.
- No blame, no guesses about motives, no diagnoses staff aren't qualified to make.
- Type
- Reportable — ER visit
- Setting
- Licensed group home
- Incident
- Mar 4, 6:40 pm
- Provider aware
- Mar 4, 6:45 pm
Before. At about 6:30 pm, Daniel R. was helping set the table in the dining room with direct support staff Ana M. He had said twice since dinner preparation began that his shoes were “too loose”; Ana retied them at 6:25 pm.
During. At 6:40 pm, Ana heard a fall and turned to see Daniel on the floor next to the kitchen doorway, where the tile had been mopped at 6:15 pm. Daniel said “my wrist hurts” and held his left wrist. He did not hit his head (Ana saw him land on his side and arm). Ana stayed with him and called house manager Luis P. at 6:42 pm.
After. Luis arrived at 6:45 pm, saw swelling on the left wrist and drove Daniel to the nearest emergency room at 6:55 pm. Luis called Daniel's guardian at 7:00 pm and the WSC by voicemail at 7:05 pm. The ER diagnosed a sprain; Daniel returned home at 10:20 pm with a wrist brace and discharge instructions to ice it and take acetaminophen as needed.
Follow-up (section 13, preventive measures). Floors are mopped after dinner instead of before; a wet-floor sign is placed whenever a floor is wet; Daniel's shoes with hook-and-loop straps replace laced shoes, agreed with his guardian on Mar 5.
An audit-proof incident trail
In a Provider Discovery Review, incidents are checked from both directions: reports on file, and incidents mentioned in progress notes that should have become reports. So your notes, reports and follow-ups need to agree. Waiversoft keeps incident reports on the person's record with an open/closed status, next to visit notes and the rest of the consumer record, with Zero Tolerance training tracked for each employee. Tell Coworker, Waiversoft's assistant, what happened in your own words and it drafts the narrative in this order — before, during, after, notifications — for you to check before it's saved on the record.
Frequently asked questions
How fast must an APD provider report an incident?
On APD's current form (OP 3-0006, December 2025, part of Rule 65G-2.010): a critical incident needs an initial notification within 4 hours and the report within 1 day; a reportable incident needs the report within 1 day. The follow-up is due within five days. Allegations of abuse, neglect or exploitation go to the Florida Abuse Hotline immediately.
Is it 1 hour or 4 hours for a critical incident?
APD's older guidance — its incident reporting web page and the 2018 form instructions — says one hour. The December 2025 form, adopted with Rule 65G-2.010 effective March 26, 2026, says four hours for the initial notification. If you're unsure, notify sooner: calling within the hour satisfies both.
What is the difference between a critical and a reportable incident?
The form lists them. Critical incidents are the most serious: arrests of the person, life-threatening injury or illness, a missing child or incompetent adult, sexual misconduct, human trafficking, an unexpected death, being left unattended in a vehicle, a verified abuse report, media involvement. Reportable incidents include altercations, Baker Acts, ER visits or hospitalization, injuries, a missing competent adult, an expected death, and suicide attempts.
Where do I send the APD incident report?
To your APD region's incident email address or the designated incident reporting system named on the form. Check your region's current address with your regional office — the form points to it rather than listing one.
Can staff report abuse internally instead of calling the hotline?
No. Providers may not require employees to report internally before contacting the Florida Abuse Hotline. Internal notification can happen in parallel, but the hotline obligation is personal and immediate.
What incident records should we keep?
The report, every follow-up, and the notes behind them — plus proof of staff Zero Tolerance training. In a Provider Discovery Review, reviewers check that every incident your notes mention was reported, on time, with a follow-up.