Why Does FBPE's Website Show a "You Are Leaving FBPE's Website" Notice?
FBPE (the Florida Board of Professional Engineers) shows a "You are leaving FBPE's website" notice whenever a link points to a domain outside fbpe.org. It is a standard outbound-link warning: the Board is telling you that the page you are about to open is not operated or controlled by FBPE, so its content, accuracy, and privacy practices are the responsibility of that third party. You will see it before the browser navigates away, and you can usually continue to the external site or cancel and stay on fbpe.org.
What the notice is actually doing
The notice is a gate placed between an FBPE page and an external destination. It exists because fbpe.org links out to resources the Board does not host itself, and the Board does not want visitors to assume that everything reachable from its site carries the Board's endorsement.
Two things follow from that:
- It is not an error or a broken page. The notice appears by design, not because something failed to load.
- It is not a security scan. It does not certify that the destination is safe. It only marks the boundary between FBPE-controlled content and everything else.
What kinds of destinations sit behind the notice
FBPE's own site is the authoritative source for licensing, board meetings, and public notices. Links that leave fbpe.org typically lead to outside systems that support that work, such as:
- Third-party registration or payment platforms used for board business
- External meeting or webinar services (the site's own listing references a FEMC Board Meeting held "via zoom," an example of board activity conducted on a non-FBPE platform)
- Other agencies, vendors, or reference sites cited in Board materials
Because these are separate operators, the notice is the point at which FBPE's responsibility for the content ends.
Why it matters for accuracy and privacy
| Concern | What the notice tells you |
|---|---|
| Accuracy | The destination's information is not maintained or verified by FBPE |
| Endorsement | A link does not mean FBPE approves of the site or its content |
| Privacy | The external site has its own data practices, which may differ from FBPE's |
| Control | FBPE cannot change or correct what appears on the third-party page |
For anything you need to rely on — license status, official notices, board actions — treat fbpe.org itself as the source of record and use external links only as pointers.
How to handle the notice
- Read the destination. Check the domain in the notice or the link before continuing, so you know which organization you are about to visit.
- Decide based on your task. If you need official Board information, prefer staying on fbpe.org. If you need the external service (for example, a meeting platform), continue.
- Cancel if unsure. Declining the notice returns you to the FBPE page you came from; nothing is submitted by viewing the warning.
- Verify separately when it counts. If an external page shows license or status information you plan to act on, confirm it against FBPE's own records rather than relying on the third-party page alone.
Common points of confusion
- "Is my connection unsafe?" No. The notice is about ownership of the destination, not about the security of your connection.
- "Did I click something wrong?" No. Any outbound link on fbpe.org can trigger it.
- "Does continuing mean I agree to something?" The notice is informational. Any terms or data practices belong to the external site and apply once you are there.
In short: the notice is FBPE drawing a clear line between its own content and third-party resources, so you can judge for yourself whether the destination is one you want to use.