Hurricane Shutter Permits in Florida

Yes: the Florida Building Code requires a building permit before anyone installs, replaces, alters or removes impact-resistant coverings such as hurricane shutters, and the local building official inspects the finished work (Florida Building Code, Building, section 105.1).

Section 105.1 of the Florida Building Code, Building, 8th Edition (2023) lists impact-resistant coverings by name. An owner or authorized agent who intends to erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any impact-resistant coverings regulated by the code must first apply to the building official and obtain the required permit (FBC Building, Chapter 1). Permit fees follow the schedule established by the applicable governing authority (FBC Building, section 109.2), and when reviewing a building permit application a local government may not request additional information more than three times unless the applicant waives that limit in writing (FBC Building, section 105.3.1.3).

The inspection checks two things. Under section 110.3.13, where impact-resistant coverings or systems are installed to meet the Florida code, the building official schedules inspections to confirm that the system shown on the plans was installed and that it was installed according to the manufacturer installation instructions and the product approval (FBC Building, section 110.3.13).

The current Florida Building Code is the 8th Edition (2023), which the Florida Building Commission lists with an effective date of December 31, 2023 (Florida Building Commission). Code citations on this page refer to that edition.

The Florida Building Code requires protected glazed openings in the windborne debris region: certain areas within 1 mile of the coast at 130 mph or more, and all areas at 140 mph or more (FBC Residential R301.2.1.2; FBC Residential definitions).

The Florida residential code defines the windborne debris region as areas within hurricane-prone regions either within 1 mile of the mean high water line where an Exposure D condition exists upwind and the ultimate design wind speed is 130 mph or greater, or anywhere the ultimate design wind speed is 140 mph or greater (FBC Residential, Chapter 2). The strictest rules apply in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, which consists of Broward and Miami-Dade counties and has its own chapter in the code (FBC Residential, Chapter 2).

Inside that region, R301.2.1.2 says exterior glazed openings shall be protected from windborne debris. Shutters, panels or impact glazing must pass the Large Missile Test of ASTM E1996 and ASTM E1886 as modified by the Florida code, the Florida test protocols TAS 201, 202 and 203, or AAMA 506. Glazed garage doors must meet an approved impact standard or ANSI/DASMA 115 (FBC Residential R301.2.1.2).

Two exceptions are written into the same Florida section. Openings in sunrooms, balconies or enclosed porches built under existing roofs do not need protection if a wall with protected openings separates them from the house, and storage sheds of 720 square feet or less that are not designed for human habitation are exempt (FBC Residential R301.2.1.2).

The coastline in those Florida zone tests is measured from the mean high water mark (FBC Residential R301.2.1.2.1).

Yes, within limits: the Florida residential code allows precut wood structural panels at least 7/16 inch thick on buildings with a mean roof height of 33 feet or less where the ultimate design wind speed is 180 mph or less (FBC Residential R301.2.1.2).

The Florida exception is specific. Panels need a span between lines of fasteners of 44 inches, must be precut to overlap the wall at least 2 inches beyond the fastener lines, and must be predrilled and secured with corrosion-resistant attachment hardware permanently installed on the building (FBC Residential R301.2.1.2). Plywood put up without permanently installed attachment hardware therefore falls outside the exception.

As an alternative to engineered attachments, the Florida code allows fastening at 16 inches on center along the edges of the opposing long sides of the panel. In wood frame walls the anchors are based on 1/4-inch lag screws long enough to give at least 300 pounds of allowable withdrawal capacity; in concrete or masonry walls the anchors need at least 300 pounds withdrawal and 525 pounds shear capacity with a 1.5 inch edge distance (FBC Residential R301.2.1.2).

Florida product approval is the state system, run by the Florida Building Commission, that shutters and other impact protective systems must pass before they can be sold or installed as hurricane protection (section 553.842).

Section 553.842 of the Florida Statutes names the categories that need statewide approval through one of its methods: panel walls, exterior doors, roofing, skylights, windows, shutters, impact protective systems and structural components. It adds that a product may not be advertised, sold, offered, provided, distributed, or marketed as hurricane, windstorm or impact protection from wind-borne debris unless it is approved, and anyone who does so faces the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (section 553.842).

Approvals are searchable on the Florida Building Commission product approval site, where a public user can find a product or application; the listed contact address is 2601 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, phone 850-487-1824 (Florida Building Commission, Product Approval). Charlotte County, as one local example, asks applicants for the complete Florida product approval number including the digits after the decimal point, and points applicants to the state search for FL numbers and the Miami-Dade search for NOA numbers (Charlotte County).

The Florida Building Commission itself is created and located within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation for administrative purposes, and its 19 members are appointed by the Governor subject to Senate confirmation (section 553.74).

A Florida shutter permit can be pulled by a licensed contractor or, for a home the owner occupies, by the owner acting as an owner-builder under section 489.103 of the Florida Statutes (section 489.103).

The owner-builder exemption covers owners acting as their own contractor and providing direct, onsite supervision of all work not done by licensed contractors when improving one-family or two-family residences for their own use and not offered for sale or lease. Selling or leasing the home within 1 year after completion creates a presumption that the work was done for sale (section 489.103).

Contractors are licensed by the Construction Industry Licensing Board at the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. DBPR explains that a certified contractor, whose license code begins with the letter C, may contract in any Florida jurisdiction, while a registered contractor may contract only where registered, and it lists a Certified Window and Door Installation Specialty Contractor license among its categories (DBPR Construction Industry).

Local building departments list which licenses they accept for shutter work. Charlotte County, for example, lists owner-builder, certified building, general, residential and specialty structure contractors, registered building, general and residential contractors, and a local aluminum license (Charlotte County).

Charlotte County's shutter permit, one Florida example, needs an application, a floor plan of the openings, product approval numbers and a $90 flat fee, and section 553.844 sets when an existing home must add protection (Charlotte County; section 553.844).

Charlotte County is used here only as an example; each Florida city and county sets its own forms and fees. Its residential shutter permit covers installation of shutters or other windborne debris protection, with or without electric. It asks for an application, a floor plan showing the location and size of each opening including egress and rescue openings, product specifications, and a recorded Notice of Commencement for any improvement with a direct contract price greater than $5,000. The fee at application is a flat $90, with a building fee of 0.004 times valuation once valuation reaches $50,000 (Charlotte County residential shutters).

Florida law does not force every existing house to add shutters. Section 553.844 directs the Florida Building Commission to adopt rules requiring, for site-built single-family homes, that any permitted activity applied for on or after July 1, 2008, with an estimated cost of $50,000 or more, include opening protection as required for new construction when the house is in the windborne debris region and has an insured value of $750,000 or more, or, if uninsured or without documentation of insured value, a just value for tax purposes of $750,000 or more. Roof covering replacement and repair work to prevent degradation are excluded from that trigger (section 553.844).

The Florida code is also due to change again. The Florida Building Commission site posts materials related to the 2026 Update with tracking charts, while the edition it names as in effect is the 8th Edition (2023) (Florida Building Commission).

Last verified: October 15, 2026, against the Florida Building Code, Florida Statutes, DBPR and Charlotte County pages cited above.