Florida Wind Mitigation Form: What Homeowners Should Know
The Florida wind mitigation form is an official inspection document, the OIR-B1-1802, that records the wind-resistant features of your home so your insurer can apply the hurricane discounts you qualify for. It covers your roof, windows, and doors. Florida law requires insurers to give credit for these features, which is why the form can lower what you pay every year.
Most homeowners never see one until an insurance company asks for it. Then the questions start. What do all these sections mean? Who fills it out? And why does one detail on the roof change the whole result?
At G&R Doors, Windows & Roofing, we work with this form every time we finish a roof, window, or door project in South Florida, because the upgrades we install are the same features the form measures. Below we break down what the form covers, section by section, what documents help, and how a single upgrade can change your rating.
Quick facts about the wind mitigation form:
Official name: Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form (OIR-B1-1802), issued by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
Purpose: document wind-resistant features so insurers apply required hurricane discounts
Valid for: up to 5 years, as long as the home has no material changes
Current version: Rev. 04/26, required for all inspections since April 1, 2026
Signed by: a qualified inspector authorized under Florida law
What Is the Florida Wind Mitigation Form?
The wind mitigation form is a standardized report the state created so every insurer reads your home the same way. Before it existed, one company might credit a feature that another ignored. Now there is one form, one set of definitions, and one result your carrier has to honor.
The reason it saves money comes down to state law. Section 627.0629, Florida Statutes, requires residential property insurers to offer premium discounts for construction features that reduce windstorm damage. The stronger and more complete your protection, the larger the credit you can receive.
The current version, Rev. 04/26, took effect on April 1, 2026, after a state wind-loss study updated how certain features are scored. One of the bigger updates changed how roof-to-wall connections are scored, giving credit for certain engineered retrofit solutions that the older form did not recognize. For homeowners, the takeaway is simple: an inspection done today may score your home differently than one done a few years ago, so the version of the form matters.
A completed form stays valid for up to five years, provided you make no material changes to the structure and the report contains no errors. If you upgrade your roof, windows, or doors during that window, a fresh inspection can capture the improvement sooner.
Why the Wind Mitigation Form Matters for Your Insurance
Windstorm coverage is one of the largest parts of a Florida homeowners policy. The wind mitigation form is how you prove your home earns a lower rate on that portion.
Because the discounts are required by state law rather than offered at the insurer's discretion, a qualifying feature has to be credited. A home with a newer roof, strong roof-to-wall connections, and impact-rated openings can earn meaningfully more than a home with none of those features. This is the same principle behind how impact windows lower your insurance in Florida, applied across the whole house.
Exact savings vary by carrier and by the features documented, so the form is worth completing accurately and keeping on file. Florida law also requires insurers, including the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance, to publish their available mitigation discounts online, so it's worth checking your carrier's site too.
The 7 Sections of the OIR-B1-1802 Form Explained
The form scores seven categories. Each one looks at a specific part of how your home resists hurricane wind and water. Here is what the inspector checks in each.
1. Building Code
The inspector uses your permit application date to confirm which building code your home was constructed under. Homes built to newer, stronger codes generally qualify for better credits, so this section sets the baseline for the rest of the form.
2. Roof Covering
This looks at your roof material, shingles, tile, metal, or other, and whether it meets current Florida Building Code or product approval standards. Permit records and product approval numbers help verify it.
3. Roof Deck Attachment
The roof deck is the layer of plywood or sheathing under your covering. This section records how that deck is nailed to the trusses, including nail size and spacing. Closer, larger fasteners hold better in high wind and score higher.
4. Roof-to-Wall Attachment
This is one of the most important sections. It records how your roof structure connects to the walls, using toe nails, clips, single wraps, or double wraps. Stronger connections keep the roof attached during a storm. The updated form also recognizes certain engineered retrofit options here.
5. Roof Geometry
Roof shape affects how wind moves over your home. A hip roof, sloped on all four sides, handles wind pressure better than a gable or flat roof and earns the strongest credit in this category.
6. Secondary Water Resistance
Secondary water resistance, often called SWR, is a backup barrier applied to the roof deck, such as a self-adhering underlayment. If your roof covering is torn off in a storm, this layer helps keep water out of the home. Having it can improve your rating.
7. Opening Protection
This section records the weakest form of wind-borne debris protection on your exterior openings, and it deserves its own explanation below, because it is where many homeowners lose credit without realizing it.
What Does Opening Protection Mean on the Form?
Opening protection covers every exterior opening in your home: windows, entry doors, sliding glass doors, garage doors, and skylights. The form asks a specific question, and it catches a lot of people off guard: what is the weakest protection installed anywhere on the structure?
Your home is scored at its weakest point, not its strongest. That means a house with impact windows on every window can still lose the top rating if the front door is not rated, or if the garage door was never upgraded. One unprotected opening pulls the whole score down.
This is why we tell homeowners to think about openings as a complete system. To earn full opening-protection credit, the windows, the impact doors, the garage door, and any skylights all need to meet the standard. Impact-rated products carry documentation, such as a Florida Product Approval or Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance, that the inspector uses to verify the level of protection.
If you are upgrading openings specifically to improve your rating, cover the weak ones first. The garage door and a non-rated entry door are the two spots we most often see holding a home back.
Who Can Complete a Florida Wind Mitigation Inspection?
Not just anyone can sign the form. Florida law, Section 627.711(2), lists the professionals an insurer must accept. A qualified inspector is generally one of the following, holding an active license at the time of inspection:
A licensed home inspector who has completed approved hurricane mitigation training and a proficiency exam
A certified building code inspector
A licensed general, building, or residential contractor
A licensed professional engineer
A licensed architect
Providing a knowingly false mitigation form to obtain a discount is a criminal offense under Florida law, so the inspection needs to be done honestly and by an authorized professional. When in doubt, confirm your inspector's credentials before the visit.
What Documents Help With Your Wind Mitigation Inspection?
The more documentation you can hand the inspector, the smoother the process and the more features you can verify. Gather what you have:
Roof permits and permit application dates
Product approval numbers for your roof, windows, doors, and garage door, such as Florida Product Approval (FL) numbers or Miami-Dade NOA numbers
Any prior wind mitigation report
Photos, receipts, or contracts from past window, door, or roofing installations
Records of any building permits pulled for upgrades
If we installed your roof, windows, or doors, we can provide the product approval paperwork for those projects, which makes verifying your opening protection and roof covering far easier.
How Home Upgrades Change Your Wind Mitigation Form
Every major upgrade you make to your roof or openings can move your rating, which is the part homeowners tend to miss. The form is not a one-time snapshot. When you strengthen the home, a new inspection can capture that improvement and update your discount.
A few upgrades that commonly change the form:
A new roof built to current code, with improved deck and roof-to-wall attachment
Secondary water resistance added during a re-roof
Impact-rated windows replacing standard glass
Impact-rated entry and patio doors
An impact-rated garage door, often the single opening holding back the score
Because the home is rated at its weakest opening, replacing that last unprotected door or window is sometimes what unlocks the full opening-protection credit. If you are planning work with a roofing company in Hialeah or upgrading your openings, it is worth thinking about the form before you start, so you know which improvements move the needle.
Next Steps After Upgrading Your Roof, Windows, or Doors
Once your upgrades are complete, three steps turn that work into savings. First, collect your documentation, permits and product approval numbers for everything installed. Second, schedule a new wind mitigation inspection so the updated features are recorded on a current form. Third, submit the completed form to your insurer for review.
Keep a copy for your records too. The form is valid for up to five years, and you may need it again at renewal, at resale, or if you switch carriers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What is the Florida wind mitigation form?
Answer: It is the Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form (OIR-B1-1802), an official state document that records your home's wind-resistant features, covering the roof, windows, and doors, so your insurer can apply the hurricane discounts required by Florida law.
Q2. Who fills out the wind mitigation form?
Answer: A qualified inspector authorized under Florida law completes and signs it. That includes trained home inspectors, building code inspectors, licensed contractors, professional engineers, and licensed architects. Homeowners cannot complete it themselves.
Q3. What does opening protection mean on the form?
Answer: It refers to the storm protection on your exterior openings, windows, doors, garage doors, and skylights. The form records the weakest protection on the home, so every opening needs to meet the standard to earn full credit.
Q4. What documents help with a wind mitigation inspection?
Answer: Roof permits, product approval numbers for your roof, windows, doors, and garage door, any prior wind mitigation report, and photos or receipts from past installations. This paperwork helps the inspector verify your roof covering and opening protection quickly and accurately.
Q5. Can home upgrades change my wind mitigation form?
Answer: Yes. The form is not permanent. A new roof, secondary water resistance, impact-rated windows and doors, or an impact-rated garage door can all improve your rating. After completing upgrades, a fresh inspection can record the stronger features and update the discount you qualify for.
The Bottom Line for Florida Homeowners
The wind mitigation form is one of the few pieces of paperwork that can pay you back year after year. Understanding what it measures, roof covering, deck and roof-to-wall attachment, roof shape, secondary water resistance, and opening protection, puts you in control of your rating instead of guessing at it. And because your home is scored at its weakest opening, knowing where you stand tells you exactly which upgrade will help most.
If you have recently upgraded, or you are planning to, we can help with the part that turns the work into savings: the documentation. G&R provides the product approval paperwork for the roofing, window, and door projects we install, so your inspection goes smoothly and every feature you paid for gets counted.
Ready to strengthen your home and document it properly? Get in touch with our team to talk through your roofing, window, or door project and the paperwork you'll need afterward.
