Florida Permit Desk

Hurricane Shutters & Impact Windows: Permit Requirements Across Florida

Last updated: (checked against official sources) · Statewide guide · How we research

Independent guide, not a government site. Confirm every requirement with the building office for your address before starting work. Items marked Unverified could not be confirmed on an official page.

Short answer: In the local building departments we checked, installing hurricane shutters or replacing windows and doors (including impact windows) needs a permit.[9][11][13][15] Florida's newer under-$7,500 exemption might cover a small window or door job, but offices disagree on whether that counts as "structural" work, which is not exempt. It never applies in a flood hazard area.[1][5][8] Every window, door and shutter must carry a Florida Product Approval (or a Miami-Dade NOA, where your office accepts one). Your permit application will ask for its number.[2][13]

Permits come from the city or county building department where the property is. Check who issues permits for your address first. A city may have different rules than its county.

What Florida law says

  • Product approval. Florida runs a statewide product evaluation and approval system. Panel walls, exterior doors, roofing, skylights, windows, shutters and impact protective systems must be approved through it.[2] A product may not be marketed as hurricane, windstorm or impact protection unless it has that approval.[2] You can look products up on the Florida Building Commission's Product Approval site.[3]
  • Miami-Dade approvals. The statute names the Miami-Dade County Building Code Compliance Office Product Control Division as an approved evaluation entity.[2] Collier County and Cape Coral accept a Florida Product Approval or a Miami-Dade NOA (Notice of Acceptance).[13][15]
  • Under-$7,500 exemption (since 1 July 2026). A single-family owner or their contractor can ask in writing to skip a permit for work under $7,500. The exemption doesn't cover electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical or gas work, or any property partly or fully in a flood hazard area. You can't split a project to get under the limit.[1] Check your flood zone on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.[18]
  • Temporary flood walls and barriers. A separate state exemption covers temporary residential hurricane and flood protection walls or barriers. They must be non-habitable and non-load-bearing, put in by a licensed contractor, and meet local zoning rules. You must ask in writing first, and this exemption doesn't apply in a flood hazard area either.[1] It does not mention shutters.

The under-$7,500 split: is a window "structural"?

Local offices disagree. State law excludes "structural" work from the under-$7,500 exemption but doesn't list windows or doors.[1] Miami-Dade County lists windows and doors as structural work that always needs a permit.[5] Orange County says exterior window and door replacements are considered structural under the Florida Building Code.[6] The City of Orlando lists windows and doors as structural work that isn't eligible.[7] Hillsborough County, in contrast, lists exterior window replacement and exterior door replacement as possible exemptions, and still requires an exemption application.[8] Ask your building department before you rely on the exemption.

Cape Coral says most of the city is in a flood hazard area, so the exemption won't apply to most projects there. Where it might, you need City approval before you start.[16] Wherever you are, the exemption needs a written request with the contract before work begins.[1]

What eight local offices require

Jurisdiction Shutters Windows and doors Notes from the official page
Miami-Dade County (unincorporated) Unverified (not covered on the exemptions page we used) Replacing a whole window assembly, or a door with its frame, needs a permit. Glass panes and door slabs alone are minor repairs.[5] Windows and doors count as structural, so they're not covered by the under-$7,500 exemption.[5]
Orange County (unincorporated) Unverified (no shutter-specific statement found) Window and door replacement counts as structural; no under-$7,500 exemption.[6] Exemption also excludes rentals and mobile homes.[6]
City of Orlando Unverified (no shutter-specific statement found) Windows and doors are structural work, not eligible for exemption.[7] —
Hillsborough County (unincorporated) Unverified (no shutter-specific statement found) Exterior window and door replacement listed as possible under-$7,500 exemptions.[8] Exemption application still required in HillsGovHub with the contract.[8]
Polk County (unincorporated) Permit for permanently installed window and door shutters and security bars.[9] Permit to replace windows, doors and garage doors, including vinyl or acrylic windows.[9] Inspections need a completed, notarized window and door affidavit.[10]
Lee County (unincorporated) Permit to install, alter or replace shutters. Shutter final inspection code 125.[11][12] Permit for size-for-size replacements. Bigger changes (such as enclosing a lanai) need an alteration permit.[11] Product approval numbers with decimals; floor plan; design pressures, or the County's master pressure tables for openings 60 ft or lower.[11]
Collier County (unincorporated) Shutters and storm protection are a PRSD work item. The application asks about motorized or electric shutters.[13] PRSD permit for windows, doors and garage doors.[13] Window or door repair (not the frame) that doesn't change the opening is exempt on a detached single-family home.[14] Floor plan; index sheet of Florida Product Approval or Miami-Dade NOA numbers; design pressures that exceed the existing openings'.[13]
City of Cape Coral "Shutter or Awning - Residential" permit (with or without electric) by a CGC, CBC, CRC, window and door specialty contractor, or owner-builder; Awning/Shutter inspection.[20] Size-for-size permit by a general, building, residential or window/door specialty contractor, or an owner-builder.[15] Floor plan, Window/Door/Shutter Worksheet, and Florida Product Approval or NOA for windows and doors.[15] Owner-builder shutter applications get a building review.[20]

Palm Beach County's owner-builder guidelines list window and door replacements and storm shutters among common permit types an owner-builder can pull.[17] See our owner-builder guide for the state rules.

What you'll usually need to apply

These items come up again and again on the official pages above. Your office's list is the one that counts.

  1. Product approval numbers for every window, door and shutter, including the digits after the decimal (for example, FL 15729.4).[13][11]
  2. A floor plan showing each opening being changed, its size, and which windows are emergency escape openings.[13][11]
  3. Design pressures, showing the new products meet or exceed the wind loads for each opening.[13][11]
  4. Inspections, often a final for windows and a separate shutter inspection.[11][12][20]

Check that the installer holds the right state license on DBPR.[19]

HOAs and hurricane protection

State law requires every homeowners' association to adopt hurricane protection specifications. These may cover color and style, and must comply with the building code. The board may not deny an application that conforms to those specifications, though it can require you to keep an existing unified look.[4] "Hurricane protection" includes permanent and roll-down storm shutters, impact-resistant windows and doors, polycarbonate panels and reinforced garage doors.[4] HOA approval doesn't replace the building permit.

Condominium rules are in a different chapter of state law. We haven't covered them here. Unverified (Condominium hurricane-protection rules were not reviewed for this page; ask your association and building department.)

Common questions

Do I need a permit to install hurricane shutters in Florida?

In every local office we checked that addresses shutters, yes. Polk County lists permanently installed window and door shutters as needing a permit, Lee County's Exterior Openings guide requires a permit to install, alter or replace shutters, Collier County permits shutters under its Windows, Doors, Shutters (PRSD) permit, and Cape Coral has a Shutter or Awning permit.[9][11][13][20] Ask your own building department.

Is replacing windows with impact windows exempt under the new $7,500 rule?

It depends on your local office. State law excludes structural work and any property in a flood hazard area.[1] Miami-Dade, Orange County and Orlando treat window and door replacement as structural, so it isn't exempt there.[5][6][7] Hillsborough County lists exterior window and door replacement as possible exemptions.[8] Ask before you start, and file the written request your office requires.

What is a Florida Product Approval number?

Windows, exterior doors, shutters and impact protective systems must be approved under Florida's statewide product approval system before they are used.[2] The Florida Building Commission's Product Approval site lets you find a product or application.[3] Lee and Collier counties ask for the approval number including the digits after the decimal point.[11][13]

Can my HOA stop me from installing hurricane shutters?

State law requires every homeowners' association to adopt hurricane protection specifications. The board may not deny an application that conforms to them, though it can require you to follow an existing unified look.[4] Hurricane protection includes storm shutters, impact-resistant windows and doors and reinforced garage doors.[4] You still need any building permit.

County and city permit guides

All Florida counties · All guides

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from the official sources below, checked on 23 October 2026.

  1. Florida Statutes § 553.79 (2026), Permits; applications; issuance; inspections
  2. Florida Statutes § 553.842 (2026), Product evaluation and approval
  3. Florida Building Commission: Product Approval (search products and approvals)
  4. Florida Statutes § 720.3035 (2026), Architectural control covenants (HOA hurricane protection)
  5. Miami-Dade County: Permit exemptions (incl. under-$7,500 rules)
  6. Orange County Division of Building Safety: About and FAQ (permit exemption)
  7. City of Orlando: Residential Building Permit Exemption Guide
  8. Hillsborough County: Work Exempt from Permits (incl. HB 803)
  9. Polk County: Building Permitting (work requiring a construction permit)
  10. Polk County: Building Inspections
  11. Lee County: Exterior Openings (Windows/Shutters/Doors) Application and Permitting Guide (PDF, updated 10/9/2025)
  12. Lee County: Inspections (inspection codes)
  13. Collier County: Windows, Doors, Shutters (PRSD) application requirements
  14. Collier County: Certain Qualifying Work Under $7500.00 Exempt from Building Permits, with County Sec. 22-26 exemptions (PDF, 2026)
  15. City of Cape Coral: Window/Door (Size for Size) guideline, residential (PDF)
  16. City of Cape Coral: House Bill 803 — What It Means for Cape Coral Residents
  17. Palm Beach County PZB: Owner/Builder Building Permit Guidelines (PDF, revision November 2023)
  18. FEMA Flood Map Service Center
  19. Florida DBPR: License search
  20. City of Cape Coral: Shutter or Awning guideline, residential (PDF, revised Jan. 2026)