Florida Product Approval vs. Miami-Dade NOA: what your county requires

A Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance (NOA) is issued by Miami-Dade County's Product Control Section and certifies that a product passed High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) testing under TAS 201, TAS 202, and TAS 203. A Florida Product Approval (FL#) is issued by the Florida Building Commission on floridabuilding.org for statewide compliance under the Florida Building Code (tested either to ASTM E1886/E1996 for non-HVHZ counties or to TAS 201–203 when marked "Approved for use in HVHZ: Yes").

Broward County is inside the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) alongside Miami-Dade County. Under the Florida Building Code, Broward building departments accept either an active Miami-Dade NOA or a statewide Florida Product Approval (FL#) whose BCIS record explicitly states "Approved for use in HVHZ: Yes" (meaning the product passed TAS 201, TAS 202, and TAS 203).

No. Palm Beach County, Lee County, and Collier County are in Florida’s Wind-Borne Debris Region (WBDR) outside the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. They require a statewide Florida Product Approval (FL#) tested to ASTM E1886 and ASTM E1996 (Missile Level D) matched to each opening’s Design Pressure. However, Miami-Dade NOA windows are accepted in all three counties because HVHZ TAS 201–203 testing meets or exceeds statewide rules.

Only if the Florida Product Approval is explicitly certified for the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone—shown as "Approved for use in HVHZ: Yes" on floridabuilding.org and backed by TAS 201, TAS 202, and TAS 203 test reports. Many manufacturers hold both a Miami-Dade NOA and an HVHZ-rated FL# for their flagship single-hung, horizontal roller, casement, and fixed picture window series.

Both protocols fire a 9-pound 2×4 lumber missile at 50 ft/s (34 mph) for openings up to 30 feet high and subject the fractured window to 9,000 cyclic wind-pressure loads (4,500 positive and 4,500 negative). However, Miami-Dade's TAS 201, 202, and 203 require stricter water-infiltration testing (at least 15% of positive Design Pressure under TAS 202), specific mullion and corner impact locations, tighter post-impact opening limits (no 3-inch sphere penetration), and a dedicated NOA anchor schedule.

Design Pressure (DP) is the structural wind load, measured in pounds per square foot (PSF), that a window assembly can withstand without failing. Positive DP (+PSF) measures inward wind pressure and wind-driven rain; negative DP (−PSF) measures outward suction. While a DP50 (±50 PSF) rating may work on an interior wall (Zone 4) of an inland one-story house, exterior building corners (Zone 5), two-story facades, and coastal homes often require −75 PSF to −110 PSF.

When hurricane winds wrap around the sharp 90-degree corner of a house or condo, airflow separates from the wall and creates powerful spinning low-pressure vortices. Under ASCE 7 wind engineering rules, those exterior corner strips (Zone 5) experience outward pulling suction (−PSF) roughly 30% to 50% stronger than the middle of the wall (Zone 4).

For all windows and doors installed 30 feet or less above grade, building codes require the large-missile test: a 9-lb 2×4 at 50 ft/s (ASTM E1996 calls it Missile Level D; TAS 201 uses the same missile). Above 30 feet—where heavy timber is less likely to loft but wind-driven roof gravel travels faster—codes allow Small Missile testing, which fires thirty 2-gram solid steel balls at 130 feet per second (89 mph).

For a Miami-Dade NOA, visit miamidade.gov/building/pc-search_app.asp and enter the 7-digit file number (such as 23-0714.05) in the "Search by File" box. For a Florida Product Approval, visit floridabuilding.org/pr/pr_app_srch.aspx, select the 2023 Code Version, and type the numerical digits of the FL# (for example, enter 24890 for FL24890) without the letters "FL" or the "-R" revision suffix.

Every Miami-Dade NOA has an explicit 5-year expiration date printed in the top-right box of Page 1 and must be active on the day your permit is pulled. Florida Product Approvals (FL#) are updated for each 3-year Florida Building Code cycle: permits applied for through December 31, 2026 are reviewed under the 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code, and permits applied for after December 31, 2026 fall under the 9th Edition (2026) Florida Building Code.

Yes. On Florida’s Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form OIR-B1-1802 (Question 9 — Opening Protection), both Miami-Dade NOA and ASTM E1996 / FBC impact-rated Florida Product Approval windows qualify for the top Hurricane (Level A) insurance discount, provided every single glazed and exterior opening on the structure—including windows, entry doors, sliding doors, skylights, and the garage door—is protected.

Installed prices across our four styles average $800 to $1,800 per window: about $900 for a 37×50 fixed picture window, $1,100 for a 37×63 single-hung, $1,250 for a 53×50 horizontal roller (XO), and $1,300 for a 37×50 casement. Oversized or high-DP coastal Zone 5 units with SentryGlas (SGP) can run $3,000+, and whole-home projects typically run $12,000–$35,000.