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Florida's 2026 building code: what changes for reroof permits

Florida's 9th Edition building code takes effect December 31, 2026. Here is what changes for residential reroof permits, and where they will stall.

Florida updates its building code on a three-year cycle, and this time the new edition takes effect on December 31. So while everyone else is planning New Year's Eve, roofing offices across the state will be asking which code a job was filed under.

The 9th Edition (2026) Florida Building Code takes effect December 31, 2026. Most of what a reroof permit asks for will not change. A handful of things will, and the ones that matter most are product approvals and timing. Here is what to check before the cutover.

Which code your permit falls under

The code that applies is tied to when the application is submitted, not when the job was sold or when the crew starts.

Miami-Dade County has published the clearest version of this so far. All permit applications and plans submitted on or after December 31, 2026 must comply with the new edition, and the county's online portal cutoff for the old code is 4 PM on December 30, 2026. Other counties and cities will set their own cutoffs, so it is worth asking each building department you file with.

Two practical consequences:

  • A job sold in November may be reviewed under the new code. If the permit is not submitted before the cutoff, the package needs to be built to the 9th Edition.
  • An application that expires can lose its place. Miami-Dade will consider extending an expired application filed before the cutoff only if the request is in writing, explains that the application was pursued in good faith, and is made within 180 days of expiration. Otherwise the applicant starts over with a new process number, new fees and plans that meet the 2026 code.

If you have reroof applications sitting in plan check with open comments, December is a good month to clear them.

Product approvals are the real cutover

Every roofing product on a Florida permit carries a state product approval or, in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone (Miami-Dade and Broward counties), a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance (NOA). Those approvals are tied to a code edition.

The Florida Building Commission opened the 9th Edition product approval process on July 1, 2026. Manufacturers whose products face unchanged standards can self-affirm. Products whose standards or restrictions changed need a revision with new test or evaluation evidence. The Commission waived application fees through December 31, 2026, which tells you roughly how many updates it expects.

For a contractor, the question on each job is simple: does the approval number on the permit cover this product under the code the permit will be reviewed under? A permit that lists a product whose approval has not been updated is a plan check comment waiting to happen.

What changes in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone

Miami-Dade's Product Control Section has issued notices on several roofing changes for the HVHZ. Three are worth knowing if you work in Miami-Dade or Broward:

  1. Tile underlayments. The prescriptive allowance for underlayment under roof tile (the "yellow stripe" option) has been eliminated. Underlayments approved for tile must show uplift resistance for component and cladding loads. Existing NOAs remain valid, but for permit applications submitted on or after January 1, 2027, these underlayments may only be installed according to the approved uses and uplift values in the current NOA.
  2. Hip and ridge shingles. Hip and ridge shingles must be tested and classified to the wind requirements of UL 2375, modified for 110 mph. For asphalt shingle permits applied for starting January 1, 2027, compliance is shown either by an NOA that reflects the new testing or by a prescriptive method: two spots of roof cement, at least one inch in diameter, on each side of each hip or ridge shingle near the leading edge, then fastened per the manufacturer.
  3. Lightweight concrete over steel deck. Systems qualified only by 2 ft by 2 ft uplift testing will no longer satisfy the code. The county is treating these as metal deck systems that need testing under TAS 114, Appendix J.

The common thread is that the approval document now carries more of the weight. A submittal that cites an NOA without checking its listed uses and uplift values is the one that gets sent back.

What changes for tile

The Florida Roofing and Sheet Metal Contractors Association (FRSA) has summarized the tile changes approved for the 9th Edition. FRSA notes the edition was still pending final publication when it wrote the summary, so the wording may shift. The items it highlights:

  • Drip edge. Drip edge is required at eaves and gables of steep slope roofs (2:12 and above), installed per the FRSA-TRI manual.
  • Coastal fasteners. Within 300 feet of a saltwater coastline, screws must meet the corrosion requirements of Section 1711, and nails and fasteners within 3,000 feet of the coastline must meet them as well.
  • HVHZ underlayment and fasteners. In the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, tile underlayments must be tested and carry a product approval for use as tile underlayment, with uplift resistance included in the approval, and tile fasteners must penetrate through the roof sheathing.

FRSA also reports that the wind load tables in the FRSA-TRI manual do not change this cycle, and describes the drip edge changes as references to the manual rather than changes to how tile is installed.

What changes in the reroof rules themselves

The reroofing section of the Existing Building code gets several clarifications rather than new requirements. According to FRSA's walkthrough:

  • A new roof covering may go over an existing or repaired substrate that is adequate for it, which allows reuse of high R-value insulation or lightweight insulating concrete in some tear-offs.
  • An existing membrane adhered to the roof deck may stay in place and be covered with an additional membrane.
  • Elastomeric and maintenance coatings over existing asphalt shingles move into the asphalt shingle sections of the code and must follow the shingle manufacturer's approved installation instructions.

What does not change

The state statute behind Florida's reroof mitigation rules, section 553.844, is not part of the code update, so these stay the same:

  • The 25 percent rule. If a roof was built, repaired or replaced under the 2007 Florida Building Code or later, and 25 percent or more of it is being repaired, replaced or recovered, only the portion being worked on has to meet the current code.
  • Deck attachment and secondary water barrier. A roof replacement must include the deck attachment and secondary water barrier techniques the Commission adopts under the statute. Local addenda show how this lands on a permit. The City of Sebastian's reroof addendum, for example, requires re-nailing the deck on older single-family homes and offers three secondary water barrier options.
  • Roof-to-wall connections. In the wind-borne debris region, a roof replacement on a building with an insured value (or just valuation, if uninsured) of $300,000 or more must include roof-to-wall connection improvements, but only to the extent they can be completed for 15 percent of the cost of the roof replacement.

The roof-to-wall rule is where reroof permits have stalled for years, usually because the file is missing proof of insured or assessed value, or the scope does not show how the 15 percent cap was applied. The code update does not fix that, so it is still worth getting the value documentation at the time of sale.

Where reroof permits will stall in January

Based on what has changed, the stalls are predictable:

  1. Filed under the wrong code. The package was built to the 8th Edition and submitted after the cutoff.
  2. Outdated approval numbers. The product approval or NOA listed on the permit does not cover the product under the 9th Edition, or does not list the use and uplift value the job needs.
  3. HVHZ hip and ridge. An asphalt shingle permit in Miami-Dade or Broward with no updated NOA and no note that the prescriptive cement method will be used.
  4. Missing value documentation. No insured value or just valuation on file, so the reviewer cannot tell whether roof-to-wall connections apply.

All four are cheaper to solve at the estimate than in plan check.

How TaskHatch helps

We check each jurisdiction's adopted code edition, submittal requirements and cutoff dates before we file, and we confirm the product approvals listed on the permit match the code the application will be reviewed under. Filing starts at $150 per project, and plan check comments are included. If the jurisdiction needs new documents from you, such as an updated product approval or revised scope, the resubmittal is $75. Inspection coordination through final is $100 per project.

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