OIR-B1-1802: The Florida Wind Mitigation Form, Explained (2026 Update): What the wind mitigation inspection checks, how the new Rev. 04/26 form changes things, and how to turn it into a smaller insurance premium

The OIR-B1-1802 wind mitigation form is the single document that decides how large a hurricane insurance discount your Florida home qualifies for. A certified inspector fills it out, your insurer reads it, and the construction features it verifies translate directly into dollars off your windstorm premium.

That matters more than it ever has. The average Florida homeowner premium now runs over $15,000 a year, roughly triple the national average. The percentage discounts on the wind mitigation form apply to a much bigger base number than they did a decade ago, so the same form is worth far more money today. On April 1, 2026, the state replaced the long-running 2012 form with a rewritten version, OIR-B1-1802 (Rev. 04/26). This guide walks through every category, explains what changed, and shows how to make sure you collect every credit your home has earned.

What the OIR-B1-1802 Wind Mitigation Form Is

The form's full name is the Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation publishes it, and Florida law requires insurers to offer premium discounts for the wind-resistant features it documents. The legal basis is Florida Statute 627.0629, which directs insurers to give "discounts, credits, or other rate differentials" for construction techniques that reduce hurricane losses.

Here is how it works in practice. You hire a qualified inspector. The inspector visits your home, photographs and measures the relevant features, and records them on the standardized form. You hand the completed form to your insurance company, and the company applies the matching discounts at your next renewal. One form, completed once, can keep paying you back for five years.

The discount is not small change. In high-premium coastal counties, the opening protection credit alone can shave $1,500 to $3,500 a year off a policy. Even inland, where wind is a smaller slice of the premium, homeowners routinely save a few hundred dollars a year. Stack all the categories together and the total credit can reach close to 90% off the windstorm portion of the premium.

The 2026 Update: OIR-B1-1802 (Rev. 04/26)

For more than a decade, every wind mitigation inspection in Florida used the same form, dated Rev. 01/12, adopted in 2012. That form is now retired. The Florida Cabinet adopted a rewritten version on September 30, 2025, and under the rule change to 69O-170.0155, Florida Administrative Code, the new OIR-B1-1802 (Rev. 04/26) took effect April 1, 2026.

The rewrite was not cosmetic. The old form rested on research from the early 2000s, when the mitigation discount program was new. The 2026 version is built on the 2024 Residential Wind-Loss Mitigation Study by Applied Research Associates, which reflects two more decades of hurricane performance data and modern building science. The goal was a form that measures the features that actually keep homes intact in current storms. You can read the full OIR-B1-1802 (Rev. 04/26) form (PDF) and follow along.

What changed on the new form

The practical theme runs through every line: more proof. The form now states plainly that at least one photograph or document has to accompany each attribute marked in questions 2 through 9. If a feature is checked on the 2026 form, the inspector is expected to back it up with clear photographs and, where it applies, product approval numbers or permit records. For impact windows, that means the inspector documents the product approval and installation, not just that impact glass is present.

A few facts about timing that homeowners ask about most:

• Inspections on or after April 1, 2026 must use the new form. A report written on the old form after that date will be rejected.
• The old form is still honored for now. If your inspection was completed before April 1, 2026 and falls within five years of your policy effective date, your insurer continues to accept it. You do not need to rush out for a new inspection just because the form changed.
• Reports stay valid for five years, unless you make material changes to the home that affect the rated features.

If your current credits came from an older inspection and your home has not changed, your discount stands. Plan to use the updated form the next time you reinspect, add protection, or buy a home.

The Nine Wind Mitigation Inspection Categories

The Rev. 04/26 form scores nine numbered areas of construction, up from seven on the old form. Each one contributes its own credit, and they are applied against the wind portion of your premium rather than simply added together. Here is what the inspector looks at, in the order the form lists them.

1. Building code

What edition of the Florida Building Code was in force when the home was permitted. A home permitted under the FBC 2001/2004 or FBC 2007 and later earns credit; in Miami-Dade and Broward, the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone path recognizes the older South Florida Building Code for homes built in 1994 through 1996. This sets the baseline the other credits build on.

2. Region (design wind speed)

This question is new on the 2026 form. It records the home's design wind speed region under ASCE 7-22: HVHZ, Region 1 at 140 mph or more, Region 2 at 130 to 139 mph, or Region 3 under 130 mph. The higher the design wind speed, the more the other mitigation features matter. If you are not sure what wind zone your address falls in, our wind zone lookup tool maps it out.

3. Roof slope

Also new on the 2026 form. The inspector records whether the main roof slope is at or above 6:12 or under 6:12. Slope affects how wind pressure loads the roof.

4. Roof covering

The type and age of each roof covering and whether it was installed to current Florida Building Code. A roof permitted and installed under the post-2002 code, verified by permit date or product approval number, earns the strongest credit. Older coverings with no documentation earn little or nothing.

5. Roof deck attachment

How the plywood or OSB sheathing is fastened to the trusses. The form grades the weakest attachment found. Bigger nails, tighter spacing, and ring-shank fasteners resist uplift better and earn more. The 2026 form adds a pathway for closed-cell spray foam rated at 110 PSF uplift resistance applied under the deck.

6. Roof-to-wall attachment

How the roof is tied to the walls, again graded at the weakest connection. The scale runs from plain toe nails, which earn nothing, up through clips, single wraps, and double metal straps, with structurally anchored or reinforced concrete roofs at the top. The new form spells out specific uplift-capacity thresholds for each level.

7. Roof geometry

The shape of the roof. A full hip roof, which slopes down on all sides with no other roof shapes greater than 10% of the perimeter, sheds wind more cleanly and earns the geometry credit. Flat and other roof shapes earn less.

8. Sealed roof deck / secondary water resistance

A sealed roof deck, also called secondary water resistance, is a barrier that keeps water out if the covering blows off. Qualifying methods include a fully adhered polymer-modified bitumen underlayment, self-adhering tape over the deck seams, or full spray-foam coverage of the deck underside. Standard underlayment and hot-mopped felt do not qualify. It is an inexpensive add during a reroof, usually $1,500 to $3,000, and it produces a real credit.

9. Opening protection

Whether your windows and doors are protected against wind-borne debris. This is the question that impact windows, impact doors, and hurricane shutters live in, and it is usually the largest single credit on the form. The next section covers it in full because it is where most homeowners win or lose money.

Opening Protection: The All-or-Nothing Rule

Opening protection is the part of the wind mitigation form that rewards impact glass and shutters, and it follows one strict rule that catches homeowners off guard every year. To earn the full opening protection credit, every glazed opening on the home has to be protected. The weakest opening sets the rating for the entire house.

Here is why that rule is unforgiving. The form does not average your openings. If you protect 18 of 19 and leave one bathroom window bare, the inspector cannot grade you as 95% protected. The house drops to a partial or no-credit rating, and the credit you were counting on can vanish entirely. One unprotected opening can erase the discount on the whole home.

The 2026 form sharpens that rule even further. It adds a damaged-opening level, marked Z, and states it directly: every opening has to be in good condition, and a home with any opening that needs repair or replacement does not qualify for wind mitigation rate differentials at all, no matter what other features it has. A single rotted or broken window can cost you not just the opening protection credit but every credit on the form. Fix or replace damaged openings before the inspection.

Glazed openings that have to be protected include:

• All windows
• All sliding glass doors and French doors with glass
• Entry doors with glass panels, sidelites, or transoms
• Skylights and glass block
• Garage doors with glass inserts

The garage door is the trap. A plain garage door with no glass is a non-glazed opening and does not count against you. Add decorative glass inserts and it becomes a glazed opening that has to be impact rated. Homeowners spend $25,000 on impact windows, then lose the credit over a garage door with a row of unrated glass panels.

Impact windows and shutters earn the same credit

This surprises people, so it is worth stating plainly. For insurance purposes, the form treats hurricane shutters and impact windows the same. A homeowner who installs accordion shutters gets the same opening protection credit as a homeowner who installs impact windows, as long as both protect every opening. There is no insurance bonus for choosing one over the other.

A word on plywood, because the rule is often misstated. Ordinary plywood that a homeowner nails over the windows before a storm earns nothing on the form. A permanent, engineered wood structural panel system that meets Table 1609.1.2 of the FBC 2007 can earn the form's Level C, but that is a weaker credit than the Level A or B that impact products and large-missile shutters reach. For a full opening protection credit, plywood is not the answer.

That parity at the top levels is exactly why the impact-versus-shutters decision comes down to everything other than the discount: year-round noise reduction, 99% UV blocking, no deployment before a storm, no panels to store, and added home value. We compare the two in detail in our guide to impact windows versus hurricane shutters, and we cover where plywood lands against both in plywood, shutters, or impact windows. Many homeowners land on a hybrid: impact glass on the rooms they live in, shutters on secondary openings, with every opening covered so the credit holds.

One more myth worth killing. Shutters do not have to be closed to earn the discount. The credit is based on having approved protection installed and available, not deployed. Shutters in their open, stowed position still count.

How the Wind Mitigation Credits Add Up

The discounts are applied to the wind portion of your premium, which is larger in coastal counties and smaller inland. A worked example shows how the math lands.

Take a coastal home with an $8,000 annual premium, where wind makes up about 60% of the bill:

Opening protection is the biggest single line, which is why it is the most common place homeowners start. The savings vary widely by county, because both premiums and the wind share of those premiums climb as you move toward the coast.

If you want the full breakdown of how these credits translate into payback by county, our deep dive on impact window insurance savings runs the numbers. Homeowners in the highest-premium markets, Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, see the strongest insurance case, while the Florida Keys carry the highest premiums in the state and the largest dollar savings.

Who Performs the Wind Mitigation Inspection

Not just anyone can sign the form. Under Section 627.711(2), Florida Statutes, the form has to be certified by a qualified inspector, which the Rev. 04/26 form defines as one of these:

• A licensed home inspector who has completed the required 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 professional architect

An insurer may also recognize another individual it considers qualified. Licensed contractors and engineers can have a qualified employee perform the inspection, but they remain responsible for the work.

A private inspection runs about $75 to $150, and many inspectors offer it as an add-on to a standard home inspection. The better deal for many homeowners is free. The state-funded My Safe Florida Home program provides a free wind mitigation inspection to eligible homeowners regardless of income, and it can pair that inspection with matching grants of up to $10,000 toward impact windows, doors, or shutters. The free inspection alone tells you exactly which upgrades would move your premium.

How to Read Your Completed Form and Avoid Lost Credits

When you get the form back, scan it for the lines that cost the most money:

1. Check the opening protection rating first. Confirm the inspector marked every opening as protected. If a single window, skylight, or glazed garage door is flagged, that is the line standing between you and the credit.
2. Confirm the photos match the home. The 2026 form leans hard on photographic proof. Missing or unclear photos are the most common reason an insurer questions a credit.
3. Verify product approvals on impact products. For impact windows and doors, the form should reference the product approval. Keep your installation paperwork; it is the documentation the new form expects.
4. Watch the roof covering date. A roof installed to current code earns the credit; an undocumented older roof may not, even if it looks fine.
5. Hand the form to your insurer in writing and ask for confirmation. Credits do not apply themselves. The insurer applies them at renewal once the form is on file.

The most expensive mistake is the partial retrofit. Replacing the front-facing windows but leaving the back of the house, or finishing the windows but skipping a glazed garage door, leaves you paying for impact glass without earning the insurance credit it was supposed to unlock. If the goal is the discount, the project has to cover every opening. Our broader guide to hurricane-proofing a Florida home and the HVHZ requirements explainer cover how complete protection fits into the larger picture.

What the 2026 Changes Mean for You

For most homeowners, the updated form is good news wrapped in more paperwork. The discount mechanics that matter most, especially the opening protection credit, work the same way they always have. The all-or-nothing rule still governs, impact windows and shutters still earn the same credit, and the savings are still real.

What changed is the level of proof. The Rev. 04/26 form expects documentation, photographs, and product approvals to back up every credit. That rewards homeowners who keep their installation records and work with licensed installers who pull permits and register product approvals. It penalizes sloppy or undocumented work. When you upgrade your openings, save the paperwork, because the new form will ask for it.

If you are protecting your home with impact windows and want the insurance credit to hold up under the stricter 2026 documentation, the path is straightforward: protect every opening, use code-approved products, keep the records, and get the inspection. You can also explore financing options that let the monthly insurance and energy savings offset much of the payment.

Next Steps

1. Find your existing form. If you have had an inspection in the last five years, locate the form and check the opening protection line. Confirm your insurer applied the credit. To see what an inspector now records, open the OIR-B1-1802 (Rev. 04/26) form (PDF).
2. Map your openings. Count every glazed opening, including skylights and any garage door with glass. Complete coverage is what earns the credit, so identify the gaps before you spend.
3. Check your wind zone. Use our wind zone lookup to see the design wind speed region the 2026 form will record for your address.
4. Look into a free inspection and grant. See whether you qualify for a free inspection and up to $10,000 through the My Safe Florida Home program.
5. Get a no-cost estimate. Schedule a free estimate and we will walk every opening, recommend the protection that earns the full credit, and document the product approvals the new form requires.
6. Plan the payment. Review financing options so your insurance and energy savings can offset much of the monthly cost.