HVHZ Impact Doors: Miami-Dade and Broward Requirements

The Florida Building Code (2023) defines the High Velocity Hurricane Zone as consisting of exactly 2 counties: Broward and Miami-Dade. FBC 2023 Section 1620.2 sets the 3-second gust design wind velocity for Risk Category II residential buildings. That velocity is 175 mph in Miami-Dade County and 170 mph in Broward County. Both are well above the 130 mph threshold that triggers basic impact requirements elsewhere in the state. Section 1626.1 states that all parts of the building envelope must meet HVHZ impact test criteria. This includes exterior walls, roofs, outside doors, skylights, glazing, and glass block. Each must meet those criteria or be protected by an external protection device that meets them. For a deeper look at how HVHZ rules apply across all opening types, our HVHZ overview for Miami-Dade and Broward covers the broader framework. Risk Category IV essential facilities, hospitals, fire stations, face an even harder test. They must withstand a 9-pound 2x4 missile at 80 feet per second instead of 50.

3 separate test protocols, TAS 201, TAS 202, and TAS 203, determine whether a door qualifies as an HVHZ impact door. TAS 201 is the large-missile impact test: 3 specimens are tested, each being the entire assembled unit including frame and anchorage, mounted with fasteners identical in size and spacing to field installations. The missile is a 9-pound nominal 2x4 timber striking at 50 feet per second. Each specimen takes 2 impacts, 1 at the center and 1 near a corner, 6 inches from supporting members. For doors that include glass, the glass itself is impacted twice and the thinnest non-glass section of the door is also impacted twice (FBC Section 1626.2.5.2.1). TAS 203 then applies 9,000 cycles of inward and outward pressure (4,500 each direction), with inward stages of 3,500, 300, 600, and 100 cycles and outward stages of 50, 1,050, 50, and 3,350 cycles. A system passes only if all 3 specimens reject both missile impacts without penetration and survive cyclic loading with no crack longer than 5 inches and 1/16 inch wide through which air can pass. TAS 202 adds static air pressure, covering air infiltration, water resistance, and structural load, plus forced-entry resistance under AAMA/WDMA/CSA 101/I.S.2/A440.

Miami-Dade NOA 23-0717.01 covers the PGT FD-5555 French door and is a useful example of how HVHZ impact doors are documented. Its evidence section lists test reports for air infiltration, uniform static air pressure, and water resistance per TAS 202; forced-entry resistance per FBC Section 2411.3.2.1 and TAS 202; large-missile impact per TAS 201; and cyclic wind pressure per TAS 203. The NOA requires each unit to carry a permanent label showing the manufacturer's name or logo, city, state, series, and the statement 'Miami-Dade County Product Control Approved.' A copy of the entire NOA must be available at the job site on request from the building official. Critically, the NOA terminates after its expiration date or if there is any revision or change in the materials, use, or manufacture of the product. Miami-Dade NOA 24-0116.12, which covers the Custom Window Systems Series 7700 outswing glazed aluminum French door, adds another layer: its limitations direct installers to the approval drawing for design pressure by door size and glazing (sheet 2) and lock option versus design pressure (sheet 4), and it notes that door egress requirements must be reviewed by the building official. Understanding the difference between a Florida Product Approval and a Miami-Dade NOA matters here, our guide on Florida Product Approval vs. Miami-Dade NOA breaks down which document takes precedence in each county.

FBC 2023 Section 2411.3.2.1 grants 2 exceptions to water-infiltration testing for HVHZ impact doors. The first exception applies when the door is installed in a nonhabitable area designed to accept water. The second applies when the overhang ratio equals 1 or more. That means the overhang projects at least as far horizontally as the vertical distance from the door sill to the bottom of the overhang. Florida Product Evaluation FL-21142.12 covers the Therma-Tru Fiber-Classic and Smooth-Star wood-edge glazed fiberglass double door. It illustrates this precisely. That approval finds compliance with FBC 1626 in the HVHZ without an impact-resistant covering. However, it states that only outswing configurations using the Coastal Sill or Composite Sill under the active doors meet HVHZ water-infiltration requirements. All other configurations must go into nonhabitable areas. Or they must be protected by an overhang or canopy where the angle from the canopy edge to the sill is less than 45 degrees. Therma-Tru is presented here only as a published example of how a manufacturer documents these restrictions. The takeaway applies to every HVHZ door approval: check the sill option and swing direction in the approval document before ordering. Our guide to impact door installation in South Florida explains how these document checks fit into the permit-ready process.

FBC Residential Section R609.3 governs what must appear on every exterior door label. The requirements are specific. The permanent label carries the manufacturer's name, city, state, and series. The supplemental label may be permanent or temporary. It adds the model, positive and negative design pressures, and maximum tested size. It also adds the impact-resistance rating if applicable. It also adds the Florida or Miami-Dade product approval number. That temporary label must stay on the door until the building official issues final approval. Removing it early is a code violation. The Florida DBPR contractor lookup tool lets you confirm that the contractor pulling the permit holds an active license before any work begins. Over 30 years of on-the-ground experience in South Florida impact-window, impact-door, and roofing informs every decision SafeGuard's crews make in the field. That includes verifying that every HVHZ impact door shipped to a job site carries a current, code-cycle-matching approval number before the first screw goes in. Our Miami-Dade permit guide walks through the full permit submission sequence. It covers the window and door disclosure statement that Miami-Dade's Building Department requires with every fast-track application. For entry doors specifically, the entry door installation process page covers how SafeGuard handles the measure-to-permit workflow.