OIR-B1-1802 Form Explained: How to Read Florida's Wind Mitigation Form

Florida Statute §627.711 established the OIR-B1-1802 as the single standardized wind mitigation inspection form that all Florida property insurers must accept. The form is valid for 5 years from the date of inspection, after which a new inspection is required to keep your discounts active. Every Florida-licensed insurer — from Citizens Property Insurance to private carriers — uses this exact document to calculate premium credits. Citizens applies up to an 88% maximum total wind mitigation discount across all seven sections combined, making a fully credentialed form worth thousands of dollars per year. The form must be signed by one of four qualifying professionals under §627.711(2): a licensed home inspector, a general, building, or residential contractor, a professional engineer, or a licensed architect. A form signed by anyone outside that list is legally invalid and your insurer will reject it. Before you read a single checkbox, confirm the inspector's license type at the bottom of page 2.

The form's 7 sections move from the ground up — from how the building was originally coded to how it protects its openings today. Each section produces a specific rating that the insurer plugs into its actuarial (risk-pricing) table to calculate a credit percentage. Some sections are fixed at construction and cannot be changed without a major structural renovation. Others, like roof covering, change when you replace the roof. Only 1 section — Section 7, Opening Protection — can be upgraded by a homeowner at any point after construction, simply by installing impact-rated windows and doors. Understanding that distinction is the most important thing you can take away from this article. A home built in 1985 in Pompano Beach will carry permanent ratings in Sections 1 through 5 that reflect 1985 construction standards. But that same homeowner can score a top Section 7 rating today by scheduling a professional impact window installation.

Opening protection (Section 7) carries the single largest dollar-discount opportunity on the entire OIR-B1-1802 form. The credit alone ranges from roughly 10% to 45% of the wind premium, depending on the rating the inspector assigns. The form uses 5 rating codes: A, B, C, N, and X. Rating A means all openings — every window, door, and skylight — are protected by impact-rated glazing or panels that meet Miami-Dade NOA (Notice of Acceptance) or Florida Product Approval standards. Rating B applies when all openings are protected but the protection type is a mix of impact and non-impact methods. Rating C means only openings within 1 mile of the coast are protected. Rating N means no opening protection is present at all. Rating X is the worst outcome: it means the inspector found a condition that disqualifies the home from any opening-protection credit, typically because some openings are unprotected and no uniform protection system exists. An X rating equals $0 opening-protection credit. That single box costs homeowners hundreds to thousands of dollars per year. See the wind mitigation inspection guide for a full breakdown of how inspectors assign these codes.

Installing impact-rated windows and doors is the only post-construction action that directly rewrites a Section 7 rating on the OIR-B1-1802 form. Once installation is complete and permits are closed, the homeowner can order a new wind mitigation inspection. SafeGuard manages that process end-to-end across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. The inspector re-evaluates Section 7 and confirms that all openings carry valid Florida Product Approval numbers. The inspector then assigns the appropriate rating. A home that previously rated X can move to A in a single renovation cycle. SafeGuard averages more than 1,500 permits pulled per year. That volume is how the company maintains a perfect record of code compliance across two verticals and five counties. Every installation is inspected, permitted, and documented. That documentation survives the OIR-B1-1802 inspector's review. Homeowners in Coral Gables, Miramar, or Weston who still use plywood panels for hurricane protection should review the math. The impact window ROI almost always favors full replacement over a decade of lost credits.

Partial credit means at least one section rated lower than the maximum. The most fixable partial-credit scenario is almost always Section 7. If your form shows Rating B (mixed protection) or Rating C (coastal openings only), you are leaving a measurable percentage of your wind premium discount unclaimed. The first step is to identify which specific openings are downgrading your rating. The inspector's notes on page 2 of the form list the non-conforming openings by location. Those locations may include the front entry, garage, lanai sliding door, or upstairs windows. Each of those openings is an impact door or window installation project that directly improves your rating. Under the Florida Building Code, all replacement windows and doors in Miami-Dade and Broward counties must meet the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) product approval standard. That is the same standard that earns a Rating A on the OIR-B1-1802. So a code-compliant replacement automatically satisfies the form's highest rating tier.

Sections 1 through 5 capture facts about how your home was originally built. Most of them are permanent. Section 1 records which version of the Florida Building Code applied when the original permit was pulled. Homes built after 2002 generally score better here. The 2001 FBC was a dramatic post-Hurricane Andrew strengthening of construction standards. Section 3 (roof deck attachment) and Section 4 (roof-to-wall connection) reflect nailing patterns and structural connectors set during framing. Changing them requires removing the roof deck. That is a $15,000-to-$30,000 project that rarely pencils out for the credit alone. Section 5 (roof geometry) scores hip roofs highest. A full hip roof can earn a significant credit. A gable-end roof scores near zero. Changing roof shape is effectively a full rebuild. The practical takeaway: focus your energy on Sections 2, 6, and 7. Post-construction upgrades are realistic and cost-effective in those sections. Learn more about Florida's inspection process in our full wind mitigation inspection guide.

Installing impact windows sets off a chain of financial benefits. These benefits compound over the 5-year life of the OIR-B1-1802 form. The premium credit arrives at the next policy renewal. It repeats every year until the form expires. At that point, a new inspection confirms what is already there and the credits continue. Over a 10-year horizon, a Rating A Section 7 result typically saves South Florida homeowners more than the installed cost of the windows. That is even before factoring in storm damage avoided, deductible savings, and potential home resale value increases. Homeowners in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Doral who have scheduled impact window installations with a licensed contractor are also completing permit paperwork. That paperwork makes the OIR-B1-1802 inspector's job straightforward. Every Florida Product Approval number is on file. Every opening is documented. The Rating A is essentially pre-confirmed before the inspector arrives. Use the Florida impact window insurance savings calculator to model your specific premium reduction before committing to a project scope.

4 letter ratings — A, B, C, and N — determine how much opening-protection credit your OIR-B1-1802 form generates. Rating A requires HVHZ-compliant impact glass or shutters covering 100% of glazed openings, which earns the highest insurance premium reduction. Rating B applies when all openings meet wind-borne debris region (WBDR) standards but fall short of full HVHZ compliance. Rating C reflects basic protection on some — but not all — openings. Rating N signals no qualifying protection and produces zero credit, identical to the X rating many older forms still show. The critical detail is the all-or-nothing rule: miss even 1 opening — a garage-side door pane, a small bathroom window — and the entire rating collapses to N. Inspectors document every glazed opening during the site visit, so a home with 24 compliant windows and 1 unprotected skylight light earns N, not A. Understanding this rule is why Citizens Insurance wind mitigation discounts hinge on complete, whole-home opening protection before any credit posts to your policy.

In 2026, a standard wind mitigation inspection for a single-family home runs $75 to $150 — a flat fee most licensed inspectors charge regardless of how long the visit takes. Larger homes exceeding 3,500 square feet, or properties with difficult attic access, may see add-on fees that push the total toward $200. That upfront cost is almost always dwarfed by the annual premium savings a favorable OIR-B1-1802 produces. Many carriers reimburse the inspection fee directly once the resulting credit posts to the policy. Some real-estate agents bundle wind mitigation inspections into the buyer's pre-close inspection package, effectively making the cost $0 out of pocket for the new homeowner. Inspectors who sign the form must be licensed — a general contractor, home inspector, professional engineer, or registered architect. Non-certified inspections are void and will not be accepted by your insurer. Read our full wind mitigation inspection guide for a step-by-step walkthrough of what inspectors examine on-site.

Florida statute limits OIR-B1-1802 validity to 5 years from the inspection date. Once that window closes, your insurer may strip wind-mitigation credits from the policy at renewal — often without a direct notice to the homeowner. Scheduling a re-inspection 60 to 90 days before expiration prevents a gap in credits. The less-known angle is retroactive refunds: if your home had qualifying features — impact windows, approved shutters, a hip roof, secondary water resistance — before you ever filed an OIR-B1-1802, some carriers owe back-credit for that un-credited period, typically up to 3 years. Retroactive adjustments are not automatic. You must formally request the review, provide documentation of the installation date (permit records, NOA numbers, product-approval paperwork), and submit a carrier-specific credit-application form. Results vary by insurer. See our dedicated page on the wind mitigation 5-year validity rule for the exact documentation checklist and timeline guidance.

On April 1, 2026, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation released a revised OIR-B1-1802 form based on findings from the 2024 Residential Wind-Loss Mitigation Study. 3 areas saw substantive changes. First, opening-protection scoring now requires inspectors to record specific NOA numbers and Florida Product Approval numbers for impact glass and shutter installations — vague notation is no longer sufficient. Second, roof-covering categories were updated to align with current Florida Building Code classifications, affecting how inspectors document tile, metal, and modified-bitumen systems. Third, the documentation threshold for Rating A tightened: inspectors must now note the product-approval number for every covered opening, not just a representative sample. Homeowners who received a borderline rating under a pre-April 2026 inspection — particularly those who narrowly missed Rating A due to documentation gaps rather than actual product deficiencies — may benefit from requesting a re-inspection under the updated form. The cost remains under $150, and the potential premium reduction can exceed that amount within the first policy year. Review our guide on how much impact windows cost in Florida if you're considering an upgrade to lock in a Rating A.