How to Become a Wind Mitigation Inspector in Florida

Short answer: Florida has no separate wind mitigation license. Section 627.711(2)(a), Florida Statutes, lists who may sign the uniform mitigation verification form (OIR-B1-1802), and a home inspector qualifies with a Florida home inspector license under s. 468.8314 plus at least 3 hours of hurricane mitigation training approved by the Construction Industry Licensing Board, including a proficiency exam. Building code inspectors, certain contractors, engineers and architects also qualify, and every signer must follow the personal inspection and misconduct rules in the same statute.

"Wind mitigation certification" is how the search is phrased, but the state does not issue a certificate by that name. What matters is whether your signature on the form is one an insurer must accept. That is set by statute, and it is narrower than many course ads suggest.

Facts on this page are from the Florida Statutes and the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, as of September 2026.

Who may sign a Florida wind mitigation form

Section 627.711(2)(a) says an insurer "shall accept as valid" a uniform mitigation verification form signed by any of the following authorized mitigation inspectors:

Section 627.711(2)(b) adds that an insurer "may, but is not required to, accept a form from any other person possessing qualifications and experience acceptable to the insurer."

The practical reading: for a home inspector, the license and the training together are what make your signature one an insurer must accept. The last category depends on each insurer, so it is not a route to plan a business around.

The signer section of Form OIR-B1-1802 (Rev. 04/26) mirrors this list. You tick the box for your credential and enter your license number, so the insurer can check it.

Wind mitigation certification versus the license

Private courses often end with a certificate, and some associations offer their own wind mitigation credentials. Those can be useful training. They are not the legal test.

The legal test for a home inspector has two parts, and both must be true on the day you sign:

1. An active Florida home inspector license. Under s. 468.8313, applicants complete a course of study of at least 120 hours and pass the required exam, among other requirements. Section 468.8322 requires licensed home inspectors to carry commercial general liability insurance of not less than $300,000.
2. The hurricane mitigation training. At least 3 hours, approved by the Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB), covering hurricane mitigation techniques and compliance with the uniform mitigation verification form, with a proficiency exam.

A certificate from a course that is not CILB-approved does not satisfy the second part, however it is marketed. If you are not yet licensed, start with how to become a home inspector and the Florida entry in home inspector license requirements.

Step by step for a Florida home inspector

1. Get licensed. Complete the 120-hour pre-licensing course, pass an approved exam, meet the other requirements in s. 468.8313, and apply to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Check current application steps and fees with DBPR's home inspector page.
2. Carry the required insurance. At least $300,000 of commercial general liability, per s. 468.8322. Many inspectors also carry E&O; see home inspector insurance.
3. Take a CILB-approved initial hurricane mitigation course. At least 3 hours, with the proficiency exam. Keep the completion certificate with the course number.
4. Learn the current form. Inspections on or after April 1, 2026 use OIR-B1-1802 (Rev. 04/26). The next section covers what changed and what the form requires.
5. Build a repeatable field process. Photo checklist for questions 2 through 9, attic access plan, permit and product approval lookups.
6. Keep up the CE. Section 468.8316 requires 14 hours of continuing education in the two years before renewal, with at least 2 hours in hurricane mitigation training that covers mitigation techniques and compliance with the form.

How to find CILB-approved hurricane mitigation training

Start with DBPR, not a course ad. DBPR's home inspector information page refers to "initial wind mitigation courses approved by the Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB)" and links to a list of approved providers. As of September 2026 that link no longer opens the list (it lands on the DBPR home page), so confirm a specific course's approval directly with DBPR.

A practical way to check a course:

Associations and schools such as InterNACHI publish their own Florida course approvals and course numbers on their sites. Use those pages to find a candidate course, then confirm the approval with DBPR or the CILB. If you cannot confirm it, call DBPR before you sign a form that relies on it.

The personal inspection rule

This is the rule that separates home inspectors from contractors and engineers.

Section 627.711(3) says a person authorized to sign the form "must inspect the structures referenced by the form personally, not through employees or other persons," and must certify personal inspection. Only licensees under s. 471.015 (engineers) and s. 489.111 (contractors) may authorize a direct employee, who is not an independent contractor, to conduct the inspection.

For a home inspector, that means:

• You cannot send an unlicensed assistant to do the wind mitigation and sign it yourself.
• A second licensed home inspector at your firm who has completed the training can inspect and sign under their own name.
• The form makes you certify it. The signature block reads, in part, "I personally performed the inspection," and the homeowner certifies that the named inspector, or an employee where allowed, performed it and showed identification.

If you plan to grow a multi-inspector firm around wind mitigation, each inspector who signs needs their own license and training.

Misconduct, fraud and penalties

Section 627.711(4) defines misconduct as signing a form that:

The consequences stack:

• Licensing discipline. Under s. 627.711(5), your licensing board may bring disciplinary proceedings and impose fines and other sanctions.
• No referral payments to insurance agents. Section 627.711(6) bars an authorized inspector from offering or giving any compensation, inducement or reward to an insurance agency, agent, customer representative or agency employee for referrals.
• Fraud referral. Under s. 627.711(7), anyone with evidence of fraud or false statements on a form must report it to the Division of Criminal Investigations.
• Criminal penalty. Under s. 627.711(8), knowingly providing a false or fraudulent form to obtain a discount the insured is not entitled to is a first-degree misdemeanor.
• Reinspection. Under s. 627.711(9), an insurer may, at its own expense, have a form independently verified before accepting it. Since chapter 2025-4, a form submitted to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is not subject to independent verification or reinspection by Citizens if it was signed by an authorized mitigation inspector and reviewed and verified by a Citizens-approved quality assurance program before submission, absent material changes to the structure during the term stated on the form.

The safe practice is simple: mark only what you saw and can prove with a photo or document, and use "unknown" or "no attic access" when that is the truth. The form has those answers for a reason.

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

The uniform mitigation verification inspection form is OIR-B1-1802, adopted by Rule 69O-170.0155, F.A.C. The current revision is Rev. 04/26, six pages, required for inspections on or after April 1, 2026.

Three rules on the form shape your field process:

• Photos. "At least one photograph or document providing proof must accompany this form to validate each attribute marked in questions 2 through 9."
• FORTIFIED certificates. A FORTIFIED Home Roof, Silver or Gold certificate may be used to validate the attributes in questions 4 through 6 and 8 through 9, with a photocopy attached.
• Validity. The form "is valid for up to five (5) years provided no material changes have been made to the structure or inaccuracies found on the form."

Older OIR links still serve the previous revision, Rev. 01/12. Do not use it for new inspections. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation's guide to the new form says a valid Rev. 01/12 form completed within five years may still be accepted in some cases, which is a question of the insurer's rules, not a reason to keep filling out the old one. For a question-by-question walkthrough, see the wind mitigation form guide.

My Safe Florida Home inspections

The state's My Safe Florida Home program offers free wind mitigation inspections to eligible homeowners, run under s. 215.5586. Its inspector rules are separate from s. 627.711. The Department of Financial Services contracts with wind certification entities, and those entities must use inspectors licensed or certified in the same professions, including home inspectors licensed under s. 468.8314 who have completed the same 3 hours of CILB-approved training and proficiency exam. The program adds drug testing and background screening for its inspectors.

If you want program work, the path is through a contracted wind certification entity, not a direct application as an individual. Check the current program rules with the program before you plan around it.

Setting up the work in your business

Once you can sign, the business questions are pricing, bundling and turnaround. Most Florida insurance inspections pair wind mitigation with a 4-point inspection, and the two share a trip to the roof and attic. Wind mitigation inspection cost covers how to price the pair, and 4-point and wind mitigation inspections covers running them together.

On the software side, Binsr has the Florida Wind Mitigation form and the Florida 4-Point form built in, in the same template system as your home inspection reports. Photos attach to the finding they prove, which matters when the form requires proof for questions 2 through 9. See Binsr features.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

• The Florida wind mitigation form, question by question
• Wind mitigation inspection cost and what to charge
• 4-point inspections
• 4-point and wind mitigation inspections together
• Home insurance inspections
• How to price ancillary inspection services

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