Which Florida Building Code edition applies to your roof?

On October 20, 2026, the Florida Building Code in force is the 8th Edition (2023). The 9th Edition (2026) is scheduled to take effect on December 31, 2026. For any given roof, what matters is the date the permit application is filed: the edition in effect on that date governs the permit for its whole life.

Which edition is in force right now?

The Florida Building Commission states that the effective date of the 8th Edition (2023) was December 31, 2023. The state rule that adopts the code, Rule 61G20-1.001, last amended effective March 18, 2026, still adopts “the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023),” as updated by the Commission through December 9, 2025. Those updates (supplements, glitch fixes and changes required by new laws) are part of the edition in force.

When does the 9th Edition (2026) take effect?

December 31, 2026 is the scheduled date, and it is consistent across the official sources:

• The Commission’s August 2026 workplan lists “2026 FBC (9th edition) effective date (6 – months after publication)” as 12/31/2026. Florida law says a code update takes effect “no sooner than 6 months after publication” (s. 553.73(7)(e), quoted in that workplan).
• Miami-Dade’s Permitting and Inspection Center notice: “The Florida Building Code NINTH (2026) Edition becomes effective on December 31, 2026.”

As of this article, the rule adopting the 9th Edition is still at the proposed stage. The notice of proposed rule was published September 23, 2026, and the workplan marks the final rule hearing “TBD.” If the date moves, the Commission and your building department will say so. Check before you file.

How does the application date decide which code applies?

The Florida Building Code’s administrative chapter (Section 105.3) says each permit application “shall be inscribed with the date of application, and the code in effect as of that date,” and that for an application filed before a new edition’s effective date, the code in effect on the application date “governs the permitted work for the life of the permit and any extension granted to the permit” (as reproduced in Palm Beach County’s amended Chapter 1).

Miami-Dade has published its own cutoff details for unincorporated permits:

• Applications and plans submitted on or after December 31, 2026 must comply with the 9th Edition.
• Applications submitted through the online portal after 4 PM on December 30, 2026 must also comply with it.
• For applications that expire before then, the county will consider an extension if it is requested in writing within 180 days of expiration with an explanation showing the application was pursued in good faith. Otherwise the applicant starts over under the 2026 code.

Cities set their own cutoffs and portal rules. If your roof is going to be permitted near the turn of the year, ask your roofer which edition the application will fall under, because product approvals and details can differ. For the rest of the permit process, see how roof permits work in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.

What changes for roofs in the 9th Edition?

The Commission publishes an “Analysis of Changes” for each volume. The items below come from those documents and from Miami-Dade Product Control notices. They are summaries. The analysis itself says it “is not intended to replace or interpret” the code.

Statewide (Florida Building Code, Building, Chapter 15)

Topic	9th Edition change (per the Commission’s analysis)
Coastal fasteners	Roof nails, screws and clips “within 3000 ft of a saltwater coastline” must meet a new corrosion-resistance section, 1711 (stainless steel or specified galvanizing levels, depending on distance and exposure)
Drip edge	New drip-edge sections for tile (per the FRSA/TRI high-wind tile manual), metal panels, metal shingles and other coverings on slopes of 2:12 and greater. Metal-panel drip edge goes over the underlayment and is fastened at most 4 inches on center. Asphalt-shingle drip edge must be fastened at 4 inches on center “for any wind speed”
Underlayment at hips and ridges	Underlayment must lap over hips and ridges at least 6 inches, except where ventilation openings are provided
Hip and ridge shingles	Must be wind-tested to a modified UL 2375 at 110 mph and labeled, or attached with a prescriptive method that adds roof-cement spots to the manufacturer’s fasteners
Metal hip and ridge covers	Must be tested for uplift per ANSI/MCA FTS-1
Coating asphalt shingles	Coating rules move from the Existing Building volume to a new Section 1507.2.10
Single-ply	PVC (ASTM D4434) added to the single-ply standards table

High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (Miami-Dade and Broward)

• Tile underlayment needs product approval and uplift resistance. Under new Section 1518.8.8, tile underlayment must resist the component-and-cladding uplift loads of ASCE 7. Miami-Dade Product Control’s July 31, 2026 notice adds that “all roofing underlayments intended for use beneath roof tile systems must have product approval,” and that “the previous allowance for prescriptive underlayments (yellow stripe) has been eliminated.” Existing NOAs stay valid, but for permit applications submitted on or after January 1, 2027, the notice says tile underlayment may be installed only within the uses and uplift resistance shown on its current approval. Underlayment is usually what ages first on a tile roof. See why tile roofs leak around year 20.
• Tile installation standards. In RAS 118, 119 and 120, tile fasteners must now penetrate ¾ inch into the roof sheathing “even when battens are used,” and all underlayment systems must be tested and approved for use as tile underlayment.
• Hip and ridge shingles. Section 1518.7.4 brings the same UL 2375 test, or the prescriptive cement-spot alternative, into the HVHZ. Miami-Dade says asphalt-shingle permits applied for starting January 1, 2027 must meet it (notice).
• Lightweight concrete over steel deck. Systems qualified only by 2 ft × 2 ft uplift tests must be retested to TAS 114, Appendix J (Product Control memo, Jan. 15, 2026). This mostly affects commercial low-slope roofs.
• Other HVHZ items: coastal-fastener corrosion rules (1517.5.1.1), drip edge over the underlayment (1517.6.2.3), ridge-vent rain testing changed to TAS 100(A), deletion of the “yellow line” marking on ASTM roll goods (1523.5), and hybrid ballasted systems (1522.4).

Re-roofing an existing building (Existing Building volume)

• Section 706.3 now allows only the upper roof covering or roof system to be removed when re-covering, provided the remaining substrate is adequate for the new approved roof.
• New sections 706.7.3.1–706.7.3.3 say which underlayments may be applied over an existing self-adhering underlayment during a roof replacement (steep-slope coverings, clay and concrete tile, and low-slope continuous systems).

Does the “25% rule” change with the new edition?

The repair threshold most homeowners ask about is set by statute, not only by the code. Under § 553.844(5), F.S., if an existing roof or roof section was built, repaired or replaced in compliance with the 2007 Florida Building Code or later, and 25 percent or more of it is being repaired, replaced or recovered, “only the repaired, replaced, or recovered portion” must meet the code in effect. Local governments may not amend that exception. Roofs older than that, or not documented as compliant, follow the code’s existing-building rules. Ask the building department how they apply to your permit history.

Where can I read the code?

• The Commission’s site, floridabuilding.org, has the current edition’s status, the 9th Edition materials and the Analysis of Changes documents linked above.
• The ICC’s online library hosts the Florida codes. The proposed-rule notice names codes.iccsafe.org as a place where the 9th Edition is “published and available for review.”
• Local amendments. Broward’s Board of Rules and Appeals and Palm Beach County publish local administrative amendments. The HVHZ roofing rules for Miami-Dade and Broward are part of the state code itself (Chapter 15 of the Building volume).

The county-level picture (HVHZ, Notices of Acceptance, who may do the work) is in our Miami-Dade roofing guide.

Next step

If your roof will be permitted near December 31, 2026, ask your roofer before you sign which edition the permit application will be filed under and which product approvals it names. Art’s Roofing & Construction (CCC1333598, CGC1541858) works across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. See our roof replacement service, or request a free estimate.