Updated August 2026. If you are putting impact windows on a Florida house, the building department needs an approval number on that exact window. Two common papers are a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance (NOA) and a Florida Product Approval (the FL#). They are not the same document, and one does not automatically stand in for the other. You need the one that department will accept for your address. A brand name is not an approval.

The short version

  • NOA: a Notice of Acceptance from Miami-Dade County for a specific product. Common in Miami-Dade and Broward. It can expire. Ask for a current one.
  • FL#: a Florida Product Approval number on the statewide list. Usual path outside those two counties. Read the limitations. Many FL#s are not approved for HVHZ use.
  • In Miami-Dade and Broward (the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone), the product must be approved for HVHZ use. That may be a current Miami-Dade NOA or a Florida Product Approval approved for the HVHZ. Everywhere else, the matching FL# is the usual path. Either way, the number has to match the specific window and approved configuration.

What a Miami-Dade NOA is

A Notice of Acceptance is Miami-Dade County’s product approval. Product Control reviews the tests, engineering, and installation instructions and issues an NOA for that system. That is why an NOA is common on Miami-Dade and Broward jobs. It is still a county approval, not a statewide FL# by itself.

Those two counties are the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. Palm Beach and the rest of the state are not. Zone geography lives here: what HVHZ means in South Florida.

Look the file up in Miami-Dade’s Product Control search. Status matters. Expired, closed, or superseded numbers are not the current approval. Do not assume last year’s printout still governs the opening.

What Florida Product Approval (FL#) is

Florida Product Approval is the statewide list run by the Florida Building Commission. Windows, exterior doors, shutters, and impact protective systems use that system. Each listing gets an FL number. Search it on floridabuilding.org. The sheet shows the product, the installation instructions, and the limitations of use, including whether it is approved for HVHZ use or marked not for use there.

An FL# without HVHZ approval is the usual documentation outside Miami-Dade and Broward. It is not a free pass into those two counties. Confirm what that building official will accept on that address.

They are not interchangeable

Some impact windows and impact doors carry both an NOA and an FL#. That is common. It is not required, and it is not the same as one document morphing into the other.

An NOA does not automatically become a Florida Product Approval. The manufacturer can use it as a basis to apply for statewide listing, and some departments will accept an NOA locally. That still depends on the jurisdiction and the job.

Do not buy the pitch that “NOA is always required everywhere in Florida,” or that “an FL# is never accepted in Miami-Dade.” Neither is true. Ask which number that department wants, then match it to the unit.

If the real question is whether your house needs impact glass at all, that is a different article: Do I need impact windows in Florida?

The number has to match the window in the opening

Brand family is not an approval. Series, configuration (fixed, casement, sliding), maximum size, substrate, and design pressure all sit on the NOA or FL# as limitations of use. A bigger sash, a different glass makeup, or a weaker rating than the opening needs is a different product. What design pressure means owns that explanation. This page only needs the rule: the number has to match that size and load.

The tested assembly includes the anchors, the substrate, and the sizes on that sheet. A current number means little if impact window installation ignores those instructions. Same on window replacement jobs: the fastening has to match what the approval allows.

Impact-resistant glass can crack when struck. The laminated interlayer is designed to hold broken glass together and resist penetration, helping protect the building envelope. It is not hurricane-proof.

FAQ

Do I need both an NOA and an FL#?

Not always. You need the approval the building department will accept for that address and that product. Some units have both. Many jobs run on one.

Is a Miami-Dade NOA automatically a Florida Product Approval?

No. It can support an application for statewide listing, and some officials accept it locally. It does not turn into an FL# by itself.

Can I use an FL# in Miami-Dade or Broward?

Only if that FL# is approved for HVHZ use, and only if the department accepts it for that job. A listing marked not for use in the HVHZ is the wrong paper there. A current NOA is the other path those counties commonly accept.

Where do I look the number up?

Florida Product Approval: floridabuilding.org (product approval search). Miami-Dade NOA: the county Product Control search. Check status, expiration, and limitations of use. Do not stop at the brand name.

Get the right number on the unit

Statewide Windows & Doors can help match an approved impact-rated product to the house. Call (561) 816-4010 or request a free estimate. Bring opening sizes and any NOA or FL# you already have.