Roof Certification in Florida: What the Inspection Covers and What Insurers Accept

What is a roof certification in Florida?

When an insurance agent asks you for a "roof cert," the request comes down to one question an underwriter needs answered: is this roof still in acceptable shape, and how long is it likely to keep doing its job? A roof certification in Florida is the document that answers it. A licensed professional inspects the roof and signs a report that records the covering, its age, its condition, any visible damage or signs of leaks and an estimate of its remaining useful life, backed by photos of every slope.

No state agency certifies roofs. The word "certification" refers to the signature: the inspector certifies that the facts on the form are true and were observed. That is why insurers care so much about who signs, and why the same roof can need a new report when the old one is too old or was signed by someone the company does not accept.

The phrase is used loosely, which causes most of the confusion. Some people mean Citizens' Roof Inspection Form. Some mean an insurer's own roof questionnaire. In real estate, it sometimes means a roofer's letter stating that a roof is sound, which may come with that roofer's own terms. Before you book anything, ask whoever requested it which document they want and who must sign it. Whether you searched for a roof certification inspection, a roof condition report or an insurance roof inspection, the deliverable is the same kind of record. What differs is the form, the company's rules and the reason it was requested.

When insurers and lenders ask for a roof certification

Most requests come from insurers, and most of those are about older roofs. These are the common triggers:

• The roof has crossed an insurer's age line. At Citizens, documentation is needed once a shingle or other soft roof is more than 25 years old, a tile, slate, clay, concrete or metal roof is more than 50, or a mobile home roof is more than 25.
• A new application on an older home. Citizens requires a 4-point inspection for property owner, dwelling and mobile home applications on homes more than 20 years old, and the roof section of that form can stand in for the roof form.
• A renewal review or a letter about the roof. Companies re-underwrite policies and may ask for current photos and a condition rating before they renew.
• After a storm or a claim. An insurer may want to know the roof's condition once repairs are done.
• A purchase. Buyers need insurance bound before closing, so the roof question often has to be answered inside the inspection period. A lender may also ask about the roof when an appraisal flags its condition, and its letter will say what it needs.

How Florida law fits in

For homeowner's policies, Section 627.7011(5) of the Florida Statutes limits refusals based on roof age. If the roof is less than 15 years old, the insurer may not refuse to issue or renew solely because of its age. If it is 15 or older, the insurer must let you have it inspected by an authorized inspector, at your expense, before requiring a replacement, and it may not refuse solely because of age if that inspection finds 5 or more years of useful life remaining. That inspection is, in practice, a roof certification. Our guide to Florida's roof age rules for insurance covers the statute, Citizens' lines and private carriers in depth, so this article focuses on the inspection itself.

The Citizens Roof Inspection Form (RCF-1 03 25)

The best-known template is Citizens Property Insurance's Roof Inspection Form, labeled Sample Form RCF-1 03 25. Citizens updated it in March 2025 so that its roof condition questions match the roof section of its 4-Point Inspection Form, Insp4pt 03 25, and told agents and inspectors to start using the new versions right away. The word "sample" matters: Citizens says this specific form is not required, but any other report submitted in its place must include at least the same level of detail.

The form records a predominant roof and a secondary roof side by side, so a house with a tile main roof and a flat roof over a Florida room gets two sets of answers. Each answer has to come from somewhere, and knowing where helps you prepare.

Rules printed on the form

Three rules shape the visit. Photos have to accompany the form, at minimum one of each roof slope plus every hazard or deficiency noted. "Acceptable condition" is defined as working as intended with no visible hazards or deficiencies. And the agent must review the form before submitting it, because agents may not submit applications for roofs that are not in good working order. The signature block asks for the inspector's title, license type, license number and company, and the form will not be accepted without a dated signature from one of the license holders it lists.

When the 4-point covers the roof

Citizens' FAQ says the Four-Point Inspection Form can be submitted in place of the Roof Inspection Form when photos of each side of the roof are provided and the form is signed and dated by a verifiable Florida-licensed professional. So if your home needs a 4-point inspection anyway, its roof section often does both jobs. For a new Citizens application, the 4-point report must be dated within the 12 months before the application is submitted. Our explainer on what a 4-point inspection covers goes through the other three systems on that form.

Remaining useful life: what the number means and how it is estimated

Remaining useful life is the line on the form that decides most older-roof files. Citizens describes it as an estimate made by a trained professional with experience in the industry, and says roof condition ratings should take into account the roof's age, its remaining useful life and any signs of deterioration. Past its age lines, Citizens wants at least five years of remaining useful life documented, and five is the most it will credit. That is the whole rule in one sentence, and the rest of it lives in the roof age guide.

Reasoning, not arithmetic

There is no chart that turns a roof's age into a number of years left. A careful estimate starts with what usually ends the life of that covering, then asks how far along that path this particular roof is:

• Tile: the tiles usually outlast the underlayment beneath them, so the evidence that matters is whatever underlayment can be seen at broken tiles, edges and penetrations, plus stains on the underside of the deck.
• Shingle: the surface tells the story. How much granule cover is left, whether tabs still hold their seal and how brittle the shingles have become.
• Metal: panels last, while fasteners, washers, sealants and coatings wear first, especially near salt water.
• Flat and low-slope: seams, flashings and drainage decide it. Water that stays on a roof finds every weakness.

The predominant roof gets one number, so the weakest slopes carry it, not the best ones. A shingle roof that looks fine on the shaded side and is worn bare on the sun-facing slopes is judged by the worn slopes. Appearance can also mislead in the other direction: a pressure wash or fresh paint changes how tile looks, not how much life the underlayment has left. An honest estimate is conservative when the evidence is mixed, and the comments section of the report says why.

Certified roof inspector or licensed roof inspector: who may sign?

Florida does not issue a license called "roof inspector." When people search for a certified roof inspector or a licensed roof inspector, the question that matters to an insurer is whether the person signing holds a license that company accepts. Citizens lists them on its form: a Florida-licensed general, residential, building or roofing contractor, a building code inspector or a Florida-licensed home inspector. Its inspections page adds that a form may not be accepted if the right professional did not perform the inspection or the license is not active or cannot be verified.

The statute behind the 15-year rule uses a broader list for its "authorized inspector": licensed home inspectors, certified building code inspectors, licensed general, building, residential and roofing contractors, licensed engineers and architects, and anyone else the insurer recognizes as qualified to inspect a home. It also requires that the inspector be approved by the insurer, so the company's own list is the one that counts.

Home inspectors are licensed under Part XV of Chapter 468, and the law defines home inspection services as a limited visual examination of a home's readily accessible systems, with the roof covering named among them. "Certified," on the other hand, usually refers to private credentials. Peter Lemos, our owner and lead inspector, is a Certified Master Inspector® and holds InterNACHI certifications in wind mitigation, 4-point and mold inspection. Credentials like these show training. The license type and number are what the form asks for, so ask any inspector for both before you book.

Independent roof inspector or roofer: who should look at your roof?

Both can sign Citizens' form. The difference is what else they do. A roofing contractor repairs and replaces roofs, so an assessment from one often arrives together with a proposal for work. Florida law draws a firm line for home inspectors instead: under Section 468.8319, a licensed home inspector may not perform or offer to perform repairs on a home that the inspector or the inspector's company has inspected, and may not accept an engagement whose fee depends on the conclusions in the report. That is what "independent roof inspector" means in practice.

Neither choice is wrong. A licensed roofer is the right person to price a repair or a replacement, and some insurers are comfortable with a roofer's form. An independent inspection makes sense when you want a record of condition with no repair sale attached, a second opinion on a recommendation to replace, or a roof report that sits next to a 4-point and a wind mitigation report from the same visit.

What happens during a roof certification inspection

A roof certification inspection follows the path water takes: from the outside of the roof, through the deck, to the rooms below. Here is how our visits run:

1. Before the visit. Tell us why you need the report (insurer letter, purchase, renewal), the roof type and, if you know them, the year it was installed and the permit number. You get a firm price before anything is scheduled.
2. The record. We look up the roofing permit history for the address, because the date of the last permit, whether it was finalized and whether the work was a full or partial replacement all go on the form.
3. The ground walk. We circle the house looking at the roof edges, fascia, soffits, gutters and downspouts, and at what has collected below them: shingle granules, tile chips and debris all tell part of the story.
4. The drone. Where conditions allow, we fly the roof and photograph every slope, ridge, hip, valley and penetration from above and at an angle.
5. The ladder. From the eaves, we look closely at the first courses of tile or shingle, the drip edge, the flashing at walls and anything the drone images raised.
6. On the roof, where safe. Shingle, metal and flat roofs are often walked when the pitch, height and surface allow, because feet find soft decking that cameras cannot.
7. The attic. We inspect the underside of the deck for stains, daylight, damp or delaminated sheathing and signs of past repairs.
8. The ceilings. We check ceilings room by room, with extra attention below valleys, skylights and roof penetrations, and use a moisture meter on any stain.
9. The report. You receive the signed form and its photos, or a full roof condition report if that is what you ordered. Reports arrive within 24 hours, and insurance reports usually the same day.

Drone roof inspections: what the camera sees and what it misses

A drone roof inspection solves a real problem on South Florida houses. Concrete and clay tiles can crack under a footstep, and older tiles grow more brittle, so walking a tile roof to photograph it can create the damage the report is supposed to rule out. A drone also reaches two-story eaves, steep pitches and large roofs safely, and it produces the even, overhead views of each slope that underwriters want to see. Zoomed images of ridges, hips, valleys, wall flashing, vents, pipe boots and equipment mounts let us study details that are hard to see from a ladder.

It has limits, and a good report admits them. A camera cannot lift a tile to see the underlayment, press on a soft spot, feel a loose ridge tile or look under flashing. Glare and hard shadows can hide hairline cracks. High wind and rain ground the flight, and airspace rules near airports can restrict where a drone may fly, so on some addresses the plan shifts to ladder positions and ground views. That is why the drone is one step of the inspection and not the inspection. The attic and the ceilings are still where leaks are confirmed or ruled out.

Do insurers accept drone photos? Citizens' form asks for photos of each slope showing the roof's condition. It does not say how they must be taken. What matters is that the photos are clear, cover every slope and every deficiency, and come with the signature of a licensed professional who inspected the roof.

What the inspector looks for on tile, shingle, metal, flat and mobile home roofs

The damage checklist on the form is the same for every covering: cracking, cupping or curling, excessive granule loss, exposed asphalt or felt, missing, loose or cracked tabs or tiles, soft spots in the decking and hail damage. How those show up depends on the material. Here is what we photograph on each type, and what often looks worse than it is.

The attic and the ceilings: where a roof shows its leaks

The form asks about leaks twice, once for the attic or the underside of the decking and once for interior ceilings, and both answers come from inside the house. A roof can look intact from above and still let water in at a flashing, a pipe boot or a valley, and water rarely drips straight down: it runs along the deck and the framing before it shows up somewhere else.

In the attic, we look for dark stains on the underside of the deck, especially around penetrations, along valleys and at the eaves, daylight at gaps, rusted nail tips with dark rings around them, delaminated or soft sheathing and stained or matted insulation. In the rooms below, we check ceilings near exterior walls, under valleys and around skylights and recessed lights. A moisture meter tells us whether a stain is wet now. A thermal camera can point to temperature patterns worth checking, but it shows temperature, not water, so we confirm anything it suggests with a meter.

A dry stain is not proof of an old, fixed leak, and a wet one is not proof of a failed roof: A/C condensate lines and plumbing vents leak too. The report says what was seen and measured. If the attic hatch is sealed, blocked or missing, that limitation goes in the report, and the insurer may ask for access before it accepts the answer.

What a roof certification does not do

Knowing the limits of the document saves frustration later. A roof certification:

• Is not a warranty. Citizens' form says the information is used only to decide insurability and offers no assurance about the roof's suitability, fitness or how long it will last. No inspector can promise the roof will not leak next season.
• Is not a leak test. Nobody runs water over the roof. A leak that only appears in wind-driven rain may leave no trace on a dry day.
• Does not look under the covering. Tiles are not lifted, shingles are not pulled and no cuts are made, so the underlayment is judged from the edges and openings where it can be seen.
• Is not a code or engineering review. It describes condition. It does not certify that the roof was built to a particular code or will resist a particular wind speed.
• Does not earn wind credits. The roof form says it does not verify loss mitigation features. Those go on form OIR-B1-1802, which carries its own validity rules, explained in our guide to how long a wind mitigation report is good for.
• Is not the insurer's decision. The inspector documents. The underwriter decides whether the roof is acceptable.
• Is a snapshot. It describes the roof on the day of the visit. A storm the following week changes the picture.

What to do if your roof does not qualify

An unsatisfactory rating or a short remaining-life estimate is not always the end of the conversation. Work through it in order:

1. Find the real reason. Age, condition and paperwork are different problems. An open permit or a missing installation date is fixed at the building department, not on the roof.
2. Separate repairs from replacement. Cracked tiles, a split pipe boot, a loose ridge or a bad flashing are repairs. Widespread wear across the roof is not.
3. Repair with a licensed roofer. Pull a permit when one is required and keep the invoice and photos. Citizens tells policyholders to contact their agent about what documentation it needs as proof of repair.
4. Have the roof documented again. After repairs, new photos and an updated form show the underwriter the current condition.
5. Plan the replacement if the roof is done. Get a written contract from a licensed contractor. For recent home purchases, Citizens has a path for a roof that is damaged or short of five years of life: a purchase within 45 days of the requested effective date and a signed contract for a full replacement to be finished within 30 days of it. Ask your agent whether it still applies.
6. Compare carriers. An independent agent can tell you whether another company's roof rules fit your house better while the work is planned.

If you do replace the roof, plan it so the new one counts twice: for roof age and for windstorm credits. Our guide to updating your wind mitigation report after a reroof covers the deck nailing, the secondary water barrier and the paperwork to collect. If your insurer's concern came from a 4-point, our list of roof and system problems that fail a 4-point shows what underwriters most often ask owners to fix.

Hurricane roof certification: inspecting a roof before and after a storm

People search for a hurricane roof certification inspection in two situations. Before the season, a dated, photo-backed condition report gives you a baseline: a record of every slope as it looked before any storm, which makes it easier to show later what changed. After a storm, the goal is documentation. Missing tiles, lifted shingles, damaged flashing and new ceiling stains are easier to document while they are fresh, and before temporary repairs cover them.

Safety comes first. Do not climb onto a wet or damaged roof, and stay away from downed lines. An independent report records the visible condition of the roof, the attic and the ceilings with photos. It does not decide coverage, set the value of a claim or act on your behalf with the insurer; that is the insurer's process and, if you hire one, a licensed public adjuster's job. Our checklist for what to check after a hurricane covers the rest of the house, the claim notice deadline and the order in which to do things.

What affects the price of a roof certification inspection

We do not publish a single price, because roofs vary more than houses do. A one-story shingle ranch and a two-story tile home with several roof sections, a flat roof over a Florida room and a sealed attic hatch are different jobs. These are the factors that change the time and the work:

The most effective way to keep the total down is to combine visits. A home old enough to need a roof report often needs a 4-point as well, and sometimes a wind mitigation report, and booking them together means one trip and one set of roof photos used across the forms. Our guide to booking a 4-point and a wind mitigation inspection together explains how buyers usually time them, and our page on wind mitigation inspections covers the third form. Call (954) 297-0317 with the address and roof type for a free estimate.

Roof certification inspections in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach

The forms are statewide, but South Florida roofs have their own patterns. In Miami-Dade and Broward, the Florida Building Code's High-Velocity Hurricane Zone applies, and roof coverings need product approvals for it. Permits and approval numbers there tell an underwriter not only when a roof went on but the standard it was built to, so they are worth finding before the inspection. Palm Beach County sits outside the HVHZ, and its roofs are permitted under the code's statewide provisions. For Boca Raton homes, our Boca Raton wind mitigation guide explains where the city keeps roof permits.

The climate and the housing stock shape what we see. Concrete and clay tile cover many subdivision homes, shingle and flat roofs turn up on older ranch houses and additions, and standing seam metal has become a frequent replacement choice. Near the coast, salt air works on fasteners, flashing and valley metal, and summer afternoon storms test every old patch. We inspect roofs across all three counties from our office in Hollywood, and our page on roof inspections in Hollywood covers what is typical close to home.

The bottom line

A roof certification in Florida is a signed, photo-backed record of a roof's condition and remaining useful life, written for an underwriter. Citizens' RCF-1 03 25 is the best-known template, a Florida-licensed contractor, building code inspector or home inspector signs it, and a 4-point with photos of every slope can often take its place. A drone, a ladder, the attic and the ceilings each see something the others miss, and an honest report says what was seen, what could not be seen and what the evidence supports. If your insurer or your purchase needs one in Broward, Miami-Dade or Palm Beach, request a free quote or call (954) 297-0317, and you will have a firm price before anything is scheduled. You can also see what our roof condition inspections include or read how our inspections work.

About the author

Peter Lemos, Certified Master Inspector®

Owner and lead inspector of Global Home Inspectors in Hollywood, FL. Peter holds InterNACHI certifications in wind mitigation, 4-point and mold inspection and has served Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties since 2008.