Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance (NOA)

A Notice of Acceptance (NOA) is a product approval document issued by the Product Control Section of Miami-Dade County's building department in Florida. It confirms that a building product, such as a roof covering, underlayment, vent, window or shutter, has been tested and evaluated to the requirements of the Florida Building Code, including the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) provisions. The HVHZ covers Miami-Dade and Broward counties, where the code's wind and impact rules are the strictest in the United States.

Miami-Dade's product approval system grew out of the South Florida Building Code and was tightened after Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida in 1992, a storm in which many roofs failed. An NOA is often treated in the industry as a sign of very high wind performance, and manufacturers outside Florida sometimes cite it in marketing.

What an NOA contains

Each NOA is a public PDF identified by a number (for example 25-0528.01). It typically lists:

• the product, manufacturer and plant location
• the approved uses, such as roof slope limits, deck types and fastening schedules
• the test reports and standards it is based on, such as TAS 100 (wind-driven rain), TAS 114, ASTM methods, or wind uplift tests
• installation and labelling conditions
• the approval and expiry dates

NOAs are generally valid for five years. Renewal requires an application and is granted only if code changes have not affected the product's compliance. An NOA ends if the product's materials, use or manufacturing change.

Relationship to Florida Product Approval

Outside Miami-Dade, Florida uses a statewide Florida Product Approval system. An NOA can be one route for showing compliance for statewide approval, and products used in the HVHZ normally need an approval that specifically covers HVHZ use.

Practical use

Building inspectors in the HVHZ check that the installed product, fasteners and details match the NOA. For roofers, the NOA works as a binding installation specification: deviating from the listed fastening or underlayment can mean a failed inspection.