Inspections · Pinellas County

Roof inspections in Pinellas County, FL

Seven in eight Pinellas County homes, 87.5%, were built before 2000. Any of them still under its original shingles has a roof past 25 years, the age at which Citizens asks for proof of five more years of life, and well past the 15-year mark in Florida's roof-age law. That is why roof inspections in Pinellas County usually start with an insurer's form.

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Updated October 2026

Yellow municipal building with a flagpole, palm trees, and a parking lot under a partly cloudy sky. — Photo: FL Indian Rocks Beach city hall library auditorium01 by Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped

Top-down drone view of a gray-blend shingle roof with ridges, valleys and roof vents, lawn on both sides and a white fence at the left edge. — Photo: FL Indian Rocks Beach city hall library auditorium01 by Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped

Roof inspections in Pinellas, in brief

Most inspections here answer to an insurer. Florida law bars refusing or non-renewing a homeowner's policy only because a roof is under 15 years old, and for an older roof the insurer must allow an inspection before requiring replacement (Fla. Stat. 627.7011(5)). Citizens wants a 4-point inspection on homes more than 20 years old, which takes in nearly every house in a county whose median home dates to 1977.

Sources for this answer

Pinellas County figures

The Pinellas County numbers behind this page

Share of homes built before 2000: 87.5%
Median year homes were built: 1977
Mobile homes, share of housing units: 9%
Share of homes in buildings with 5+ units: 30.1%

Roof age

Three age lines and a county built mostly before 2000

Three numbers drive the paperwork. At 15 years, the roof-age law lets an insurer require an inspection, and it may not drop a policy over age alone if the inspection shows five or more years of useful life left. At 20 years of home age, Citizens requires a 4-point inspection. At 25 years for shingle roofs, or 50 for tile, metal and other hard roofs, Citizens asks for documentation of at least five years of remaining life.

For insurance, a roof's age runs from the last time 100 percent of it was built or replaced (627.7011(5)(d)), so a house from the county's median year, 1977, may carry a much younger roof. The 4-point form records the date of the last roofing permit, which is the quickest proof.

Forms

4-point and Citizens forms, and the mobile home exception

4-point roof section: material, age, remaining useful life, last permit date, whether the replacement was full or partial and by what percentage, overall condition, and a damage list.
Damage items Florida's largest insurer asks about: cracking, cupping or curling, heavy granule loss, exposed asphalt or felt, missing or cracked tabs or tiles, soft decking, hail marks and visible leaks.
Citizens Roof Inspection Form (RCF-1): a photo of every slope and the roof's remaining useful life, signed by a contractor, a building code inspector or a home inspector.

Mobile homes make up 9.0% of Pinellas housing. Senate staff note that the 15-year roof-age law does not apply to mobile home policies, but Citizens' 4-point rule still names mobile home applications for properties more than 20 years old.

Wind mitigation

Wind mitigation forms from the bay to the beaches

The wind mitigation form, OIR-B1-1802 (Rev. 04/26), took effect April 1, 2026, and stays valid for up to five years unless the house changes materially or the form proves inaccurate. Its roof questions cover code era, wind Region, roof slope, covering, deck attachment, roof-to-wall connection, roof shape and a sealed roof deck. The state's notice says the discounts apply only to the hurricane-wind portion of a policy and are not added together.

The Region comes from the ASCE 7-22 hazard tool by address, and the beach towns publish high figures; Treasure Island lists 147 to 150 mph. On this form, 'flat roof' means a building of five or more units with at least 90% of the main roof under 2:12, a definition that matters in a county where 30.1% of homes sit in buildings that size.

My Safe Florida Home, set up by Fla. Stat. 215.5586, offers inspections for site-built, owner-occupied single-family homes with a homestead exemption. Owners occupy 69.5% of occupied homes in Pinellas, but condos and mobile homes fall outside that definition.

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Roof cost estimator

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Answer a few questions about your roof and see a ballpark built from published Florida cost data, then get your written estimate.

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Ranges come from published Florida cost guides. They are not South Fork Roofing's prices.

Questions

Roof inspections in Pinellas County: questions

Is there a Pinellas County roof inspection affidavit?

Not as a single county form, as far as our research found. The paperwork comes from insurers: the 4-point inspection, Citizens' Roof Inspection Form (RCF-1) and the state wind mitigation form, OIR-B1-1802. Pinellas County Building Services and the city building departments issue the permits whose dates those forms record. RCF-1 must be signed by a general, residential, building or roofing contractor, a building code inspector or a Florida-licensed home inspector, with a photo of every slope. Ask your insurer which form it wants before you book the inspection.

Source: Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, read Oct 5, 2026

Related: FAQ

What is a roof certification for insurance in Pinellas County?

No Florida statute defines a roof certification. In practice the phrase means an insurer's roof condition form; Citizens' current Roof Inspection Form, RCF-1, used to carry the title Roof Condition Certification Form. It records the covering, the roof's remaining useful life and a photo of each slope. It is the form an older Pinellas roof is most likely to meet, because Citizens asks for documentation once a shingle roof passes 25 years, and 87.5% of the county's homes were built before 2000.

Related: FAQ

Does a flat condo roof in Pinellas count as 'flat' on the wind mitigation form?

Only if the building qualifies. On form OIR-B1-1802, 'flat roof' means a building with five or more units where at least 90% of the main roof slopes less than 2:12. A single-family home with a flat roof is graded 'Other' instead. That line matters in Pinellas, where 30.1% of homes are in buildings with five or more units. The form also asks for the roof's slope, covering and deck attachment, and it stays valid for up to five years if nothing material changes.

Source: OIR form, read Oct 5, 2026

When is the best time to get a roof inspected in Pinellas County?

Ahead of your policy renewal and ahead of the storm months. The nine FEMA declarations covering Pinellas from 2016 to 2024 were dated from July 4 to November 11, and NOAA puts the season's peak around September 10. A spring inspection leaves time to repair or document a roof before then. The National Roofing Contractors Association suggests inspections twice a year, in fall and spring, and a look after a named storm such as Helene or Milton catches damage before the next rain does.

Source: NOAA NHC, read Oct 5, 2026

Related: FAQ

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