Product approval

A product approval is evidence that a specific manufactured building product has been tested and accepted for use under the conditions it will face. Windows, doors, roofing systems, shutters, skylights, and garage doors are the usual candidates.

Where it applies in the lifecycle

• Preparation. Approvals are gathered per product and included in the permit package.
• Plan review. The reviewer checks that each approval covers the actual design pressures and installation conditions at your building.
• Inspections. The inspector verifies in the field that what was installed matches the approval that was submitted. This is the phase people forget, and it is where a substituted product becomes a problem.

Florida specifics

Florida runs a statewide product approval system, and separately Miami-Dade County issues Notices of Acceptance, the NOAs, under its own testing protocols. A Miami-Dade NOA is widely accepted elsewhere because its protocols are more demanding, which is why NOA is used loosely as a synonym for product approval far outside Miami-Dade. High-velocity hurricane zone areas have their own requirements again.

What the reviewer is actually checking

Not just that an approval exists, but that it covers your case:

• The design pressures in the approval meet or exceed those calculated for your building
• The installation detail matches your substrate and framing
• The approval is current and has not expired
• Any conditions or limitations in the approval are satisfied

The substitution trap

If a product is swapped during construction, the approval on file no longer describes what is installed. The inspector will catch it at the field verification, and the fix at that point is either replacing the product or filing a revision with the new approval.