Notice Of Acceptance (NOA) – a Miami Dade oddity

If you are building in Miami, South Florida, you may have come across an NOA as part of your required permit documentation. The rest of the country may associate a “Notice of Acceptance” with other things, but for design professionals, builders, and municipalities, this seemingly simple document holds a lot of value for material selection in Miami.

So what exactly is this NOA? It is a document providing results of a test to ensure that any material exposed to hurricane forces complies with an impact criteria as set by the RER (Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources) to ensure compliance with local building codes. Currently the Florida Building Code in South Florida required a compliance with sustained wind speeds of 175mph.

Sample Notice of Acceptance – for a steel door

The testing protocol is required for any assembly that is on the exterior of the structure, such as wall materials, doors and windows, shutters and roofing… essentially, if it could be hit and damaged during a storm event, it must be tested. How is this tested? In simple terms, the test material manufacturer provides an assembly with every detail as it would be installed in the field and then a 2×4 stud is shot at the assembly at the above noted speed. If it does not break, it passes… and the assembly will be approved for use.

Clients and manufacturers new to this market are frequently amazed by this requirement. Weather events such as Hurricane Sandy will likely promote this application to other parts of the country and the world…as a matter of fact it is already loosely used in the Bahamas.

Here is the link to the Miami Dade NOA portal to search any product for approval: http://www.miamidade.gov/building/pc-search_app.asp