Sarasota County, FL Hurricane Preparedness: Hurricane Shutters (2026)
Key Facts
- License type
- Hurricane Shutter Installer (specialty)
- Scope
- Manual and mechanical storm shutters
- Building limit
- Existing, 3 stories or less
- Excluded work
- Electrical, structural opening changes
- Licensing board
- General Contractors Licensing Board
- Min. unlicensed-work penalty
- $1,000.00 per day
Summary
Sarasota County doesn't publish a separate technical standard for hurricane shutters; it licenses who can install them. Code § 22-122(13)(k) creates a Hurricane Shutter Installer specialty contractor category limited to installing and repairing manual and mechanical storm shutters on existing residential buildings of three stories or less, with electrical work off-limits.
(k)Hurricane Shutter Installer. Scope of work is limited to the installation and repair of storm shutters, including both manually and mechanically operated shutters for existing residential structures three stories or less. No electrical work may be performed under this scope. Only nonstructural adjustments to existing openings may be performed as part of the work.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 98).
Full Breakdown
Design and wind-load standards for hurricane shutters and opening protection in Sarasota County come from the state-adopted Florida Building Code, which the county administers through its own Building Code beginning at § 22-30. ' The license bars any electrical work and limits the installer to 'only nonstructural adjustments to existing openings' as part of the job, meaning work that changes the structural opening itself, rather than fitting a shutter to it, falls outside this specialty license and would need a General, Building, or Residential Contractor instead.
Like every other specialty trade listed in § 22-122(13), a Hurricane Shutter Installer must hold a Sarasota County Certificate of Competency and Operating Certificate issued by the General Contractors Licensing and Examining Board under § 22-127, which requires proof of relevant construction experience, and the installer must be named on the building permit for the job under § 22-124. Working without that Operating Certificate exposes the installer to the county's unlicensed-contracting enforcement track rather than any separate technical shutter code.
Violations & Fines
Installing hurricane shutters without holding a Sarasota County Hurricane Shutter Installer Operating Certificate, or performing electrical or structural opening work outside that license's scope, is enforced under § 22-126 as unlicensed contracting: Code Enforcement Officers can issue citations carrying a minimum $1,000.00 civil penalty per day, decided by the Code Enforcement Special Magistrate under F.S. ch. 162 if contested, with unpaid penalties recorded as a lien against the violator's property under § 22-126(9).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Sarasota County set its own wind-rating standard for hurricane shutters?
Can a Hurricane Shutter Installer widen a window opening to fit new shutters?
What happens if someone installs shutters without the required license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sarasota County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Sarasota County to another location·View the Florida hurricane preparedness overview
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