5.3 IBHS FORTIFIED Roof (2025 Standard), the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program & Louisiana FORTIFIED Incentives
Key Takeaways
FORTIFIED Home has three designation levels (Roof, Silver, Gold), and FORTIFIED Roof is the level roofing contractors deliver.
The 2025 FORTIFIED standard requires ring-shank roof-deck nailing at 4 inches on center, a sealed roof deck, and drip edge fastened at 4 inches on center, staggered, with 3-inch laps.
FORTIFIED asphalt shingles must be rated ASTM D7158 Class H and/or ASTM D3161 Class F and installed with the manufacturer's six-nail high-wind pattern.
The Louisiana Fortify Homes Program, run by LDI, awards grants of up to $10,000 by lottery; work begun before program approval is not eligible.
LDI Regulation 136 sets hurricane-premium discounts for FORTIFIED homes of 16% to 49% by zone and level, effective no later than January 1, 2027.
Why FORTIFIED Matters in Louisiana
Building codes set a life-safety minimum. They are not written to keep a roof watertight through a major hurricane. The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), a research organization funded by insurers, created FORTIFIED Home to reduce storm damage. Its standards come from full-scale testing and from studying storm damage.
FORTIFIED has become a major part of Louisiana reroofing, driven by state grants, a tax credit, and required insurance discounts. FORTIFIED is voluntary. It is not required by the Louisiana construction code, although its details now show up in state rulemaking and insurance regulation. Know where the code ends and the program begins.
The Three Designation Levels
| Level | Focus | Who does the work |
|---|---|---|
| FORTIFIED Roof | Roof deck attachment, sealed deck, edges, rated covering | Roofing contractor |
| FORTIFIED Silver | Roof, plus protection of openings (windows, doors, garage doors), gable-end walls, and attached structures such as porches and carports | General contractor and specialty trades |
| FORTIFIED Gold | Silver, plus a continuous load path from roof to foundation | General contractor with engineering |
Core Roof Requirements (2025 FORTIFIED Home Standard)
The 2025 standard applies to both the Hurricane and High Wind programs. Its main roof requirements:
1. Qualified installer. All components of a FORTIFIED Roof must be installed by a qualified FORTIFIED Wise roofing contractor or company listed in the FORTIFIED Directory.
2. Remove to the deck and repair. Tear off all existing roofing and replace damaged wood. Minimum wood structural panel thickness is 7/16 inch. Board decks with gaps over 1/8 inch get a wood structural panel overlay.
3. Deck attachment.
- New sheathing: minimum RSRS-01 (0.113 in. × 2-3/8 in.) ring-shank nails at 4 inches on center, maximum, in all areas of the roof.
- Existing wood-panel decks: re-nail with additional 0.113-in. × 2-3/8-in. 8d ring-shank nails at 4 inches on center, long enough to penetrate at least 1-5/8 inches into the framing. New nails must be at least 2 inches from existing ones.
- Exception: re-nailing is no longer required when reroofing a home already documented as FORTIFIED, with a wood-panel deck, on a site with Vult 160 mph or less and Exposure C or less.
- Only full round-head ring-shank nails complying with ASTM F1667 are accepted; clipped heads are not.
4. Sealed roof deck. Use taped deck seams under underlayment, two layers of underlayment, or a full self-adhered membrane (Section 5.2).
5. Drip edge. Following FORTIFIED detail F-DE-1:
- Metal drip edge at all eaves and gable rakes, installed over the underlayment, at least 26 gauge for steel.
- Extends 1/2 inch below the sheathing and at least 2 inches back onto the roof.
- Joints overlap at least 3 inches.
- Fastened at 4 inches on center, maximum, staggered, with 12-gauge roofing nails complying with ASTM F1667. Cap nails and staples are not allowed.
- Seal the drip edge, underlayment, and starter at the eave with a self-adhering starter strip or an 8-inch-wide layer of compatible flashing cement, 1/8 inch thick maximum, over the drip edge flange.
Note the difference from the code: the IBC puts underlayment over the drip edge at eaves (Section 9.1). FORTIFIED puts the drip edge over the underlayment and seals it.
6. Rated roof covering. Asphalt shingles must carry an ASTM D7158 Class H and/or ASTM D3161 Class F rating and be installed with six nails per the manufacturer's high-wind instructions. Starter strips go at eaves and rakes. Other coverings (metal, tile, wood, low-slope systems) must be rated and installed for the program's site wind and pressure criteria.
7. Coastal corrosion protection. Homes within 3,000 feet of saltwater shoreline need hot-dip galvanized or stainless steel fasteners and connectors, per the program's corrosion detail and technical bulletin.
8. Optional hail supplement. Asphalt shingles must meet the program's impact-resistance criteria, such as a "Good" or "Excellent" rating in IBHS's shingle hail ratings.
The Evaluator and the Designation
A certified FORTIFIED Evaluator documents the job with required photos at specific stages, especially deck nailing and the sealed deck before they are covered, and submits the file to IBHS. IBHS reviews it and issues the designation. The contractor installs; the evaluator verifies. Schedule the evaluator's in-progress visit before you cover the deck.
A FORTIFIED Roof designation lasts five years. To keep it, the homeowner has an evaluator reinspect the home. The certificate transfers when the home is sold.
The Louisiana Fortify Homes Program (LFHP)
The Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) runs the LFHP. LDI's program pages cite Act 554 of 2022 and LDI Regulation 126 as its legal basis. Key rules from those pages:
- Grant: up to $10,000, limited to construction costs, to bring a roof up to the FORTIFIED Roof standard. The completed roof must earn the designation for the grant to be paid.
- Selection: homeowners enter a lottery during announced registration windows, and eligible parishes vary by round.
- Eligibility: existing owner-occupied primary residence with a homestead exemption; an active policy with wind coverage; flood insurance if in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area; home in good repair per the evaluator. New construction, condominiums, and mobile homes are not eligible. Partial repairs don't qualify; the entire contiguous roof covering is replaced.
- Sequence: homeowners who start work before LFHP approval are not eligible. Wait for the grant award before selecting a contractor.
- Payment: grant funds are paid directly to contractors. Homeowners pay evaluation fees and any costs beyond the grant, and must disclose roof-related insurance claims from the past five years.
- Contractor rules: LFHP contractors must hold an LSLBC Residential Roofing or Residential Construction license under Act 422, hold IBHS FORTIFIED certification, carry commercial general liability of at least $1,000,000 for roofing work, obtain the building permits, and not act as public adjusters.
Louisiana FORTIFIED Roof Tax Credit
Act 404 of 2025 created a nonrefundable state income tax credit of 100 percent of qualified expenses, up to $10,000 per residence. It covers upgrading an owner-occupied primary residence roof to FORTIFIED Roof. The Louisiana Department of Revenue allocates credits first come, first served under an annual program cap. The credit cannot be combined with an LFHP grant on the same roof. Applications go through the department's online portal on the schedule it announces.
Insurance Discounts: LDI Regulation 136
In 2026, LDI issued Bulletin 2026-04 announcing Regulation 136. The regulation requires insurers to apply set hurricane-premium discounts to residential properties with FORTIFIED designations no later than January 1, 2027:
| Zone | FORTIFIED Roof | Silver | Gold |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | 16% | 20% | 24% |
| Central | 27% | 35% | 42% |
| South | 29% | 43% | 49% |
The discounts apply to the hurricane portion of the premium, not the whole bill. Before 2027, discounts varied by insurer; LDI publishes an annual report of company discounts.
Under the 2025 FORTIFIED Home standard, how must new wood structural panel roof sheathing be attached on a FORTIFIED Roof?
8d smooth common nails at 6 inches on edges and 12 inches in the field.
16-gauge staples at 4 inches on center.
Minimum RSRS-01 ring-shank nails (0.113 in. by 2-3/8 in.) at 4 inches on center, maximum, in all areas of the roof.
10d box nails at 6 inches on center with construction adhesive.
A homeowner in an eligible parish signs a roofing contract and the crew starts tear-off, and then the homeowner applies to the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program. What happens?
The project is not eligible, because LDI does not fund homeowners who begin work before receiving LFHP approval.
The grant is paid in full as long as the roof later earns a FORTIFIED designation.
The grant is reduced by 50 percent for starting early.
The contractor can apply for the grant on the homeowner's behalf after completion.
Under LDI Regulation 136, what hurricane-premium discount must insurers apply by January 1, 2027 for a FORTIFIED Roof designation on a home in LDI's South zone?
10 percent of the total premium.
16 percent of the hurricane portion.
49 percent of the total premium.
29 percent of the hurricane portion.
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.