Impact doors in Florida: what are your options?

The short answer

For a door with glass, you have two main ways to protect it. One is an impact-rated door. The other is a tested covering over a standard door, such as a hurricane shutter. A garage door is tested to its own standard. Which one fits depends on the opening, the look you want, and how you will use it.

We are not printing door prices. We found no primary or secondary source for impact door costs, and contractor marketing pages do not give a price we can stand behind. Your price comes from a written estimate after an on-site visit.

What makes a door an impact door

Impact is a tested rating, not a style. The state's wind mitigation form, OIR-B1-1802, describes top protection, Level A, as passing cyclic pressure and a 9-pound large missile test for windows and doors. The form names the standards behind this: ASTM E1886 and ASTM E1996, Miami-Dade PA 201, 202 and 203, and Florida Building Code TAS 201, 202 and 203. For garage doors it names ANSI/DASMA 115.

Products that pass must also be listed as wind-borne debris protection in Florida's statewide product approval system or by Miami-Dade County. Section 553.842 of the Florida Statutes directs that statewide system. Ask the installer for the approval document for the exact model and size you are buying. Our guide to Florida product approval explains how to read it.

The door types

• Front entry door: a solid door or a door with glass panels or side lights. Anything with glass is a glazed opening.
• Sliding glass door: often the largest piece of glass on the house, so it is usually the most important opening to think about.
• French doors: two glazed doors, so treat them like a glazed opening too.
• Garage door: the largest opening on many homes. Ask whether the door you are considering is tested to ANSI/DASMA 115.

Do you have to protect your doors?

It depends on where your home is. A 2025 report to the Florida Building Commission says the Florida Building Code requires protection for exterior glazed openings in the wind-borne debris region. The same report shows that where the region begins has changed with code editions. Whether your address is inside it depends on the address, and the form points to the ASCE Hazard Tool at ascehazardtool.org for the wind speed. We did not find the wind speed for Manatee or Sarasota County, so check your own address. Our guide to the wind-borne debris region goes into this.

Impact door or shutters?

The form says glazed openings need impact resistant coverings or products listed as wind-borne debris protection. So shutters can count, if they are tested and documented. Shutters with no documentation get the lowest rating on the form, Level N. The tradeoff is simple: an impact door is always in place, while shutters are covered or closed by someone when a storm comes. See impact windows vs hurricane shutters for the same choice on windows.

How doors affect your wind mitigation form

The opening protection question asks for the weakest level of protection on the home. That means one unprotected slider can hold down the rating even if the windows are protected. The form also says some items may not qualify for a discount.

Insurers set any credit, based on the form. We never promise a percentage or a dollar saving. Read our wind mitigation guide for how the inspection works.

What a replacement door can cost: one labeled data point

We have one regional figure for ordinary entry doors. Zonda's 2025 Cost vs Value report, South Atlantic region (not Florida alone), lists a steel entry door replacement at $2,398 in job cost with 219% recouped at resale, and a fiberglass grand entrance at $11,489 with 81.3% recouped. We found no impact-door row in that report, so these are not impact door prices. They only show how widely door projects vary. See our entry door replacement cost guide.

Questions to ask before you order

• What is the exact model and size, and can I see its Florida product approval document?
• Is the glass and the frame covered by that approval, including the hardware?
• How will the door be anchored, and who pulls the permit?
• What does the maker's warranty cover, and is it passed through to me?
• For a sliding door: how is the track handled, and how does it drain?
• Who comes back if the door does not close or seal right?

Sliding doors and tracks

A sliding glass door is often the largest glazed opening on a home, so it is worth extra questions. Ask how the track drains in heavy rain, how the door locks, and how it is anchored to the framing. A product can be approved and still be installed badly, so the install is part of the question.

Also ask about the lead time. Doors made to a size can take time to arrive, so plan ahead of hurricane season, which the National Hurricane Center says runs June 1 to November 30.

How Hildebrand handles impact doors

Hildebrand Construction & Remodeling is a family-owned Florida licensed general contractor in Palmetto (Certified Building Contractor, license CBC1257253). We install impact windows and doors, pull the required permits and meet Florida Building Code inspections. See our impact windows and doors page.

We start with a free in-home consultation and a written estimate. The price does not change without your written approval. Manufacturer warranties are passed through, and if you have an HOA we provide the specs and drawings for your application.

Questions homeowners ask