Putting up storm shutters in Sebastian? The $75 permit, the notarized affidavit and what the inspector checks

Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30. For a lot of Sebastian homeowners, the calm months after it are when the shutter project finally moves from the someday list to the calendar.

If your home is inside Sebastian city limits, that project goes through the City of Sebastian Building Department. The good news: the paperwork is short and the fee is flat. Here is what the city's own forms say.

Yes, shutters need a permit in Sebastian

The city publishes a list of building code specialty permits with a flat fee for each. Storm shutters are on it at $75. Window and door replacement is a separate line, also $75. If you are doing both, ask the Building Department how they want the permits filed.

What about the new state law that exempts some small jobs? House Bill 803 took effect July 1, 2026. The Florida Senate's summary says local governments must exempt work on single-family homes valued at $7,500 or less, but it leaves out any electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical or gas work, and it does not apply in flood hazard areas. The summary does not mention shutters. It does list a separate exemption for temporary residential hurricane and flood walls that meet set standards.

Shutters are fastened into your walls, and the city inspects that attachment. Do not assume a shutter job is exempt. Call the Building Department first and get the answer for your house.

The approval rule: not just any shutter

Sebastian's residential plan review checklist spells out what counts as protection for windows and doors. One option is impact-rated windows and doors. The other is approved shutters, certified to meet either Miami-Dade County Product Approval or Florida Product Approval impact tests.

• Approved shutter types include roll-down, panel and accordion shutters, or another approved design.
• The paperwork needs the manufacturer, the model number, the installation instructions and the approval or test data.
• Plywood is allowed, but it must be at least 7/16 inch thick, precut and predrilled, with a corrosion-resistant anchoring system. On the checklist, the anchors must be in place before the final building inspection.
• A city-approved copy of the product approval has to be on the job at the time of inspection.

The product approval matters for more than the permit. It is the document the inspector checks your installation against, so keep it with your house papers when the job is done.

The affidavit and the final inspection

Sebastian uses a one-page Storm Shutter Installation Affidavit. It asks for the permit number, the job address, the contractor or owner, and the qualifier's name and license number. The person signing states that they personally watched the completed installation of all the panels or shutters, and that each one fits the opening it protects.

The owner or the contractor's qualifier signs it, and it is notarized. The form also explains what the Building Department looks at: the structural attachment of the panel rails and the shutter assembly, checked against the manufacturer's product approval at final inspection.

One more line on that form is easy to miss. Hardware on emergency escape and rescue openings, such as a bedroom window you might need to climb out of, must be approved by the Building Department ahead of time. Ask about those windows before you order.

What to do before you install

1. Confirm you are in Sebastian city limits. If your address is unincorporated Indian River County, the county issues the permit instead.
2. Pick a shutter with a Florida Product Approval or Miami-Dade approval, and get a copy of the approval and the installation instructions.
3. Count your bedroom escape windows and ask the Building Department what hardware it will accept on them.
4. If you hire someone, check the license at myfloridalicense.com and have the contractor pull the permit. If you do it yourself, the city posts an Owner/Builder Application on its Building Forms page.
5. Keep the approval on site for the inspection, and have the affidavit signed and notarized.
6. If you are also replacing windows, remember the city's window and door form: replacing more than 25 percent of the glass openings in a 12-month period triggers impact protection on the replacements.
7. Call the Building Department at 772-589-5537, or stop by City Hall at 1225 Main Street, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The office closes for lunch from noon to 1 p.m.

Shutters are the kind of project you hope never gets tested. A permit and a good inspection are how you know they will hold when it does.