The High Velocity Hurricane Zone (or HVHZ) in Florida encompasses only Miami-Dade And Broward Counties.
It is a special section of the Florida Building Code which lays out special codes which apply to these counties.
Important to note that the HVHZ does not extend south of Dade County and does not include Monroe County. It seems like it should since it’s a high risk for hurricanes but it isn’t for longstanding reasons linked below.
Many chapters of the Florida Code offer an HVHZ and non-HVHZ section of the code. Most (but not all) sections of the HVHZ are more stringent than non-HVHZ.
The Florida Product Approval System also separates approved products by outside and/or inside the HVHZ.
We recommend reviewing applicable sections of the Florida Building Code before designing and constructing in Florida.
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The jurisdiction for the HVHZ is Dade and Broward Counties (only). This is officially defined in the building code in Part II Chapter 2 – DEFINITIONS Section 202:
When the requirement for a single Florida Building Code was mandated for the 2001 code cycle, a compromise was reached to add additional code sections to maintain the additional restrictions set forth by the South Florida Building Code.
You can read more about the origins of the building code on Broward County’s website.
Last Update: June 25, 2025