Window Replacement in Jacksonville, Florida: Permits and Wind

In Jacksonville, the city treats window replacement as permitted work and checks the windows themselves against its wind requirements. The City of Jacksonville Building Inspection Division publishes a Window and Door Replacement Worksheet that asks for the design wind speed at the address, its exposure category, and the Florida product approval number and design pressures of every window, and its fee schedule lists a window and door replacement permit fee (window and door worksheet; city fees) ³⁴. Permits are filed online through JaxEPICS ².

Two more checks follow: whether the installer holds a license that covers window work, which the Florida page explains, and whether the house is in one of the city's local historic districts or is a local landmark, where exterior work such as window repair needs a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA process) ⁶. Duval County is in ENERGY STAR's Southern climate zone, so solar heat gain is the number to watch on the glass ⁹¹⁰.

Permits for window replacement in Jacksonville

The Building Inspection Division sits in the city's Department of Public Works. Its online submission page says "online (electronic) permit submission is now required for all permit types," through the JaxEPICS system; contractors and design professionals send a registration form to get a profile for online submission (online permit submission) ².

The window worksheet, revised April 3, 2026, is the clearest statement of what the city reviews for a window job (window and door worksheet) ³:

• Who fills it in. The worksheet is "to be completed by the property owner only"; contractors with a license enter the same details on the Specs tab of the permit in JaxEPICS ³.
• What it asks for. For each window and exterior door: the number of units, area, manufacturer, model, the product's design pressure for the end zone and interior zone of the wall, and the Florida product approval number, which the worksheet points to floridabuilding.org to find ³.
• Exposure category. The worksheet asks the owner to mark B (protected by woods or structures), C (conditions not B or D), or D (exposed to open terrain or water), gives the distances for each, and cites the Florida Building Code sections for wind speed and exposure ³.

The residential permits page's step-by-step guide to a building permit, written for projects with architectural drawings, says plan review checks that "all hurricane wind force requirements are met," and asks for two product approval sheets with the application (residential permits) ¹.

Fees

The city's fee schedule lists window and door replacement at $4.00 per $1,000 of construction cost, plus a $25.00 construction and demolition fee per permit, with a minimum permit fee of $80.00 for permits that need no inspection and $150.00 for permits that need one or more inspections (city fees) ⁴. Ask whether the installer's price includes the permit.

Homeowner permits

The city allows owner permits under conditions. Its residential permits page says "a homeowner may permit for construction of or renovations to their primary residence providing that it is not for sale or rent and their name is on the property deed," that all work must be done by the homeowner or by subcontractors who hold a state license or local registration and whom the homeowner hires and supervises, that the owner signs an Owner's Affidavit, that proof of homestead exemption must accompany the affidavit for work on existing structures, and that the homeowner must appear in person at the Building Inspection Division (residential permits) ¹.

Wind speeds in Duval County

The worksheet notes that the Florida Building Code requires each municipality to set the location of its wind speed lines by ordinance. Jacksonville's line, quoted on the worksheet from city ordinance 320.103, runs up the middle of the St. Johns River from the south end of Duval County to Interstate 95 at the Fuller Warren Bridge, then north along Interstate 95 to the county line. For ordinary homes (Risk Category II), the design wind speed is 125 mph west of that line and 130 mph east of it (window and door worksheet) ³.

Wind speed and exposure set the design pressure a replacement window has to meet, which is why the worksheet asks for both ³. Whether a given address also falls in a windborne debris region depends on the Florida Building Code's definition, which the Florida page quotes with the code link, and the Building Inspection Division can answer that for your address. Ask each installer which product approval number they are quoting and whether the unit's rated design pressure meets the requirement for your wall zones.

Who may do the work

The Florida page covers which state licenses include window work. Locally, the Building Inspection Division's Contractor License and Complaint Search links both the state license search, for building, plumbing, electrical and other state licenses, and a Duval County search for registered contractors, specialty contractors and journeymen, along with the county business tax search and a workers' compensation coverage lookup (contractor license and complaint search) ⁵.

Questions worth asking each installer:

• Is your company licensed for window work, and under what name and number? You can check the answer on the searches the city links ⁵.
• Will you pull the permit and complete the Specs tab in JaxEPICS ³?
• Which Florida product approval number covers the window you are quoting?

The guide on how to choose a window installer covers the rest of the vetting.

Historic districts

Jacksonville has three locally designated historic districts, and the city's Historic Preservation Section says certificates of appropriateness (COAs) "must be submitted for any work done to the exterior of a building like repairing windows and siding." A COA is valid for 1 year once approved, and for 5 years after work has begun; a 2026 COA matrix shows which work staff can approve and which goes to the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission (COA process) ⁶. The section's FAQ says work started without an approved COA "may receive a violation," and points owners to the city's Land Development Map to check whether a property is in a local historic district or is a local landmark (historic preservation FAQ) ⁷.

The city's Window Supplement explains what staff look for. It says repair of historic windows should always be attempted before replacement is considered, that replacement can be approved when repairs are unsuccessful or staff find the window beyond repair, and that replacement approvals require windows to be traditionally recessed in the wall and the trim to be retained or repaired as needed. It also says staff cannot approve products that require installation with permanent nailing fins; products with removable fins are acceptable only when the fins are removed and the window is recessed in the opening (Window Supplement) ⁸. A homeowners association may have its own rules as well; check them, though they are not city law.

Climate and glass for Jacksonville

ENERGY STAR's county list puts Duval County in the Southern zone (ENERGY STAR climate zone finder) ¹⁰. In that zone, an ENERGY STAR window has a U-factor of 0.32 or less and a solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.23 or less, with an air leakage limit of 0.3 cubic feet per minute per square foot (ENERGY STAR criteria) ⁹.

The National Weather Service's annual climate report for Jacksonville lists 1991 to 2020 normals of a 69.3°F annual mean temperature, about 80 days a year at 90°F or more, about 14 days at 32°F or below and 53.40 inches of precipitation (NWS Jacksonville annual climate report) ¹¹. Long, hot, humid summers make SHGC the number that matters most, and heavy rain makes the flashing and sealing around each opening part of the job. The articles on low-E glass and energy-efficient windows explain how to read the NFRC label.

What window replacement costs

The national cost surveys do not publish a figure for Jacksonville, so this page does not quote a local price; impact-rated windows and design pressure requirements may also move a quote. Nationally, Fixr reports a range of $450 to $1,200 per window, with an average of about $800, in data updated January 21, 2026 ¹². The window replacement cost guide sets several national surveys side by side.

Getting quotes

Ask for written quotes that name the window series, its Florida product approval number and design pressure, the NFRC-rated U-factor and SHGC, the installation method and who pulls the permit. The guide on how to compare window quotes shows how to line them up, and the article on whether you need a permit to replace windows covers the general picture. When you are ready, you can compare quotes from window installers who serve Jacksonville.

About these figures

• ¹ Official record: City of Jacksonville residential permits page (homeowner permit conditions, product approval sheets and wind review in the building permit steps), checked October 26, 2026.
• ² Official record: City of Jacksonville online permit submission page (online submission required, JaxEPICS, registration for a profile), checked October 26, 2026.
• ³ Official record: City of Jacksonville Window and Door Replacement Worksheet, revised April 3, 2026 (owner-only worksheet, Specs tab for contractors, wind speed line under ordinance 320.103, 125 and 130 mph for Risk Category II, exposure categories, product approval), checked October 26, 2026.
• ⁴ Official record: City of Jacksonville fee schedule, window and door replacement ($4.00 per $1,000, $25.00 C&D fee, $80.00 and $150.00 minimums), checked October 26, 2026.
• ⁵ Official record: City of Jacksonville contractor license and complaint search page (state and Duval County searches), checked October 26, 2026.
• ⁶ Official record: City of Jacksonville COA process page (three local districts, COA for exterior work, 1-year and 5-year validity), checked October 26, 2026.
• ⁷ Official record: City of Jacksonville historic preservation FAQ (work without an approved COA may receive a violation; Land Development Map), checked October 26, 2026.
• ⁸ Official record: City of Jacksonville Historic Preservation Window Supplement, May 2024 (repair first, recessed installation and trim, nailing fins), checked October 26, 2026.
• ⁹ Official record: ENERGY STAR Version 7.0 residential window criteria (Southern zone U-factor 0.32 and SHGC 0.23, air leakage 0.3 cfm per square foot), checked October 26, 2026.
• ¹⁰ Official record: ENERGY STAR county climate zone list (Duval County in the Southern zone), checked October 26, 2026.
• ¹¹ Official record: National Weather Service Jacksonville annual climate report for 2025, 1991-2020 normals (69.3°F mean, 80.1 days at 90°F or more, 14.3 days at 32°F or below, 53.40 inches of precipitation), checked October 26, 2026.
• ¹² Reported: Fixr national window replacement cost range ($450 to $1,200 per window, average about $800, updated January 21, 2026), checked October 26, 2026.