How FORTIFIED Evaluators Document a Roof

Why a FORTIFIED roof needs a witness

Most of what makes a FORTIFIED roof stronger is buried by the end of the job: the nails in the deck, the tape or membrane over the seams, the fasteners at the edges. Once the shingles or panels go on, nobody — not an insurer, not a grant program, not IBHS — can see any of it.

That is the job of the FORTIFIED evaluator: an independent professional, trained and certified by IBHS, who documents the roof while it is being built and submits the evidence to IBHS for the designation.

Independent from the roofer

The roofer builds the roof — and under the 2025 FORTIFIED Home Standard, for roofs permitted since November 1, 2025, that roofer must be a FORTIFIED Wise roofing contractor listed in the FORTIFIED directory. The evaluator verifies it; IBHS describes evaluators as "independent, third-party contractors." Keeping those roles separate is the point — it is what lets an insurer or a state program trust a designation certificate without sending its own inspector. In South Carolina, the largest SC Safe Home award depends on that designation; in North Carolina, so does Strengthen Your Roof.

Carolina Fortified places homeowners with licensed, certified and insured FORTIFIED evaluators; the evaluator, not the roofer, documents the work for IBHS.

What gets documented

The details depend on the roof type and the IBHS standard in effect when the roof is permitted, but every FORTIFIED Roof evaluation covers the same families of work:

1. The deck before it is covered — its condition, thickness and how it is fastened to the framing.
2. The sealed roof deck — the tape, membrane or approved underlayment system that keeps water out if the covering is lost.
3. The edges — drip edge, starter strips and the fastening at eaves and rakes, where wind uplift is strongest.
4. The covering itself — the approved product and how it is fastened.
5. Flashing, vents and penetrations — the places wind-driven rain looks for a way in.
6. The finished roof — confirming the completed system matches the documented stages.

Each stage is photographed and recorded before the next layer hides it. Miss a stage and it cannot be documented after the fact without opening the roof again.

Timing: book the evaluator before tear-off

The single most useful thing a homeowner can do is bring the evaluator in before the old roof comes off. An early conversation lets the evaluator:

• confirm the home is a candidate for designation,
• flag work the roofer's estimate should include (deck repairs, edge details, sealed-deck method),
• schedule visits around the roofer's crew so no stage is missed.

For an SC Safe Home grant, there is one more step first: wait for the state's inspection and written award before any grant-funded work begins. See Why SC Safe Home Won't Pay for a Roof You Already Replaced.

After the roof is finished

The evaluator submits the evidence to IBHS. If it meets the standard, IBHS issues a FORTIFIED Roof designation certificate, valid for five years. That certificate is what you send to:

• your insurance carrier, for any FORTIFIED credit it offers;
• the grant program, where a designation is required;
• a future buyer, as proof of how the roof was built.

Keeping it requires a re-evaluation before the five years run out. For asphalt-shingle roofs, IBHS now limits eligibility to 15 years from the first designation, for applications from January 1, 2027.

Questions to ask an evaluator

• Are you currently certified by IBHS as a FORTIFIED evaluator? (Check the IBHS FORTIFIED directory.)
• Are you licensed and insured, and independent of my roofer?
• How many visits will my roof need, and what is your fee?
• Which IBHS standard applies to my permit date?
• How will we coordinate with the roofer's schedule?

Ready to line one up? Get matched with an evaluator on the North or South Carolina coast.