SC Safe Home Contractor Requirements: A Guide for Roofers

Two programs, two sets of credentials

A South Carolina roofing license is not enough to take a grant-funded FORTIFIED job. A Resilient Mitigation project under SC Safe Home runs through two separate systems:

• SC Safe Home, run by the South Carolina Department of Insurance, approves the grant and works only with its own participating contractors and wind inspectors.
• IBHS FORTIFIED sets the roof standard, lists FORTIFIED Wise roofing contractors, and designates the roof once an independent FORTIFIED evaluator has documented it.

Each credential is checked separately. Don't advertise either one until it is current.

Joining SC Safe Home

SCDOI's contractor and inspector resources page lists the steps to participate:

• Proof of an appropriate South Carolina license.
• The electronic Participating Wind Inspector/Contractor Enrollment form.
• The program's Code of Conduct, with a signed acknowledgement.
• The Contractor/Inspector Participation Agreement.
• The Absence of Criminal Record form.
• Familiarity with the program guidelines.
• Annual mandatory recertification training — first-time applicants pay a registration fee at training.
• A W-9 for contractors.

Contractors and inspectors are trained and tested by the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) through its Blueprint for Safety program. SCDOI's 2025 coastal market report counts 88 approved contractors and inspectors combined, many approved in several counties.

The 2025 FORTIFIED Home Standard

SCDOI and IBHS both state that all projects permitted on or after November 1, 2025 must meet the 2025 FORTIFIED Home Standard — or, where no roof permit is required, roofs installed on or after that date. IBHS publishes 2025 roofing compliance forms for asphalt shingle, metal panel, tile, wood shake and low-slope roofs on its technical documents page.

The 2025 Standard also requires that every component of a FORTIFIED Roof be installed by a FORTIFIED Wise roofing contractor with an active listing in the FORTIFIED directory.

Where the evaluator comes in

The FORTIFIED designation depends on an independent evaluator documenting the roof at each critical stage — the deck, the sealed deck, the edges, the covering and the flashing — before each layer covers the last. If the evaluator isn't scheduled before tear-off, a stage can be lost and the designation with it.

We place homeowners with licensed, certified and insured FORTIFIED evaluators along the North and South Carolina coast. See how evaluators document a roof.

Estimating a Resilient Mitigation job

The homeowner submits your retrofit estimate with the application, so it needs to separate the ordinary reroof from the upgrades both programs require:

• Roof covering and code-required work.
• Deck repairs and the required deck attachment.
• The sealed roof deck system.
• Drip edge, starter and perimeter fastening.
• Flashing, vents, penetrations and gable ends.
• SC Safe Home's roof-to-wall connectors, with the access they need — see Roof-to-Wall Connectors.
• Permits, inspections and the evaluator's fee.
• How concealed conditions and change orders will be handled.

The sequence that protects everyone

1. Explain to the homeowner that your lead form is not the state application.
2. Check the basics: county, primary residence, insurance, and no prior damage or claim payouts.
3. Prepare the estimate for the homeowner's application.
4. Don't start grant-funded work until the program's inspection and the written award. SCDOI does not reimburse work done early.
5. Schedule the FORTIFIED evaluator around your crew.
6. Finish within three months of the Grant Award Notification letter, with all required permits and inspections.
7. Complete the program's closing paperwork.

Marketing guardrails

• Say "participating SC Safe Home contractor" only if SCDOI currently lists you.
• Use IBHS and FORTIFIED names and marks only within IBHS's rules.
• Never imply state endorsement, guaranteed approval or reserved grant money.
• Link to SCDOI's live program status wherever you mention the grant.

See also our page for roofing contractors.