Who’s asking for the inspection?
A roof inspection in Tampa can mean a roofer’s look-over after a storm, the roof section of an insurance 4-point, a roof certification for an older roof, or a wind mitigation form. They aren’t interchangeable: a wind mit won’t satisfy a Citizens roof-age request, for one. Call Roofing Services Tampa for a roof inspection anywhere in Tampa or Hillsborough County, and the first thing we’ll ask is who wants the report, because that decides what the licensed, insured roofer we send needs to record.
| Who’s asking | What they want | What your roofer can provide on the visit |
|---|---|---|
| You, after a storm, a leak or before a sale | The roof’s condition and what it takes to fix | A slope-by-slope inspection with written findings, photos and a price for the repair or the replacement |
| Your insurer, once the roof passes an age threshold | A roof certification: age, condition and remaining useful life, with photos | The certification itself; licensed contractors, roofers included, can sign it (roof certification for insurance) |
| Your insurer, on an older home | A 4-point covering the roof, electrical, plumbing, and heating and cooling | The roof section, signed on a roofing license, with photos of each slope |
| A buyer whose home inspection flagged the roof | A closer look than the home inspector gave it | A roofer’s inspection and a written price, before the inspection period runs out |
| The building department, during a re-roof | Proof the work meets code, partway through and at final | Your roofer books those inspections as part of the job |
The City of Tampa does its residential roofing inspections virtually, and the county runs its own sequence; the roof permit guide covers which office handles your address.
What a roofer looks at
A roofer’s inspection is the one that tells you what’s wrong and what it costs to fix. Outside, your roofer checks the covering slope by slope. NRCA, in its own roofing magazine, names curling or splitting shingles as signs of deterioration and says dislodged or missing tabs should be repaired. The flashing around walls, chimneys and skylights gets a close look, along with the pipe boots and vents (penetrations are weak spots in any roof), the valleys and the ridge. On tile, it’s slipped and cracked pieces and the condition of the underlayment where it can be seen.
Inside, the attic shows stained or soft decking, daylight around penetrations, and water marks that line up with something on the roof above. In many Tampa attics the air handler and ducts sit up there too, so your roofer checks those for sweating or a backed-up drain pan, and you find out whether the roof is the source of a stain at all. A ceiling stain with no roof leak goes into that check.
Ask for the findings in writing with photos. A list of what was seen, slope by slope, is worth more than a verbal “you need a new roof.”
Flashing where a roof meets a wall is one of the spots a roofer checks closely.
The wind mitigation form changed in April 2026
Florida’s wind mitigation inspection uses one form, OIR-B1-1802, and a new revision (Rev. 04/26) took effect April 1, 2026. It records the building code era, a wind-speed region, the roof slope, the roof covering with its permit date or product approval number, how the deck is fastened, how the roof is tied to the walls, the roof’s shape, whether there’s a secondary water barrier, and opening protection. Each item needs at least one photo or document, and a completed form is good for up to 5 years if nothing material changes.
Standard underlayment or hot-mopped felt doesn’t count as a secondary water barrier on the form. A hip roof only counts as hip if other roof shapes make up no more than 10% of the perimeter. A FORTIFIED Roof, Silver or Gold certificate can now back up several answers. And Citizens says it will still accept an old-form inspection done in the five years before April 1, 2026, as long as nothing structural has changed.
How the roof is tied to the walls, with straps like these, is one of the items the wind mitigation form records.
The 4-point is about age and condition
A 4-point is an insurance inspection of four systems: the roof, electrical, plumbing, and heating and cooling. Citizens requires one on every application for a home more than 20 years old. The roof section records the roof’s age, type, condition, remaining useful life, the date of the last roof permit, and any leaks.
Citizens’ form adds two rules that matter for the roof. A licensed trade contractor signs only the section for that trade, which is why your roofer signs the roof section. And with photos of each roof slope, that roof section can stand in for the separate roof inspection form. If the 4-point shows an old roof, the next question is usually the roof certification in the table above.
How often to have the roof checked
NRCA recommends inspecting a roof at least twice a year, preferably in spring and fall, and again after any severe weather such as a hurricane, tornado or hailstorm. In Tampa that lines up well with the calendar: a spring check finds problems before the summer storms, and a fall check finds what they did. After a named storm, storm damage roof repair covers what gets documented.
Between visits, your part is from the ground: a phone zoom on each slope, a look at the gutters and downspouts, and a walk through the rooms checking ceilings. Leave the climbing to the inspection.
Missing shingles after a storm, the kind of damage a phone zoom from the yard can pick up.
Buying or selling a house
A buyer’s home inspection gives a general read on the roof, and a lender or insurer may then ask for something more specific. If the buyer is using a VA loan, the VA appraisal roof guide covers what the appraisal can hold up. For the new policy, the insurer may want a 4-point and a wind mitigation report before it writes coverage, and the wind mit can bring down what the policy costs. Get the roof looked at early, because a roof that fails either one changes the negotiation.