Florida law requires the ERCES design to be submitted by an appropriately licensed contractor, and we bring that license, along with the RF survey and design work, to every project. Here’s how we run the project:
- Benchmark survey before design. We measure before we draw. Designs built on measured signal data draw fewer plan review comments and fewer surprises at the witnessed test.
- Design and permit submittal. Donor antenna location, coax routing, head-end space, power, battery backup, and antenna layout, drawn against the electrical and fire alarm plans. Submitted to the AHJ for review before we order equipment.
- Rough-in with the building.Sleeves, pathways and cable go in with everything else, because our electricians are already on site. Two-hour rated cable where required, NEMA-rated enclosure, supervised 12-hour battery backup, and annunciation programmed into the fire alarm panel we are also installing.
- Pretest and commissioning.We run the grid test ourselves and correct anything short before calling for inspection. Nobody benefits from a failed inspection on the record.
- Acceptance with the AHJ.We walk the building with the fire marshal and stand behind the result. If something needs adjustment, our people are on site to make it.
- Annual testing.These systems require annual inspection and testing after occupancy, and Florida caps how often a jurisdiction can force a full reassessment. We do it with the crew that installed the system and provide documentation for your records and your insurer.
Florida ERCES Requirements
Florida sets the in-building radio coverage requirement at the state level. Under Florida Statute 633.202(18), the local AHJ sets the minimum signal strength for fire department communications in all new and existing buildings, and two-way radio communication enhancement systems are the accepted way to comply.
The statute also contains several provisions that work in the owner’s favor, and they are worth knowing before a plan reviewer tells you otherwise:
- The exterior signal test. Where the AHJ determines that public safety signal strength or audio quality is inadequate at the exterior of the building, neither a system nor an assessment is required. FFPC 11.10.2.1 sets the benchmark at a delivered audio quality of 3.4: if the signal arriving at the site does not meet it, the building cannot be asked to amplify it. This gate is routinely missed, and it is the fastest way to find out that a project has no obligation.
- Exemptions. One- and two-family dwellings and townhouses; buildings under 12,000 gross square feet with no underground areas; apartments and transient lodging under three stories where units open directly to an exterior means of egress; and wood-frame apartment buildings 75 feet or less in height with fewer than 150 units and exterior-discharging corridors (the owner has to show wood-frame construction on the building permit).
- Existing high-rises. Non-compliant existing high-rises had to apply for a permit by January 1, 2024, and be compliant by January 1, 2025. Both dates have passed. If you own or manage a Florida high-rise that has not addressed this, the first step is an assessment, which may find that no system is required.
- Reassessment is capped. The AHJ may require a coverage assessment no more than once every 3 years for existing high-rises and existing buildings over 12,000 square feet, and once every 5 years for all other existing buildings, unless the building undergoes a Level III alteration or reconstruction, a public safety agency reports that its radios failed inside, or the building is found to be an imminent threat to responders.
- A TCO cannot be withheld for this alone. Under s. 553.79, the AHJ may not withhold a temporary certificate of occupancy for a new building solely because an ERCES is needed. Once the design is approved, installation must be completed within 12 months of the TCO. The system does not have to be operational to open the building.
- Local AHJs cannot be more stringent. A local authority may not enforce requirements more stringent than the FFPC on whether a system is required, how it is designed, or how it is installed. It does set the signal thresholds and the critical area list for its own radio system.
- Notice before changes. If the jurisdiction modifies its radio system so that existing installations need changes, owners get at least 180 days’ notice, and at least 1 year from a notice of violation to complete a retrofit.
- A licensed contractor submits the design. Where an assessment finds a system is required, a contractor holding the appropriate Florida license must submit the design to the AHJ.
- License holder consent. Any new system or modification requires the written consent of the agency that holds the radio license, kept on file in a form that can be produced for the FCC.
The Florida Fire Prevention Code, 8th Edition, adopts NFPA 1 (2021) and refers two-way radio systems to NFPA 1221 (2019). The 9th Edition, which moves to the 2024 editions of NFPA 1 and NFPA 101, is in state rulemaking as of October 2026. Fire departments across Tampa Bay, Central Florida, and the rest of the state publish their own submittal checklists, and some enforce 24-hour battery backup or accept NFPA 1225 on request, so we confirm which standard, thresholds, and critical areas your AHJ is enforcing at the start of the project rather than at acceptance.
