Alabama's $10,000 FORTIFIED roof grant, and where to check if you qualify

Checked against the program's own site on August 22, 2026

Alabama is where this kind of program started, and it shows. The Strengthen Alabama Homes Act passed in 2011, grants began in 2015, and per IBHS Alabama now leads the nation in FORTIFIED homes, with over 30,000. Mississippi's newer program, covered by its own page on this shelf, is modeled on this one.

What the program is

Strengthen Alabama Homes is run by a division of the Alabama Department of Insurance. Its site says grants cover 100 percent of the cost of mitigation up to $10,000, and the work must meet the FORTIFIED Roof™ standard from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. The program page, the application portal, and every current rule are here:

• strengthenalabamahomes.com, the program's own site and the page that decides everything on this one.
• aldoi.gov, the Alabama Department of Insurance, which runs it.

Who qualifies, per the program's site

• The house you live in. A single-family, owner-occupied primary residence. Their site says condominiums, townhomes, mobile homes, and rental properties do not qualify, and the home cannot be listed for sale during the process.
• Insurance in force. Homeowners and wind coverage both active, and flood insurance if the house sits in a special flood hazard area.
• The right county, in the right round. The program opens in announced rounds by county rather than statewide at once. As of the date at the top of this page its site names Mobile, Baldwin, Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, and Escambia counties, notes that funds remain available, and announces each round with a date and time on the site itself. The current-round announcement on their homepage is the only status worth trusting.

How the process runs, in their words

The application is sequenced with deadlines, so it rewards being ready before a round opens: create the online profile, upload documentation within 7 days, select a certified FORTIFIED Evaluator within 7 days, complete the evaluation, collect contractor bids, and select a bid within 7 days. Registering interest on their site before a round opens is how you avoid learning about a deadline after it has started.

Worth knowing while you are here

A FORTIFIED roof is not only about the grant: insurers offer premium credits for it across the Gulf states, which is its own subject and has its own page on this shelf. The certificate that comes with the designation is the paper your insurer wants to see.

What this page is not

This site is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the Alabama Department of Insurance or IBHS, and FORTIFIED is IBHS's trademark. The program's terms are theirs, they change between rounds, and their pages always win over this one. Nothing here is insurance or financial advice: it is a map, drawn on the date stamped at the top.