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Registration for the next round of $10,000 fortified roof grants opens Monday, June 1, 2026 at 8 a.m. — and for the first time, eligibility extends well beyond Louisiana’s coastal parishes.
The dates to circle
The Louisiana Department of Insurance has confirmed the next registration window for the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program:
- Registration opens: Monday, June 1, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. CT
- Registration closes: Friday, June 19, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. CT
- Grants available: Approximately 3,000
- Grant amount: Up to $10,000 per home
- How recipients are chosen: Random lottery
Because selection is by lottery, registering on day one offers no advantage over registering on day nineteen. The Department of Insurance has been explicit about this to prevent a website rush. Take the time to gather your information and submit a clean, complete registration any time during the three-week window.
What the grant pays for
The Fortify Homes Program reimburses homeowners up to $10,000 toward the cost of replacing an existing roof with a new one built to the IBHS FORTIFIED Roof™ standard. FORTIFIED is a nationally recognized construction standard developed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. It calls for specific upgrades — sealed roof deck, ring-shank nails, enhanced edge details, properly installed underlayment — that have been shown to dramatically reduce hurricane and high-wind damage.
A FORTIFIED Roof must be installed by a credentialed contractor and inspected by an independent FORTIFIED Evaluator. Bergens Roofing is a FORTIFIED-credentialed contractor and has installed FORTIFIED roofs across South Louisiana.
Who’s now eligible — the parish list just got bigger
This is the most important change for the 2026 lottery. Earlier rounds of the program were limited to coastal parishes. With the recent program expansion, eligibility now extends to every parish that falls within Louisiana’s 130-mph wind zone. As of the June 1 lottery, the eligible parishes are:
Acadia, Ascension, Assumption, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, and Vermilion.
If you live in one of these parishes — and that now includes large parts of metro Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and the River Parishes — your home likely qualifies. The home must be your owner-occupied primary residence and meet the program’s other technical requirements (roof age, square footage cap, insurance status).
Why this round is bigger than the last
This expanded lottery is the direct result of legislation we covered earlier this spring — HB 1187, which redirected surplus Louisiana Citizens insurance funds toward the Fortify Homes Program. After clearing the Senate and being signed into law by Governor Jeff Landry, the program received an additional $50 million in funding — a roughly 60% increase that translates into the 3,000 new grants now being offered.
Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple has framed the expansion as a long-term strategy to stabilize Louisiana’s homeowner-insurance market. Fortified homes file fewer claims after major storms, which lowers risk for insurers and — in turn — for homeowners.
What to do before June 1
Three things worth doing in the next few days:
- Confirm your parish is on the list. If it is, you can register.
- Gather your homeowner information. The registration form will ask for property details, ownership confirmation, and contact information.
- Decide on a contractor early. If you’re selected, you’ll need a credentialed FORTIFIED contractor to do the work and a credentialed Evaluator to inspect it. Demand will spike as soon as winners are announced.
The official program page — including the registration link, full eligibility rules, and the contractor and evaluator directories — lives at ldi.la.gov/fortifyhomes.
If you’re selected — we can help
Bergens Roofing has guided dozens of Louisiana homeowners through the FORTIFIED process from grant award to final inspection. If your name is drawn on or after June 19, we’d be glad to walk through your home, give you a no-pressure FORTIFIED-roof estimate, and coordinate the credentialed evaluation that the program requires.
Have questions before you register? Reach out to our team — we’re happy to help you figure out whether your roof is a candidate for the program.
Last updated: May 30, 2026. Dates and program rules are based on guidance from the Louisiana Department of Insurance. Always confirm current details at ldi.la.gov before submitting.
