Your Pathway to Better Home Protection Against Wildfire

We can’t stop wildfire; however, these steps will guide you through required actions to help protect your home and receive a designation certificate.

Eligibility

The applicant must be the homeowner.
Photos of all four sides of the home, showing the 0–5 Foot Noncombustible Zone, are required.
The home must be a single-family, detached house (no townhomes or condos) with three stories or less.
The home must be in California or Oregon.

NOTE:

The designation has strict requirements, with no exceptions. Protected trees may disqualify some homes, and some homeowners may need to work with neighbors to meet the 5-foot noncombustible setback.
A 0–5 foot noncombustible buffer around your home and decks is mandatory. All vegetation and trees, including overhanging branches, grass, artificial turf, wood mulch, wood and vinyl fencing, and stored items within this area must be removed.

Photos of eligible homes with the 0–5 Foot Noncombustible Zone

Designation certificate levels:

We offer two solutions. To receive a designation certificate, your home must meet all requirements listed for the desired level.

1. Wildfire Prepared Home Base

This group of required actions includes creating a 5-foot home buffer, preparing the home’s exterior, and maintaining the deck/covered porch and yard, typically achieved through retrofits to existing homes.

2. Wildfire Prepared Home Plus

This group of required actions builds upon Wildfire Prepared Home Base to add an extra layer of home protection, commonly achieved with newer home construction or after exterior home renovations.

Process & Timing

Step 1:	DIY PREP: Homeowner completes DIY work using the How-To Prepare Your Home Checklist. We do not attempt to inspect/document every deficiency to tell a homeowner what to do. The designation program is an owner driven process, so it is the homeowner’s responsibility to follow the How-To Checklist and mitigate their house to achieve a certificate.	Timing: Weeks to months, depending on the extent of the work required.
Step 2:	PAY & SUBMIT: Pay nonrefundable application fee and submit eligibility photos for IBHS review.	Timing: 5-10 minutes.
Step 3:	IBHS REVIEW: Experts review the eligibility photos to confirm the required work is completed and provide helpful recommendations for any remediated work that may be needed. We want to help you pass!	Timing: 1-2 weeks.
Step 4:	EVALUATION: Once the eligibility photos are approved, a 3rd party in-person evaluator will visit your home to document areas where the work is complete.	Timing: 30+ days plus uploading documentation.
Step 5:	QA REVIEW: IBHS experts will conduct a thorough review to determine the designation certificate level achieved.	Timing: One to two weeks.
Step 6:	DESIGNATION: If your home qualifies for the designation, a certificate will be emailed to you. If there is more work to complete, the team will guide you on correcting the required items. You will have 90 days to complete the work and submit photos for a re-review. If the team determines your home does not qualify, you will receive an email that your application is closed.	Timing: Within one week.

NOTE: If there are additional required actions to be completed after an evaluation, the full process can take 60+ days.

Annual Review

Once a designation certificate has been issued, an annual maintenance review is required. This ensures vegetation doesn’t creep into the 5-foot noncombustible buffer and crucial upkeep of vegetation is maintained within 5-30 feet.
We offer 2 solutions:
- Self-inspection with photos provided by the homeowner for $25
- 3rd party exterior home inspection for $100

3 Year Recertification

After 3 years, recertification is required to keep the designation certificate active.
Homeowners can use their portal login to apply for a new home inspection to verify program requirements have been maintained.