Florida Statewide Product Approvals are an optional requirement for permit in Florida. Products within the rule of the Florida Product Approval System do have to demonstrate compliance with the code. The optional Statewide approval is the easiest way for manufacturers to demonstrate compliance on a consistent basis for easy permitting.
The state of Florida published a guideline to help explain the process. It can be found on this page https://floridabuilding.org/pr/pr_hottopics.aspx under ‘State Product Approval Guide‘. It’s a PowerPoint that goes into the rulemaking and requirements of the code. Other helpful documents in understanding the code requirements can also be found on this page.