Services

Elevation Certificate

The Elevation Certificate is an important administrative tool of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). It is to be used to provide elevation information necessary to ensure compliance with community floodplain management ordinances, to determine the proper insurance premium rate, and to support a request for a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) or Letter of Map Revision based on fill (LOMR-F). (FEMA)

  • The Elevation Certificate is required in order to properly rate Post-FIRM buildings, which are buildings constructed after publication of the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), located in flood insurance Zones A1–A30, AE, AH, A (with BFE), VE, V1–V30, V (with BFE), AR, AR/A, AR/AE, AR/A1–A30, AR/AH, and AR/AO.

    The Elevation Certificate is not required for Pre-FIRM buildings unless the building is being rated under the optional post-FIRM flood insurance rules. As part of the agreement for making flood insurance available in a community, the NFIP requires the community to adopt floodplain management regulations that specify minimum requirements for reducing flood losses.

    One such requirement is for the community to obtain the elevation of the lowest floor (including the basement) of all new and substantially improved buildings and maintain a record of such information.

    The Elevation Certificate provides a way for a community to document compliance with the community's floodplain management ordinance. (FEMA)