About Elevation Certificates

An Elevation Certificate is "an official form of the National Flood Insurance Program created to compare a property's elevation data (determined by field measurement) to the Base Flood Elevation data."

In more simple language, an Elevation Certificate provides an exact elevation measurement of a specific property, as measured by a licensed surveyor or engineer.

Using various surveying techniques and equipment, the surveyor physically measures the elevation of the property and compares it to the Base Flood Elevation data shown on FEMA's flood maps. To complete the process, the surveyor must use FEMA's Elevation Certificate form, and sign and seal the form.

Flood Facts

Reasons you may need an Elevation Certificate

Whether you're preparing to purchase flood insurance or you already have a policy, an Elevation Certificate may be useful to you.

An Elevation Certificate can be used:

1. for accurately rating flood insurance
2. to ensure compliance with community floodplain management ordinances
3. as a support document to apply for a Letter of Map Change to revise FEMA's flood map

For accurately rating flood insurance

Depending on the flood zone and the date the building was constructed, the NFIP may require an Elevation Certificate to provide flood insurance on a building. If a structure has a Pre-Firm construction date, an Elevation Certificate is optional for purchasing flood insurance. However, it may help assist your insurance agent in determining if you qualify for a lower premium. We recommend you contact our insurance agency at (800) 862-2070.

As a support document to apply for a Letter of Map Change to revise FEMA's flood map

An Elevation Certificate may show that a property is eligible for FEMA's Letter of Map Change (LOMC) process. FEMA can issue an LOMC removing a structure or property from a high risk flood zone because the Elevation Certificate shows that the structure or property is located above the Base Flood Elevation shown on FEMA's flood map.

How to save money by getting an Elevation Certificate

Because we realize that an Elevation Certificate can be a significant investment, we want to make sure you have the information you need to make an informed decision.

If you have specific flood insurance questions, questions about your existing policy, questions about the National Flood Insurance Program, or you would like to obtain a flood insurance quote, we suggest you contact our insurance agency, America's Innovative Insurance Solutions, Inc., at (800) 862-2070.

An Elevation Certificate can help you remove the federal flood insurance requirement from your property.

Let's face it-even with the manpower, mapping resources, and technology used to keep up with a community's ever-changing landscape, it can still be difficult for FEMA to indicate the exact detail of your individual property's elevation on their flood map. But FEMA requires that lenders make their flood zone determination using only FEMA's flood map-even though the information on the maps isn't exhaustive. For example, the map can indicate that your property is in a high-risk flood zone when in reality your house may be above the base flood elevation, either naturally or because the house was raised on fill dirt. In these instances, you may be eligible for FEMA's Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) or Letter of Map Revision (LOMR-F).