How to Get a Flood Map Changed

FEMA acknowledges the fact that rapid changes and development in communities make it difficult to indicate the exact detail of every individual property's elevation on their flood maps. In fact, it's mind-boggling to imagine the resources and taxpayer dollars that it would take to physically map every rise and fall in the landscape on each and every property across the United States. Still, lenders are required to make their flood zone determination using only FEMA's flood maps-even though the information on the maps may not accurately depict an individual property's flood risk.

For example, the map can indicate that a property is in a high-risk flood zone, when in fact, the house may be above the Base Flood Elevation, either naturally or because the house was raised on fill dirt.

In these instances, a property may be eligible for FEMA's Letter of Map Change (LOMC) application process. An LOMC is the umbrella term used for letters issued by FEMA to reflect an official change to a flood map without FEMA having to republish the entire map. There are two types of LOMCs that a property owner can obtain: Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) and Letter of Map Revision Based on Fill (LOMR-F).

Depending on the property elevation as compared to the Base Flood Elevation either LOMC may change a property's flood zone rating, making it eligible for a lowered insurance premium or removing the federal insurance requirement altogether.

Which LOMC is right for you?

LOMA
If your property is naturally elevated above the Base Flood Elevation, FEMA could issue a Letter of Map Amendment.

LOMR-F
If your property has been purposefully elevated above the Base Flood Elevation on fill dirt, FEMA could issue a Letter of Map Revision Based on Fill.

If fill dirt has been placed on your property, FEMA charges $425 for an engineering review. This charge is paid directly to FEMA and is separate from our service fees.

The LOMC process is easy with CoreLogic.

FEMA's Letter of Map Change (LOMC) process is how FEMA officially removes a structure or property from a high-risk flood zone. You can sort through the complexities of FEMA's requirements yourself, or you can let CoreLogic put its experience to work for you. Our Flood Map Change Service makes the process easy for homeowners.