Guides
Elevation certificates and your flood premium
What a FEMA elevation certificate records, who must have one, whether it lowers an NFIP premium under Risk Rating 2.0, and how to find or order one.
An elevation certificate is a FEMA form, signed by a licensed surveyor, engineer or architect, that records how high your building's floors, equipment and surrounding ground sit compared with the base flood elevation. You do not need one to buy a National Flood Insurance Program policy under Risk Rating 2.0, but FEMA says submitting one may lower your premium, and it is still used for local permits on new or substantially improved buildings and required for map-change requests. Whether it saves you money depends on what the survey finds, so find out before you pay for one.
What the form records
The current form is the NFIP Elevation Certificate and Instructions, FEMA Form FF-206-FY-22-152. FEMA announced the revised version in July 2023. The parts that matter to a homeowner:
| Section | What it holds |
|---|---|
| A. Property information | Address, lot description, building use and which of FEMA's building diagrams fits your foundation (slab, crawlspace, elevated, basement) |
| B. Flood map information | Community, panel and date of the flood insurance rate map, your flood zone and the base flood elevation (BFE) from the map or flood study |
| C. Building elevations (survey required) | Top of the bottom floor, next higher floor, attached garage slab, lowest machinery and equipment, lowest adjacent grade and highest adjacent grade |
| D. Certification | License number, seal and signature of the surveyor, engineer or architect, plus comments on datum and method |
| E. Elevations where no survey is required | Zone AO and unnumbered A zones, measured in relation to the ground |
| F, G. Owner and community | Property owner's certification; the community floodplain official's section, which FEMA says is required for communities in the Community Rating System |
| H. Building measurements | Owner-measured heights and equipment elevations that can be used for insurance rating |
| Photographs | At least two, and four when possible, showing each side of the building, taken within 90 days of certification |
Every elevation has to use the same vertical datum as the BFE, or the surveyor shows the conversion. A datum mismatch can make an accurate survey give a misleading answer.
The number everyone looks for is the lowest floor against the BFE. Say the BFE on your map is 12.0 feet, the top of your bottom floor is 11.0 feet and the lowest adjacent grade is 10.2 feet (hypothetical numbers). The floor sits 1 foot below the BFE and 0.8 foot above the ground next to the house. That second figure, the height of the first floor above the adjacent grade, is the kind of number FEMA's rating engine uses; the Flood Insurance Manual says which form fields feed it.
Do you need one?
| Situation | Needed? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Buying an NFIP policy | No | FEMA's October 2023 FAQ states an EC is not required to purchase flood insurance |
| Lowering your NFIP premium | Optional | FEMA compares the certificate with its own data and, in its words, "may" return a lower annual premium |
| New construction or a major renovation in a high-risk zone | Usually | The community's floodplain ordinance requires lowest-floor elevation records; FEMA says a community may require one before and after construction |
| Asking FEMA for a LOMA or LOMR-F | Yes | A certificate with certified lowest floor and lowest adjacent grade supports the request; see Flood zones and FEMA flood maps explained |
| Private flood policy | Depends | Private insurers set their own underwriting rules; ask the agent |
| Your lender | Depends | Federal rules look at your flood zone and your policy; a lender can ask for more, so ask yours |
Older FEMA material says the certificate is "required in order to properly rate post-FIRM buildings." That wording comes from the pre-2021 pricing system. Under Risk Rating 2.0, FEMA gets elevation data from its own tools, and the certificate is an optional correction. The older and newer rules are compared in Risk Rating 2.0: how NFIP prices flood insurance now.
How a certificate can change your premium
FEMA's March 2023 fact sheet, Understanding Elevation Certificates, explains that FEMA first estimates a building's first floor height from the application and various datasets. If you supply a certificate with more detailed elevation information, the rating engine compares the two and may return a lower premium. The FAQ adds that surveyed elevations in Sections C and D take priority over measurements in Section H.
Two cautions follow. First, "may" is accurate. If FEMA's estimate was already close to the survey, the certificate changes little, and the FEMA documents quoted here do not say a submitted certificate can only help. Ask your agent what first floor height your quote assumes, and how the system treats a certificate less favorable than FEMA's estimate, before you order a survey. Second, the certificate speaks to one rating input among several. Distance to water, foundation type and rebuilding cost still drive the price.
Where the certificate lowers the number, the saving is on the NFIP premium. A private flood insurance insurer may or may not use the same information.
Where the form matters beyond price
Floodplain permits are the form's original purpose. FEMA's NFIP regulations require participating communities to record the lowest-floor elevation of new and substantially improved buildings. A substantial improvement is a reconstruction, rehabilitation or addition costing 50% or more of the structure's market value, and substantial damage is damage that would cost 50% or more to repair (44 CFR 59.1). If your house crosses that line after a flood or a renovation, the community generally requires it to be brought up to current floodplain standards, which can mean raising it above the BFE. increased cost of compliance coverage on an NFIP policy, up to $30,000 within the policy's overall limits according to FEMA's Flood Insurance Manual, can help pay for some of that, and elevating a home and other flood mitigation covers the physical options.
A certificate also has a second life as evidence. If you contest the flood zone, ask for a LOMA, or want to show that your floor was above a flood level, the surveyed figures are the proof.
Finding or ordering one
FEMA's fact sheet lists where to look, roughly from cheapest to most expensive:
- Your local floodplain manager. Every participating community has one, and may hold certificates for buildings permitted there. The title varies: stormwater manager, environmental office, building department.
- The seller, or the builder. If you are buying, ask the sellers. A builder in a mapped high-risk area may have been required to obtain one at construction.
- A licensed professional. A land surveyor, professional engineer or architect authorized by your state can prepare a new one for a fee. FEMA suggests asking your state's surveyor association, your state NFIP coordinator or the local building permit office. Fees vary by region and lot, so get more than one quote.
An existing certificate does not expire on its own. FEMA's October 2023 FAQ says a complete and correct certificate stays valid unless a physical change to the building invalidates what was certified, and a new flood map by itself does not require a new one. A substantial improvement does. FEMA also told insurers in Bulletin W-23007 that, for rating, it would accept a properly completed older-form certificate signed before November 1, 2023.
Checking the one you have
Before you send it to an insurer, spend ten minutes on it.
- Diagram and foundation (A7). The building diagram should match your foundation. A mismatch changes which elevations count.
- BFE and datum (B9, C). The BFE and the floor elevations should use the same datum.
- Top of bottom floor (C2.a). Compare it with the BFE and with the adjacent grade.
- Machinery and equipment (C2.e). Furnace, water heater and compressors below the BFE can matter for both the permit and the rating.
- Section D. It must be signed, sealed where your state requires it, and dated.
- Photographs. Required on a finished-construction certificate.
If something looks wrong, go back to the surveyor before the certificate goes to your insurer.
What it does not do
A certificate does not remove a lender's flood insurance requirement. Only a LOMA or LOMR-F from FEMA can change the map status, and even then the lender may still require coverage. It does not change your flood zone. And it does not make a flood policy cheaper than the building's actual risk allows. If the survey shows you sit well below the BFE, the answer may be mitigation, not paperwork. The flood insurance coverage gap calculator can help you size a policy once the elevation question is settled.
Key takeaways
- An elevation certificate is optional for buying NFIP coverage under Risk Rating 2.0 but can lower the premium if its surveyed elevations beat FEMA's estimate of your first floor height.
- It remains required for local permits on new or substantially improved buildings in high-risk zones and as support for a LOMA or LOMR-F.
- Look for an existing certificate first, from your community's floodplain manager, the seller or the builder, before paying for a new survey.
- A complete certificate stays valid until the building physically changes, and a map change alone does not require a new one.
- Ask your agent what first floor height the current quote assumes before you order a survey, then compare it with what the certificate would show.