FEMA Elevation Certificates & LOMA

The measurement that determines your flood insurance rating — and, where the mapping is wrong, the amendment request that can remove the requirement entirely.

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Overview

What a FEMA Elevation Certificates & LOMA actually involves

If your structure sits inside a FEMA-mapped flood hazard area, your insurer or your community will require an Elevation Certificate. It records your building's elevations against the Base Flood Elevation, and it is what the rating and the permit decision are based on.

Sometimes the certificate shows the structure is actually above the Base Flood Elevation and was drawn into the zone by mapping that is coarser than the ground. In that case we can prepare a Letter of Map Amendment request to FEMA on your behalf. Where that request succeeds, the mandatory flood insurance requirement can be removed — which for many owners is worth many times the cost of the survey.

When you need one

Typical triggers

Your insurer asks for one

The certificate is what an accurate flood policy rating is calculated from.

Building in a flood zone

Communities require elevation documentation before permitting and again at completion.

Your premium looks wrong

A certificate frequently shows a structure sitting higher than the mapping assumed.

Buying in a mapped zone

Establishes the real exposure and the real carrying cost before you close.

Questions

FEMA Elevation Certificates & LOMA FAQ

A Letter of Map Amendment is FEMA's formal correction when a specific property was included in a mapped flood hazard area but is actually above the Base Flood Elevation. It is supported by surveyed elevations. Where FEMA grants it, the federal mandatory purchase requirement for flood insurance no longer applies to that structure.

Not with certainty before measuring — that is the point of the survey. What we can do is look at the effective flood map and the available ground data with you first, and tell you honestly whether it looks worth pursuing before you spend anything.

The document itself does not carry an expiry date, but it becomes outdated if the flood maps are revised, the datum changes, or the building is altered. If your certificate predates a map revision, it may need to be redone.

Need a quote for fema elevation certificates & loma?

Send us the parcel and what the work is for. We reply within one business day, and we will tell you honestly if you need something different from what you asked for.

(313) 633-4941 Use the quote form