Floor Elevation Certificate

Effective january 1 2017 a copy of each elevation certificate prepared by a surveyor and mapper will be submitted to the florida division of emergency management fdem as required by florida statute 472 0366.

Floor elevation certificate. The lowest floor elevation might be the most important factor that determines your home s rating. If you do not have a flood elevation certificate a land surveyor can visit your property and prepare this document for you. The elevation certificate will take into account important factors like home location flood zone materials used in construction and lowest floor elevation. To obtain the elevation of the lowest floor including basement of all new and substantially improved buildings and maintain a record of such information.

The typical cost of an elevation certificate is between 350 and 550. Lowest floor elevation 033. The elevation certificate provides a way for a community to document compliance with the community s floodplain management ordinance. If you re in situation 2 above the first step is to get an elevation determination.

An elevation certificate ec is a document needed to confirm your home property s elevation in relation to the estimated height floodwaters could reach in the event of a major flood especially in high risk zones. An elevation certificate documents important features of your property including its location flood zone building characteristics and most importantly the elevation of its lowest floor. The elevation certificate form and instructions can be downloaded by clicking the fema link or a copy can be picked up at the harris county permit office. Your insurance agent will use the ec to compare your building s elevation to the base flood elevation bfe shown on the flood map being used for rating and determine the cost to cover your flood risk.

In addition ecs are used by the nfip and some private carriers to provide elevation information necessary to. This case is similar to 2 b. Your lowest finished floor elevation ffe is below the bfe. Complete lowest floor verification pdf form and email to.

Again get an elevation certificate to determine your premium rate. If your elevation certificate determines your lowest floor to be at risk of flooding. The form is issued by the nfip and used by insurance agents to determine your flood insurance premiums. You can easily upload a copy of your certificates and view previously submitted certificates.

For example the ec shows the location of the building lowest floor elevation building characteristics and flood zone. The finished floor elevation of structures within the sfha must be a minimum of 18 above the base flood elevation bfe.