An elevation certificate is a form (Federal Emergency Management Agency Form 086-0-33) that is used by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in order to determine if a building is in compliance with community floodplain management ordinances, to determine the proper insurance premium rate, and to support a request for a flood map amendment, if needed.

Elevation certificates are only required for buildings constructed in a flood zone shown on a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), that have been built after the publication of the initial FIRM.

An elevation certificate can be certified by a surveyor, engineer or architect.  A field visit is required in order to measure the elevation of a building in relation to the flood plain and the adjacent grade.

Want to know if a building is in a flood zone?  Enter an address into the FEMA Flood Map Service Center, select "Search," and then select "Interactive Map."