Flood Hazard Mapping: Frequently Asked Questions

This page captures Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for multiple stakeholder groups, including homeowners; engineers, surveyors, and architects; and insurance professionals and lenders, and floodplain managers. Select the links below to get answers to your most frequently asked questions.

Homeowners

1. How do I obtain or review the flood map for my area and how do I read it?
2. How do I find out in which "flood hazard area" or "flood zone" my home is located?
3. If I disagree with my lender's determination that I am in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), what can I do?
4. New maps (preliminary or effective) show my home now to be located in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA); how does this affect my property and me?
5. Where can I learn more about purchasing flood insurance?
6. I have looked at the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for the area of my property and think the map is wrong. How can the map be changed?
7. My lender says I need to buy flood insurance. However, I looked on the Floodsmart.gov site and it says I am at low risk. Which one is FEMA's official answer as to which flood zone my house is located?
8. How do I obtain a copy of the Elevation Certificate for my property?
9. What is a Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report and where can I obtain one for my community?
10. Does my community participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)? If it does, how does that affect me?
11. Who can I contact for additional assistance?

For more information, please review FAQs for Homeowners.

Engineers, Surveyors, and Architects

1. How do I determine a Base Flood Elevation (BFE) for an approximate Zone A area?
2. Where can I obtain the backup or supporting data for a Flood Insurance Study (FIS)?
3. What are the FEMA requirements for removing a structure from the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA)?
4. When should I request a revision to a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)?
5. When should a Conditional Map Revision be requested?
6. Who can prepare an Elevation Certificate?
7. How do I determine whether a hydrologic and hydraulic model is accepted for use by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)?
8. Where can I view or obtain a copy of a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) or Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report?
9. Why are temporary benchmarks included on some Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) and not on others?
10. How do I find out when a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) was last updated?
11. I plan to request a map update or revision. What are my options and where can I obtain more information?
12. What are the different types of Letters of Map Change (LOMCs)?
13. What are the different flood insurance risk zone designations and what do they mean?
14. What is the base, or 1-percent-annual-chance, flood?
15. What is the Base Flood Elevation?
16. Which elevation datum should I use?
17. How long does it take to obtain a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) or a Letter of Map Revision Based on Fill (LOMR-F)?

FEMA Engineering Library FAQs

18. What is the FEMA Engineering Library?
19. What types of data are stored in the Engineering Library?
20. Who can request data from the Engineering Library?
21. Who can receive data from the Engineering Library free of charge?
22. How do I make a library request?
23. How much does it cost to receive backup data?
24. Is data available for immediate download?
25. How long does it take to process a request?
26. How do I find out the status of a request?
27. How do I submit a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request?

For more information, please review FAQs for Engineers, Surveyors, and Architects or the Engineering Library Page.

Insurance Professionals and Lenders

1. What does community participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) mean, and how does that affect a homeowner?
2. What does a property owner need to do for FEMA to remove the flood insurance requirement?
3. What elevation is used when rating a structure for a flood insurance policy?
4. How do I determine if a community is participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)?
5. What can be done when a lender and insurer have differing flood zone determinations?
6. What is a "100-year flood" and how is it different from a "1-percent-annual-chance flood" or a "base flood"?
7. What is the Coastal Barrier Resources System and how does it affect flood insurance?
8. What are the different flood hazard zone designations shown on a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FRIM), and what do they mean?
9. How is an Elevation Certificate used?
10. Where can I view specific information about flood insurance?

For more information, please review FAQs for Insurance Professionals and Lenders.

Floodplain Managers

1. By signing the Community Acknowledgement Form (MT-1 Form), to what am I attesting? What is the difference between Sections A and B?
2. Where can I obtain a copy of the Federal Regulations and the advisory Technical Bulletins?
3. What are the community's responsibilities in the Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR)/ Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) process?
4. What are the community's responsibilities during the development, distribution, and approval of new Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs)?
5. How do I obtain a list of all the map actions that have occurred in my community?
6. As a local official, I am interested in requesting a map update or revision, and I would like to be involved in the process. I have heard about the FEMA Cooperating Technical Partners (CTP) program, where can I get more information about that program?
7. What is the Biennial Report, and what are my responsibilities with regard to that report?

For more information, please review FAQs for Floodplain Managers.