Using the FEMA Elevation Certificate

Friday, November 11th, 2011

The official Elevation Certificate, or “flood cert” as it is sometimes referred to, was created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as part of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which now comes under the authority of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The expiration date for the current form is March 31, 2012. See www.fema.gov for more information and copies of the Elevation Certificate and its instructions.

The intent of this federal form was a mechanism for providing elevation information on property and the structures situated thereon as they relate to the National Flood Insurance Program. This information is primarily used in three ways: 1) To ensure compliance with community floodplain management ordinances, 2) to determine the proper insurance premium rate, and 3) to support a request for a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) or Letter of Map Revision based on fill (LOMR-F).

First, this Elevation Certificate is used to ensure compliance with community floodplain management ordinances. Here the use of the word community refers to actual political subdivisions known as counties or municipalities. NFIP requires the community to adopt floodplain management regulations in order to reduce flood losses. It further requires that the community obtain the elevation of the lowest floor of all new and improved buildings. They must also maintain a record of such information. Hence, the Elevation Certificate provides a means to document such compliance.

Secondly, this Elevation Certificate is used to determine proper insurance rates. The certificate is required in order to properly rate post-FIRM (Flood Insurance Rate Map) buildings. In contrast, the certificate is not required for Pre-FIRM buildings unless they are being rated under the optional Post-FIRM flood insurance rules.

Thirdly, this Elevation Certificate is used to support a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) or Letter of Map Revision based on fill (LOMR-F). It is important to understand that the use of this certificate cannot provide a waiver of the flood insurance purchase requirement per federal law. Only a LOMA or LOMR-F from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can amend the Flood Insurance Rate Map. Only FEMA can remove the Federal mandate for purchasing flood insurance. However, the Elevation Certificate is used to support the request for a LOMA or LOMR-F.

As you examine the Elevation Certificate form as provided by FEMA, “Section D – Surveyor, Engineer, or Architect Certification” a design professional is called upon to seal and sign the certificate. Both the certificate and the instructions state that “this section of the Elevation Certificate may be signed by only a land surveyor, engineer, or architect who is authorized by law to certify elevation information”. Some professionals have debated and questioned who is authorized to sign and seal these certificates. It must be further understood that while “Section C – Building Elevation Information (Survey Required)” requires that the professional indicate that the building elevations are based on either construction drawings, building under construction, or finished construction. The form also indicates for the first two items that “a New Elevation Certificate will be required when construction of the building is complete”.

So can an engineer sign and seal this form? In the state of Maryland recently, this very question and debate came before the licensing boards for surveyors and engineers. Both the surveying and engineering licensing board agreed together that they do not have jurisdiction over the federal government or the regulations or forms they create. However, they do regulate the design professionals in the state of Maryland. No one can claim that FEMA gives them the authority to make such certifications because even FEMA indicates that “this section of the Elevation Certificate may be signed by only a land surveyor, engineer, or architect who is authorized by law to certify elevation information”. It is Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulations (DLLR) that authorizes the practice of engineers, surveyors, and architects. Both the engineering and surveying licensing boards agreed that while an engineer may sign and seal the FEMA Elevation Certificate when the elevations are based on “construction drawings”, it is the sole authority of the professional land surveyor in the state of Maryland when it involves elevation measurements for Section C of the FEMA form as the instructions state that “a field survey is required”.

jmettee   Community, Odds and Ends
certificate, Community, FEMA
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