What Is the Latest FEMA Elevation Certificate Form?
FEMA's current Elevation Certificate is the 2022 edition, form number 086-0-33. Your surveyor or local floodplain office will have it.
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When you need one
An Elevation Certificate only matters if the house sits in a flood zone that requires flood insurance, usually marked on the seller's disclosure or a flood zone determination your lender orders. If the house isn't in a mapped flood zone, you likely don't need this form at all.
Who provides it
You don't fill this out yourself. A licensed surveyor or engineer measures the house and completes the form, often for a fee the buyer or seller pays. Ask early, since scheduling a survey can take longer than other closing steps.
What it changes about cost
The certificate shows how high the house sits relative to expected flood levels. A house built above the base flood elevation usually costs less to insure for flood risk than one built at or below it. Without the certificate, the insurer may assume the worst case and charge more.
Your closing timeline
If flood insurance is required, your lender needs proof of that coverage before closing, same as homeowners insurance. Order the Elevation Certificate as soon as you know flood insurance applies, so it doesn't become the thing holding up your binder.
A survey could lower what flood coverage costs
If the house needs flood insurance, the Elevation Certificate can mean a lower rate instead of a worst-case guess. Compare quotes now so you know what the house actually costs to cover before closing.
What's actually on the form
The Elevation Certificate records a set of measurements, not an opinion. It lists the building's lowest floor elevation, the elevation of machinery like the furnace or water heater, and the base flood elevation for that spot, which is the height floodwater is expected to reach in a significant flood. A surveyor takes these measurements with the same equipment used for property surveys, then certifies them on the form with a signature and license number.
The form also records the flood zone itself, pulled from the FEMA flood map for that address, and notes whether the building has a basement, crawlspace, or is built on fill or pilings. All of this matters because flood insurers price a policy off the gap between the lowest floor and the base flood elevation. A few feet in either direction changes the number they quote.
Photographs are required too. The surveyor attaches pictures of the building showing the foundation and any vents or openings used for flood water to pass through in a crawlspace. An insurer reviewing the certificate checks the numbers against the photos, so a sloppy or incomplete form can get sent back, which costs more time than getting it right once.
Older houses sometimes come with an Elevation Certificate already on file from a past sale or renovation permit. It's worth asking the seller or the local floodplain management office before paying for a new survey, since FEMA allows an older certificate to be used as long as nothing about the building's elevation has changed. If one exists, check the form edition date and make sure it's a version FEMA still accepts. If it's outdated or missing pages, a new survey is the only way around it.
How insurers actually use the numbers on the form
Once the certificate exists, it goes to the flood insurer, not the homeowners insurer, since flood coverage is a separate policy in almost every case. The insurer takes the difference between the lowest floor elevation and the base flood elevation and runs it through their rating tables. A house sitting three feet above base flood elevation typically prices very differently from one sitting a foot below it, even on the same street, because the certificate is doing the job a flood map alone can't.
The National Flood Insurance Program, which most lenders require for homes in high-risk flood zones, relies heavily on this document to set a premium instead of defaulting to its highest-risk pricing. Some private flood insurers use the same certificate, though they may weigh the numbers differently. Either way, the certificate is the one piece of paperwork that lets an insurer quote based on this house instead of the zone it sits in generally.
Mistakes on the form cause real delays. A transposed elevation number, a missing photo, or a surveyor who signs without listing a license number can send the certificate back for correction, and that correction takes another site visit in some cases. Reviewing the completed form before it goes to the insurer, checking that the address matches, the flood zone matches the lender's determination, and the elevations are legible, catches most of these problems before they cost a week.
A certificate also has a shelf life in practice, even though FEMA doesn't put an expiration date on the form itself. If the house gets regraded, an addition changes the lowest floor, or local flood maps get updated, the old certificate no longer reflects the building accurately and an insurer may ask for a new one. For a straightforward purchase with no planned changes to the structure, the certificate completed for closing should hold up for as long as the policy is held, unless the flood zone maps for that area are redrawn.
Check the house itself
Ask the seller or floodplain office if an Elevation Certificate already exists for this address. If one does, confirm the edition date is current before paying for a new survey.
