Elevation Certificates and LOMA/LOMR on Commercial Property

What an elevation certificate is

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program uses elevation certificates as a tool to document a building's elevation and related information. FEMA's Understanding Elevation Certificates fact sheet (March 2023) describes the certificate as an optional tool the NFIP uses in rating, and as a document that also supports floodplain-management compliance. The fact sheet says a licensed professional, such as a land surveyor, professional engineer, or certified architect, can provide one, and it tells policyholders to ask their insurance carrier whether a certificate would help.

Pasco County's Elevation Certificates page explains the local role. FEMA requires a community's permit file to include an official record showing the proper elevation of new construction and substantial improvements in Special Flood Hazard Areas. The county uses FEMA's elevation-certificate form for that purpose, and it also notes that the same document can help a property owner obtain flood insurance. Completing certificates is part of the county's participation in the Community Rating System.

I do not quote premium savings from any of those pages. For how flood insurance and lender rules work on a commercial building, see commercial property insurance.

How to look one up in Pasco and Hernando

Pasco. The county tells you to check Flood Information to see whether an elevation certificate is on file. If the county does not have one and you need one, a Florida-registered licensed surveyor, engineer, or architect can complete FEMA's current form. Pasco says it joined the NFIP and started recording elevation certificates in 1981. If a building predates that, the county may not have a certificate on file.

The same page is clear about lenders: even if a structure has an elevation certificate showing it is above the design flood elevation, or if the structure is in Zone X, a lender may still require a flood insurance policy.

Pasco's Flood Department is listed at floodinfo@mypasco.net or 727-847-8126, option 4, 8661 Citizens Drive, Suite 100, New Port Richey, on the Flood Program page.

Hernando. The county's Zoning Ordinances, Floodplains and Zoning page points to the Forerunner Map to check flood information and provides a link to upload a digitally signed elevation certificate. Floodplain information reminds you that the FIRM is the official source, and that a LOMA or LOMR can remove all or part of a property from the mapped floodplain and takes precedence over the FIRM. Building and Floodplain Management is listed at (352) 754-4050 on the county flooding page.

County GIS and Forerunner are a good first look. They are not a survey and not a FEMA letter.

LOMA, LOMR, and LOMR-F

If a building or a piece of a lot was mapped into the Special Flood Hazard Area by mistake, or if fill has changed the ground, FEMA has a process to revise the map for that property.

Pasco's elevation-certificate page points owners and lessees who believe a property was inadvertently placed in Zone A, AE, AO, AH, VE, or V to the MT-1 application process under 44 CFR Part 70, through FEMA. Start that process from the FEMA Map Service Center, and work with the surveyor or engineer who prepares the elevation data. Do not assume a prior letter still applies until you see it.

A LOMA or LOMR-F, once issued, can change how a lender and an insurer treat the building. It does not change the ground. If the site still floods, or if the letter applies only to a portion of the tract, you need to read the letter against a current survey. On vacant land, usable acres can still be limited by the remaining floodplain, by wetlands, and by compensating-storage rules. See the flood zones guide and the Pasco land due diligence checklist.

When I want one in the file

• Any existing commercial building in or near a Special Flood Hazard Area, before you write an offer or go hard on diligence.
• A vacant tract where a building is planned in or near the mapped floodplain, once an engineer has a finished-floor elevation to document.
• A refinance or a new loan, if the lender asks for a certificate or a new flood determination.
• A LOMA or LOMR-F application, which will need certified elevations.

Order the certificate early. It has to be scheduled with a licensed professional, and it feeds the insurance quote and, sometimes, the loan.

Common questions

Who can prepare an elevation certificate?

Pasco says a Florida-registered licensed surveyor, engineer, or architect. FEMA's fact sheet likewise points to a licensed land surveyor, professional engineer, or certified architect.

Does the county already have one on file?

Check Pasco's or Hernando's flood-information tool first. Pasco began recording certificates in 1981. If there is no certificate on file, you will need to have one prepared.

If the certificate shows the building is above the Base Flood Elevation, can I drop flood insurance?

Not automatically. Pasco states that a lender may still require a policy even when a certificate shows the building above the design flood elevation, or when the structure is in Zone X. Ask the lender and the insurance agent.

What is the difference between a LOMA and a LOMR-F?

A LOMA is typically based on natural ground being at or above the Base Flood Elevation. A LOMR-F is used when fill is part of the reason the property should be shown differently on the map. Hernando notes that a LOMA or LOMR can remove all or part of a property from the mapped floodplain and takes precedence over the FIRM.

Is a GIS printout enough?

No. Use it to start. A lender wants a flood determination it will accept, and a surveyor or engineer should put elevations and flood lines on a survey when the map would change the deal.