Flood certificate data extraction: flood determinations and elevation certificates
For lenders, servicers and insurance tracking teams: what's on FEMA's flood determination form, how it differs from an elevation certificate, and what to check on every loan.
Key takeaways
- On a mortgage, a flood certificate is FEMA's Standard Flood Hazard Determination Form: the record of whether the building securing the loan is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, completed by the lender or a flood determination company.
- An Elevation Certificate is a different FEMA form. A surveyor, engineer or architect certifies the building's elevations for floodplain rules, insurance rating or a map change request.
- Every flood zone beginning with A or V is in the Special Flood Hazard Area. If the building is in one, the loan needs flood insurance for its whole term, where the NFIP makes it available.
- The minimum coverage is the lesser of the outstanding principal balance and the NFIP maximum for the building type: $250,000 for a 1- to 4-unit home, $500,000 for an apartment building of 5 or more units or a non-residential building.
- Extraction turns each determination, including the updates life-of-loan monitoring sends after a map change, into data a lender can check against the loan and the flood policy.
On this page
Flood certificate data extraction means reading the flood zone determinations and elevation certificates in a loan file and turning them into data a lender can check: the flood zone, the NFIP community and map panel, whether the building is in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), and how much flood insurance the loan needs. On a mortgage, the flood certificate is FEMA's Standard Flood Hazard Determination Form, completed by the lender or a flood determination company. The Elevation Certificate is a different FEMA form, certified by a surveyor, engineer or architect.
This guide covers how the two forms differ, the fields on a determination, the rules and checks that apply to each loan, and how to automate them.
Flood determination vs elevation certificate#
The two forms answer different questions, and different people complete them:
| Form | Flood determination | Elevation certificate |
|---|---|---|
| FEMA form | Standard Flood Hazard Determination Form, FF-206-FY-21-116 (formerly 086-0-32) | Elevation Certificate, FF-206-FY-22-152 (formerly 086-0-33) |
| Completed by | The lender, or a flood determination company working for it | A licensed land surveyor, professional engineer or architect authorized to certify elevations |
| Records | The flood zone, map panel and community, whether federal flood insurance is available, and whether the building is in an SFHA | The building's elevations, its flood zone and base flood elevation, and photographs |
| Used for | Deciding whether the loan needs flood insurance, and how much | Floodplain management compliance, insurance rating and map change requests |
| Required | On federally backed loans secured by a building | Not to buy NFIP flood insurance; needed for some map change requests and to show building compliance |
An elevation certificate is the longer of the two. Sections A and B describe the building and its flood map data, including the base flood elevation. Section C holds surveyed elevations, which the surveyor, engineer or architect certifies in section D; sections E and H hold measured, not surveyed, heights; and section G is for the community's floodplain official.
What's on a flood determination, and what to extract#
The determination has two sections: loan information, and the determination itself. Lenders must use FEMA's form, on paper or electronically, and keep a copy for as long as they own the loan.
| Box | Fields | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| I.1 Lender or servicer | Name and address | Matching the determination to the lender |
| I.2 Collateral | Property address, parcel or lot number, or latitude and longitude | Matching the building on the loan and on the flood policy |
| I.3 and I.4 Identifiers | Lender or servicer ID and loan identifier (both optional) | Linking the determination to the loan record |
| I.5 Insurance required | Amount of flood insurance required (optional) | The coverage the policy has to meet |
| II.A Community | NFIP community name, county, state and 6-digit community number | Checking the community's NFIP status |
| II.B Map data | Map or community-panel number, panel effective or revised date, any Letter of Map Change (date and case number), flood zone, or "no NFIP map" | Which map the zone came from, and whether it's current |
| II.C Availability | Regular or Emergency Program, not available, or a CBRA or OPA area with its designation date | Whether federal flood insurance can be bought at all |
| II.D Determination | Is the building in a Special Flood Hazard Area? Yes or no | Whether flood insurance is required |
| II.E and II.F Comments and preparer | Comments; the preparer's name, address and phone; the date of determination | Who guarantees the determination, and how current it is |
How a flood determination moves through a loan#
Each federal agency that regulates lenders enforces the flood insurance purchase rules (the OCC's version, for national banks, is 12 CFR Part 22), and Fannie Mae adds its own requirements for the loans it buys. Under all of them, the steps are the same:
- DetermineUse FEMA's form to find out whether the building is in an SFHA before the loan is made, increased, extended or renewed, and keep a copy.
- NotifyIf it is, give the borrower written notice within a reasonable time before closing, send the servicer a copy, and keep a record that both received it.
- Require coverageFlood insurance for the term of the loan, at least the lesser of the outstanding principal balance and the maximum NFIP coverage for the building type.
- Watch for lapsesIf coverage lapses or falls short during the loan, notify the borrower. If it isn't fixed within 45 days, buy it on the borrower's behalf.
Checks to run on every flood determination#
- Zone and SFHA answer agreeAny zone beginning with A or V is in the SFHA, and if any part of the building is in one, the whole building is.
- NFIP availabilityThe community is in the NFIP's Regular or Emergency Program. If it doesn't participate, federal flood insurance isn't available, and in a CBRA or OPA area it may not be.
- Property matchesThe collateral description matches the loan and the property address on the flood policy.
- Coverage is enoughBuilding coverage is at least the lesser of the outstanding principal balance and the NFIP maximum: $250,000 for a 1- to 4-unit home, $500,000 for an apartment building of 5 or more units or a non-residential building. For 1- to 4-unit homes, Fannie Mae adds 100% of the replacement cost as a third limit.
- Private policiesA private flood policy states that it meets the definition of private flood insurance, or someone reviews its coverage against an NFIP policy.
- Map data recordedThe map panel number and date and any Letter of Map Change are captured, so a later map revision can be matched to the loans it affects.
- Life-of-loan monitoringThe determination includes it (federal rules let the determination fee cover it), so map changes during the loan reach you.
- Notice on fileIf the building is in an SFHA, the notice of special flood hazards went to the borrower before closing, with a record of receipt.
The flood policy is checked alongside the rest of the property insurance evidence, such as the ACORD 27 and ACORD 28.
How to automate flood certificate extraction#
Every federally backed loan secured by a building needs a determination, and lenders may use FEMA's form on paper or electronically, so the same fields arrive in different layouts, next to elevation certificates, declarations pages and evidence of insurance. Automation reads each document on arrival, checks it against the loan and the policy, and sends only the exceptions to a person.
- Flood determination
- Elevation certificate
- Flood policy declarations page
- 01Classify
- 02Extract every field
- 03Check against the loan and policy
- 04Review exceptions
Docsumo is an intelligent document processing (IDP) platform. It takes documents by email, upload or API, reads flood determinations, elevation certificates, declarations pages and ACORD evidence of property insurance from PDFs and scans, and sends fields it's unsure about to a reviewer with the source line highlighted. Checks that compare the determination with the flood policy and the rest of the file run as cross-document validation on the Enterprise plan. It doesn't issue flood determinations or watch FEMA's maps: results go to your servicing or insurance tracking system through API and webhooks.
Arbor, a multifamily and commercial real estate lender, uses Docsumo on the insurance compliance documents for its loans.
- 99%accuracy on insurance compliance documents at Arbor
- 3,000+hours a month saved at Arbor
The bottom line#
A flood certificate answers one question for each loan: is the building in a Special Flood Hazard Area, and so does the loan need flood insurance? Extract the zone, the map data and the determination, check them against the loan and the policy, and keep watching for map changes and lapses for the life of the loan. More on the rest of the loan file in IDP for lending.
Book a demo with a few of your own flood certificates, or start a free trial.
Frequently asked questions#
What is a flood certificate in a US mortgage?
It's the flood zone determination a lender gets for a loan secured by a building, recorded on FEMA's Standard Flood Hazard Determination Form. It shows the flood zone, the map panel it came from and whether the building is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, which decides whether the loan needs flood insurance.
What is the difference between a flood certificate and an elevation certificate?
A flood certificate (the flood determination) says whether a building is in a Special Flood Hazard Area; the lender or a determination company completes it from FEMA's maps. An elevation certificate records the building's elevations; a licensed surveyor, engineer or architect certifies it, for floodplain rules, insurance rating and map change requests.
Who prepares a flood determination?
The lender, or a flood determination company working for it. FEMA's instructions say a determination made by someone other than the lender is acceptable only to the extent that its accuracy is guaranteed.
What does life of loan mean on a flood certification?
It's a service many flood determination companies sell with the first determination: they review the building's flood status for the whole term of the loan and report changes to the lender, such as a map revision that moves it into or out of a Special Flood Hazard Area. Federal banking rules let the determination fee include it.
Is an elevation certificate required to buy flood insurance?
Not for an NFIP policy. FEMA says an elevation certificate isn't required to buy flood insurance, but a property owner can provide one and FEMA will consider it in rating the policy.
Sources
- FEMA: NFIP underwriting forms (Standard Flood Hazard Determination Form, Elevation Certificate)
- FEMA: Standard Flood Hazard Determination Form and instructions (FF-206-FY-21-116)
- FEMA: Elevation Certificate FAQ (October 2023)
- FEMA: Working with flood risk, engineers, surveyors and architects (Elevation Certificates)
- eCFR: 12 CFR Part 22, Loans in Areas Having Special Flood Hazards (OCC)
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B7-3-06: Flood Insurance Requirements for All Property Types
- eCFR: 44 CFR 61.6, Maximum amounts of NFIP coverage available
- FDIC, OCC, Federal Reserve, FCA and NCUA: Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Flood Insurance (2022)
First published . Last updated .