Elevation Certificates

An Elevation Certificate is a form created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) as a compliance and insurance tool within federally mapped floodplains. The certificates verify that structures are safely elevated above the expected 100-year flood level and that they meet other floodplain requirements. Insurance companies utilize the certificates to determine flood insurance premiums for homeowners within flood hazard zones.

While the use of the FEMA Elevation Certificate is required by the federal government within federally mapped floodplains, the District also requires its use in local floodplains. The Ordinance requires Elevation Certificates to be completed by an Arizona registered land surveyor or Arizona registered civil engineer. Although Elevation Certificates may be completed by other individuals for insurance purposes, the District cannot accept an Elevation Certificate that is not completed, signed and sealed by a registered land surveyor or engineer.

Check our list of completed Elevation Certificates to see if a certificate is on file for your property.

ELEVATION CERTIFICATE INFORMATION FOR SURVEYORS

Effective January 1, 2007, use of the new FEMA Elevation Certificate is required. Elevation Certificates using the old form will be accepted after January 1, 2006 only if issued by the District for a permit prior to January 1, 2007. The new Elevation Certificate contains some fairly significant changes, so surveyors and engineers should familiarize themselves with the new form by carefully reviewing the FEMA instruction manual and the Districts Elevation Certificate Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

The District has also created a fillable PDF Elevation Certificate form. This form has certain common fields pre-filled in, and also contains drop down menus to aid in the efficient and uniform completion of Elevation Certificates. The form will also populate repetitive fields automatically. Surveyors and Engineers are encouraged to utilize this form.

Elevation Certificate Workshop Announcement

The District is hosting an Elevation Certificate Workshop conducted by the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) on July 8, 2008, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Tucson Main Library basement conference room. This workshop is designed for private land surveyors and engineers, building, planning and public works staff, Floodplain Administrators, and CRS Coordinators. The workshop will cover proper completion of Elevation Certificates, the purpose of Elevation Certificates, and other related topics. Please view the Announcement and Registration form for more details and to register for the workshop.