Elevation Certificate in New York, NY

A Form, Not a Drawing

An elevation certificate is a FEMA document that records measured elevations of specific parts of a building against the base flood elevation for its flood zone. Its purpose is insurance rating. The difference between a lowest floor above the base flood elevation and one below it can change a premium by a large multiple, and in some cases determines whether coverage is available at all.

The Map Panel Is the Whole Job

A certificate is completed against a specific effective FIRM panel. When that panel is superseded the certificate goes with it, and a great deal of New York was remapped after Sandy - properties moved into zones, out of zones and between them. A certificate that predates the remapping of its own area is not usable. We identify the current effective panel for the address and record which one was used on the form itself, so anyone reading it later can see what it was measured against.

Where the Exposure Is

Staten Island carries the city's largest concentration: Midland Beach, New Dorp Beach, Oakwood, Great Kills and Tottenville along the east and south shores. Queens has the Rockaway peninsula, extensively mapped end to end. Brooklyn has Coney Island, Gerritsen Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Mill Basin and the Canarsie edge. the Bronx has stretches of the southern waterfront. New Rochelle has the Long Island Sound shoreline and the low ground behind it. Inland Manhattan properties rarely need one, though the mapped edges of lower Manhattan do.

What We Will Not Do

We will not tell you the certificate will lower your premium before measuring. It documents the elevations; whether that helps or hurts is what the measurement determines. If the reason for the request is a transaction, the title survey and, on commercial property, the ALTA/NSPS survey are the documents that usually accompany it, and grades from a topographic survey can be relevant where mitigation is being considered.

How long does it take? The measurement is quick once we are on site. Completing the form correctly against the right flood map panel is what takes the time.

Frequently Asked Questions