An Elevation Certificate is an official form of the National Flood Insurance Program (FEMA Form 81-31) created to compare a property’s elevation data (determined by field measurement) to the Base Flood Elevation data. It provides elevation information for compliance with floodplain management ordinances, setting insurance premium rates, and supporting map change requests, namely the Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) and the Letter of Map Revision Based on Fill (LOMR-F).

An Elevation Certificate is required to obtain a National Flood Insurance Program policy on all Post-FIRM construction, but is optional on Pre-FIRM construction. The Elevation Certificate is required by the NFIP to certify the lowest floor of a building so the policy can be properly rated.