What Is an Elevation Certificate, and How Do You Get One in New Jersey?

An elevation certificate is a FEMA form that shows how high a building sits compared with how high local floodwaters are expected to get. In New Jersey, a seller who has one must share it with the buyer, and the buyer may be able to use it for their own flood insurance. On a waterfront or shore home in Monmouth or Ocean County, it's one of the first documents I ask about.

I'm Dennis Mark Interdonato with The Dennis Mark Group. I've been building and renovating New Jersey homes since 2003, and this one piece of paper answers more insurance questions than almost anything else in the file. Here's what it is, where to find one and who prepares it.

What does an elevation certificate show?

FloodSmart, the National Flood Insurance Program's consumer site, describes it as a document showing how high a building is compared with how high local floodwaters are expected to get. It records the home's location, its characteristics and its first floor height, meaning the height of the lowest floor above the ground. Basements aren't counted in that height. They're measured separately and noted on the certificate.

The certificate also identifies the building by a diagram number that describes how it's built, for example on a slab, over a crawlspace or elevated on a foundation, and records surveyed elevations such as the lowest floor and the ground next to the building.

What is an elevation certificate used for?

FEMA's own instructions for the form, reprinted in the October 2025 NFIP Flood Insurance Manual, list three uses:

• Showing that a building complies with the town's floodplain management rules
• Informing the proper flood insurance premium
• Supporting a request to FEMA to amend or revise a flood map for a property (a Letter of Map Amendment, for example)

On the insurance side, FloodSmart puts it plainly: elevation certificates don't set your rate, but they can identify discounts. Under the current NFIP manual, a policyholder can choose to provide one so the rating uses surveyed elevations instead of a value FEMA determines from other data.

Do you need an elevation certificate?

According to FloodSmart, most homeowners don't need one to buy flood insurance. The exception is a home in a high-risk Zone A or Zone V area, where you may need one to show the building meets local safety standards. If you're not sure what those zone letters mean, read what the letters on a FEMA flood map mean.

Even where it isn't required, I like to have one in hand on a waterfront home. It gives the insurance agent real numbers to work with, and it gives a buyer a clear answer early.

Where can you find an elevation certificate that's already on file?

Start with these three places:

1. The seller. New Jersey's seller disclosure form asks whether a FEMA elevation certificate is available, and if so, the law says it must be shared with the buyer.
2. The town's floodplain manager. FloodSmart says your home may have one on file with your community. The floodplain manager usually works in the building, permitting, engineering or land use office.
3. The flood insurance agent. If the home already carries a flood policy, the agent may have the certificate used to rate it.

Who prepares a new elevation certificate?

If there isn't one on file, FloodSmart says you'll need to hire a land surveyor, engineer or architect, and FEMA's form instructions call for one who is authorized by state law to certify elevation information. Your flood insurance agent can help you decide whether one is worth ordering. Ask the surveyor about timing and cost up front, because both vary with the property and the season.

Does an elevation certificate expire?

No, with one condition. FEMA's instructions say a completed certificate does not expire unless there's a physical change to the building that changes the information on it, such as the building's elevations. The form also says it's tied to the building and is not invalidated when ownership changes. That's why a certificate from a prior owner can still be useful to you.

If the house has been raised, added onto or rebuilt since the certificate was completed, assume it needs a fresh look. That's exactly the kind of change a builder notices on a walk-through.

What does New Jersey law say sellers have to share?

New Jersey's flood disclosure law, P.L. 2023, c. 93 (N.J.S.A. 56:8-19.2), added flood questions to the property condition disclosure statement a seller gives the buyer before the buyer is obligated under the contract. One question asks whether a FEMA elevation certificate is available. The form's own explanation says that if one is available, it must be shared with the buyer, and that a buyer may be able to use a previous owner's certificate for their own flood insurance.

Selling? The rest of the paperwork to gather is in selling a waterfront home: the documents to gather before you list.

See how I handle waterfront details on the waterfront homes page and in the Luxury & Waterfront Guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will an elevation certificate lower my flood insurance?

It can. FloodSmart says elevation certificates don't set your rate but can identify discounts. Your insurance agent can tell you whether it changes your quote.

Does a new owner need a new elevation certificate?

Not because of the sale. FEMA's instructions say a completed certificate isn't invalidated by a change in ownership. A physical change to the building can make a new one necessary.

Is an elevation certificate the same as a property survey?

No. FEMA's instructions say the form is used only to certify building elevations. A boundary survey is a separate document.

Can I get an elevation certificate from the town?

Sometimes. FloodSmart says a home may already have one on file with the community, so ask the town's floodplain manager before you hire a surveyor.

This is general information, not legal, tax or lending advice, and not insurance advice. Your insurance agent and attorney advise on your situation. Sources checked October 10, 2026.

About the author

Dennis Mark Interdonato is a REALTOR® and Master CDRE® who leads The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living in Point Pleasant, NJ, helping buyers and sellers throughout New Jersey make their next move, with Monmouth and Ocean County as home base. Read more about Dennis Mark.

Keep reading

• Waterfront homes in New Jersey: what buyers should know
• Can you take over the seller's flood insurance policy?
• Thinking of selling a shore home? Start with a free home value.
• Have a question this didn't answer? Send it to Dennis Mark and it may become the next article.