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FEMA released the updated Elevation Certificate and Floodproofing Certificate Jan. 6 via an NFIP Bulletin W-16002

FEMA released the updated Elevation Certificate and Floodproofing Certificate Jan. 6 via an NFIP Bulletin W-16002

For those who have not heard, FEMA released the updated Elevation Certificate and Floodproofing
Certificate Jan. 6 via an NFIP Bulletin W-16002. Unfortunately, it has not yet been posted on FEMA’s
website nor did FEMA provide any indication of the changes made or when you must stop using the old
ones.

A review of differences between the new and old EC was recently completed by the ASFPM Insurance
Committee Co-chairs (thanks John Gerber for taking the lead), and the following are some of the noticed
differences:

 The main one is the addition of Diagram 2B – Intended to address the situation where the
bottom floor is below ground level (grade) on all sides. This is generally where the natural
grade/fill is removed on one side to create an area that is often considered a walkout basement.
The grade immediately adjacent to the structure on that one side may be at or below the
bottom floor, however, since the area was dug out, the LAG must be taken at the existing grade
before the material was removed and not adjacent to the structure.
 The form is now on legal size paper
 Currently, it is only in Adobe; there is no Word version. The Adobe pdf has some limitations. It
can be opened in Adobe, and populated, but it cannot be saved (a warning notice pops up telling
you that). If you want to save it, you must have Adobe Pro. Also, the photo section is a text field
and you have to have Adobe Pro to convert it to an image field before pictures can be attached.
 Page numbering starts on the cover sheet – 15 pages. On the old EC, page numbering started on
the instructions page going from 1-9 and did not include the EC form.
 Page 3 – added the statement at the top of the page: Copy all pages of this Elevation Certificate
and all attachments for (1) community official, (2) Insurance agent/company, and (3) building
owner.
 The Property information inputted in Section A now auto-populates Section B3 and the
subsequent pages where the property information is required. This is definitely a helpful
improvement!
 Section D, the certification page, was moved to the second page of the EC form. This may be an
oversight by FEMA since the EC was modified years ago to include the certification on the first
page to prevent the second page certification from being attached to incorrect or different first
pages. Surveyors were finding their seal on the second page was stapled to multiple first pages
that they did not actually complete.
 In the “Comment” section, the following wording was added: including type of equipment and
location. Per C2(e), if applicable

There are a few other minor ones; however, if you see a major one that was missed, please alert the co-chairs
at (InsuranceCorner@floods.org). Meanwhile, look for future updates in the Insurance Corner of
The Insider if additional guidance is provided by FEMA.

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