FEMA Applications

Our Professional Land Surveying services include surveying for, and preparing FEMA Applications for flood mapping and for obtaining flood insurance.

FEMA Applications

Navigating the requirements and forms from FEMA is daunting for many. We can help to guide you through the FEMA Application process and prepare the following FEMA applications:

FEMA Elevation Certificate

The Elevation Certificate is an important administrative tool of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). It is to be used to provide elevation information necessary to ensure compliance with community floodplain management ordinances, to determine the proper insurance premium rate, and to support a request for a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) or Letter of Map Revision based on fill (LOMR-F). The Elevation Certificate is required in order to properly rate post-FIRM buildings.

Foster Survey Company provides affordable, fast and professional FEMA Elevation Certificate services for residential, single-family structures. We offer the following three options, depending on how quickly you need your Elevation Certificate.

Our Elevation Certificate Services:

• Express Service – Your FEMA Elevation Certificate is delivered in 3 weeks.
• Rush Service – Your FEMA Elevation Certificate is delivered in 10 business days.
• Ultra-Rush Service – Your FEMA Elevation Certificate is delivered in 3 business days.

Our Elevation Certificate Process:

You will find working with us easy and professional. And, we respect your time, so you can schedule the home inspection for a day and time that works for you!

This is the 4-step process you can expect:

1. Place your order – Elevation Certificate service is easily ordered online. Or, either call (401-647-9240) or submit a survey request form and we’ll be happy to answer your questions and take your order.
2. Schedule a home inspection – Order your Elevation Certificate and  let us know the day and time that’s convenient for you to let us inspect and survey the inside of your home. Typically, our home inspection takes about 30 minutes (homes with complicated basements or difficult to reach crawlspaces take longer).
3. Exterior Surveying – We take surveying measurements of the ground elevations at the exterior perimeter of your home (including attached decks and stairs) and measure the floor elevations and, if you have one, your garage slab elevation. You do not have to be home for this work, but we do need access to any enclosed yard areas and please unlock any crawlspace access doors. Also, it is very helpful if your dog(s) are not left outside while we do our surveying work (friendly pooches excepted).
4. Elevation Certificate delivered – You will receive the completed Elevation Certificate via email (in .pdf format). If you don’t use email or you would prefer to receive your completed Elevation Certificate by regular mail, we are happy to do so.

eLOMA Letter of Map Amendment

eLOMA is a web-based application within the Mapping Information Platform (MIP) that provides Foster Survey Company, as licensed land surveyors, with a system to submit simple Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) requests to FEMA. This tool is designed to make a determination based on the information submitted by the Licensed Professional. Through the use of eLOMA, Licensed Professionals can receive a determination in the time that it takes to enter the required information online. The eLOMA online determination tool is available to our licensed land surveyor, who is registered with FEMA to be eLOMA Licensed Professional, and is authorized to submit applications on behalf of homeowners/landowners. An eLOMA document will serve the same functions as a standard LOMA.

Note that not all LOMA requests qualify to be submitted using the eLOMA tool. At this time, only existing single residential structures or entire legally recorded properties qualify. Also, to submit an eLOMA, the structure or parcel of land cannot have been elevated by the placement of fill or be in an A Zone without a Base Flood Elevation (BFE).

You must first purchase a FEMA Flood Elevation Certificate in addition to purchasing this eLOMA Electronic Letter of Map Amendment. This is because the surveyed data collected in the FEMA Flood Elevation Certificate becomes the basis on which the eLOMA is filed. Furthermore, upon completion of the FEMA Flood Elevation Certificate, it may be determined that your property and/or structure is not within a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), at which point we would recommend a different FEMA application, other than an eLOMA, be prepared and submitted that is appropriate for your situation.

LOMR Letter of Map Revision

A Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) is FEMA’s modification to an effective Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), or Flood Boundary and Floodway Map (FBFM), or both. LOMRs are generally based on the implementation of physical measures that affect the hydrologic or hydraulic characteristics of a flooding source and thus result in the modification of the existing regulatory floodway, the effective Base Flood Elevations (BFEs), or the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). The LOMR officially revises the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) or Flood Boundary and Floodway Map (FBFM), and sometimes the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report, and when appropriate, includes a description of the modifications. The LOMR is generally accompanied by an annotated copy of the affected portions of the FIRM, FBFM, or FIS report.

You must first purchase a FEMA Flood Elevation Certificate in addition to purchasing this Letter of Map Revision (LOMR). This is because the surveyed data collected in the FEMA Flood Elevation Certificate becomes the basis on which the eLOMA is filed. Furthermore, upon completion of the FEMA Flood Elevation Certificate, it may be determined that your property and/or structure is not within a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), at which point we would recommend the appropriate FEMA application that matches your situation.

Effect of a LOMA or LOMR-F on Flood Insurance Requirements

Effect of a LOMA or LOMR-F on Flood Insurance Requirements

The issuance of an eLOMA, LOMA or LOMR-F eliminates the Federal flood insurance purchase requirement as a condition of Federal or federally backed financing; however, the mortgage lender retains the prerogative to require flood insurance as a condition of providing financing, regardless of the location of a structure. The purchase of a flood insurance policy is wise even if a structure is located outside the SFHA. More than 25 percent of flood claims are made by property owners located outside the SFHA. The issuance of a LOMA or LOMR-F does not mean the structure or lot is safe from all flooding; it means that the risk of flooding is not as high as it is in the SFHA. Events greater than the 1-percent-annual-chance event can and do occur. It is also to important to note that the flood insurance premium rate for structures located outside the SFHA are lower than the premiums for structures located in the SFHA.

To learn more about flood insurance and receive other answers to questions about the NFIP, please visit Answers to questions about the NFIP.

To learn more about the purchase of flood insurance and the options that are available, please visit Flood Smart.gov.

Here’s the FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer map to identify the FEMA flood zones and available flood maps near your property: