The result you see after using the risk tool on FloodSmart.gov is not an official FEMA determination. That determination is based on the structure’s physical address and may not reflect how your property is shown on the effective Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for your community. For virtually every mortgage transaction involving a structure in the United States, a lender reviews the currently effective FIRM for the community in which the property is located to determine its location relative to the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), the area subject to inundation by the base (1-percent-annual-chance) flood.

FEMA’s official determination regarding whether a structure is in the SFHA is based on the receipt of certain property and elevation information in accordance with National Flood Insurance Program regulations. If you would like FEMA to make an official determination regarding the location of your property relative to the SFHA, you can submit certain property and elevation information and request that FEMA issue a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA), if your property is located on natural ground or a Letter of Map Revision Based on Fill (LOMR-F), if your property has been elevated above the base flood by the placement of earthen fill.