Elevation Certificates

What is an Elevation Certificate

An Elevation Certificate (EC) is an essential tool that documents and confirms your home's elevation relative to the estimated height floodwaters will reach in the event of a major flood in a high-risk area.  

An EC list a building's location, lowest point of elevation, flood zone and other characteristics, according to FEMA.  It is used to enforce local building codes.  The EC shows how your property's elevation compares to the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) on a flood map. Structures that sit at the BFE are considered to have a 1-percent chance of flooding each year.   

Am I required to have an Elevation Certificate?

Deer Park city code requires that all new construction, substantial improvements or substantial damage repair, within the 100-year or 500-year flood zone, submit an elevation certificate before a final building inspection will be completed.  As a standard operating procedure, we also like to obtain EC's for new construction located outside the 100 or 500-year flood zones, but it is not required.  

Does the city have my Elevation Certificate on file?

The requirement to provide an Elevation Certificate has only been in effect for a few years.  if the structure was built after 2015, the odds are we will have one on file.  We also have several prior to 2015.  Contact our office via Emailing Public Works to ask if we have yours on file.

How do I go about obtaining an Elevation Certificate?

You will need to contact a professional land surveyor to evaluate your property and complete a new or updated elevation certificate.  The average cost is between $300 - $500.