City of St. Louis (independent city)
Elevation Certificate in St. Louis, MO
Elevation Certificate in St. Louis
The River Des Peres runs through the south and west side of the city in a long concrete and earthen channel, and parts of it run underground. During intense storms the channel can rise fast, and the July 2022 flash flooding reached homes in several neighborhoods along it. If your lender or insurance agent says your house is in a mapped flood zone, an elevation certificate in St. Louis records the height of your lowest floor, basement, garage and equipment on FEMA's standard form.
Riverfront property along the Mississippi sits behind the city's floodwall, and those maps carry their own notes about levee protection. A licensed surveyor visits the building, measures the key floor and ground heights, ties them to the published flood elevation and signs the certificate. Survey Coordinator asks for your flood map panel or insurance letter when you order, schedules a licensed surveyor from our team or network, and sends you the completed form.
When you need one
- Your insurance agent asks for one to quote or renew a flood insurance policy
- You're buying a home in or near a mapped flood zone
- You think your home was placed in a flood zone by mistake and want to apply for a map change (LOMA)
- You're building or adding on in a floodplain and the city needs elevations
- You want to know whether your home sits above the base flood elevation
Elevation Certificate questions in St. Louis
Does a St. Louis basement change the elevation certificate result?
Often, yes. Most city houses have full basements, and FEMA treats a below-grade basement floor as the lowest floor for rating. The surveyor measures it along with any sump, furnace or water heater location, so your agent can rate the policy correctly.
Can my St. Louis home be removed from a flood zone?
Sometimes. If the ground next to the house is above the base flood elevation, the surveyor's measurements can support a Letter of Map Amendment request to FEMA. When FEMA approves one, a lender may no longer require flood insurance. We can tell you whether the numbers look promising after the field visit.
Other surveys in St. Louis, MO
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