A Letter of Map Amendment, or LOMA, is FEMA’s official recognition that your property was mistakenly drawn inside a high-risk flood zone on the agency’s Flood Insurance Rate Map. If the natural ground beneath the property sits at or above the elevation floodwaters would reach in a major flood, FEMA will amend the map for that parcel, and the federal requirement to carry flood insurance on a mortgaged property goes away. FEMA charges nothing to process the request, and the fastest electronic pathway can return an answer in minutes.1Federal Emergency Management Agency. Flood Map-Related Fees
What a LOMA Does
Federal law requires anyone with a federally backed mortgage on a property inside a Special Flood Hazard Area to carry flood insurance for the life of the loan.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 4012a – Flood Insurance Purchase and Compliance Requirements FEMA’s maps draw the boundaries of those areas, but they sometimes sweep in parcels that actually sit on higher ground. A LOMA corrects that mistake for a single property. FEMA defines it as an amendment issued because “a property has been inadvertently mapped as being in the floodplain, but is actually on natural high ground above the base flood elevation.”3Federal Emergency Management Agency. Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA)
The word “natural” is doing a lot of work in that definition. If someone trucked in soil to raise the ground above the flood level, the matter falls under a different determination, the Letter of Map Revision Based on Fill (LOMR-F). A LOMA is only for property where the ground was always high enough and the map simply failed to reflect it.4Federal Emergency Management Agency. Letter of Map Amendment and Letter of Map Revision-Based on Fill Process
Does Your Property Qualify
The approval standard reduces to one measurement. The lowest adjacent grade, meaning the lowest point where the ground touches the structure, must sit at or above the Base Flood Elevation, the water height predicted for a flood with a one-percent annual chance of occurring.4Federal Emergency Management Agency. Letter of Map Amendment and Letter of Map Revision-Based on Fill Process That elevation has to come from the natural ground. A licensed land surveyor or professional engineer must certify the measurement from verifiable survey data.5eCFR. 44 CFR 70.3 – Right to Submit Technical Information
Coastal V Zones Have Tighter Rules
Property in coastal V zones faces stricter treatment. FEMA will not process a LOMA to move a parcel from a V zone to an A zone, and fill-based amendments are prohibited in Coastal High Hazard Areas entirely. For a building on pilings or columns, every supporting member that enters the ground counts when measuring the lowest adjacent grade. If any part of the structure, including a piling, is below the Base Flood Elevation, the property cannot be removed from the flood zone. Parcels seaward of a Primary Frontal Dune are ineligible as well, and in V zones where FEMA has not established a Base Flood Elevation there is no benchmark to measure against, so a determination generally cannot issue.6Federal Emergency Management Agency. MT-1 Technical Guidance
Basements and Enclosed Areas
A basement with a floor below the Base Flood Elevation complicates the picture. FEMA defines the “lowest floor” as the floor of the lowest enclosed area, basement included. An unfinished enclosure used only for parking, storage, or building access does not count as the lowest floor if it meets flood-resistant design requirements.7Federal Emergency Management Agency. Lowest Floor The LOMA itself turns on the lowest adjacent grade outside the structure, but a below-grade basement can still affect your flood insurance rating even after the property is technically out of the high-risk zone.
What You Need to File
The centerpiece of the application is an Elevation Certificate prepared by a licensed land surveyor, professional engineer, or certified architect. It records the exact measurements FEMA needs, including the lowest adjacent grade and the property’s position relative to the Base Flood Elevation.8Federal Emergency Management Agency. Understanding Elevation Certificates Expect a few hundred to over a thousand dollars for the survey, depending on the property. That is usually the only real cost, because FEMA charges no application fee.1Federal Emergency Management Agency. Flood Map-Related Fees
The application form is FEMA Form 81-92, the MT-EZ, designed for single residential lots or structures.9Federal Emergency Management Agency. MT-EZ Form You transfer the measurements from the Elevation Certificate, identify the community and map panel number, and give the legal description of the property. If the numbers on the form do not match the certificate exactly, FEMA will send the request back or deny it.
You also submit supporting property records. Under 44 CFR 70.3, that includes a recorded plat map bearing the seal of the appropriate recording official, a topographic map showing ground contours and the property location, and a copy of the relevant Flood Insurance Rate Map panel.5eCFR. 44 CFR 70.3 – Right to Submit Technical Information Your county recorder’s office typically has copies of the plat and deed. Make sure the legal description on the deed matches what you write on the MT-EZ.
How to Submit and How Long It Takes
FEMA accepts LOMA requests three ways, and the method changes how long you wait.
eLOMA for Same-Day Determinations
The fastest route is the electronic LOMA, or eLOMA, which can return a determination in minutes. Only licensed professionals registered with FEMA’s system can submit through this tool, and the professional must hold an active license in the state where the property sits. Homeowners cannot use it directly.10FEMA Mapping Information Platform. eLOMA Frequently Asked Questions
The tool has real limits. It does not accept coastal V-zone properties, parcels on alluvial fans, or any request involving fill. It cannot process conditional amendments or requests where FEMA is already reviewing a LOMA on the same property. If the submission trips an audit flag, it moves to a human reviewer and the instant turnaround goes away.10FEMA Mapping Information Platform. eLOMA Frequently Asked Questions
Online LOMC Portal
The standard online route is FEMA’s Online Letter of Map Change portal. You create an account through Login.gov and upload digital copies of the MT-EZ and supporting documents.11Federal Emergency Management Agency. Online LOMC Once FEMA has a complete application, you can expect a notice confirming completeness within 30 days and a final determination within 60 days of receiving all required data.4Federal Emergency Management Agency. Letter of Map Amendment and Letter of Map Revision-Based on Fill Process The portal issues a case number you can use to track status.
Paper Submission
Paper applications go to the FEMA LOMC Clearinghouse at 3601 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite 500, Alexandria, VA 22304-6426. The 60-day review clock is the same once FEMA confirms the package is complete, but the mailing time on both ends adds to the total.
After FEMA Approves the Amendment
FEMA issues an official determination letter confirming that the property has been removed from the Special Flood Hazard Area. Send a copy to your mortgage lender right away. The letter eliminates the federal requirement to carry flood insurance as a condition of the mortgage.4Federal Emergency Management Agency. Letter of Map Amendment and Letter of Map Revision-Based on Fill Process
Your lender is not required to drop the insurance mandate just because FEMA issued a LOMA. The federal rule is gone, but lenders retain the right to require flood insurance as a condition of financing regardless of the property’s flood zone.4Federal Emergency Management Agency. Letter of Map Amendment and Letter of Map Revision-Based on Fill Process Most lenders will remove the requirement after they process the letter. If yours will not, it is a contract matter between you and the lender, not something FEMA resolves.
Getting a Premium Refund
If you have been paying premiums on a policy that is no longer required, you may be eligible for a refund under the National Flood Insurance Program. The refund covers the current policy term on a prorated basis and can extend back through previously renewed terms up to five years before the date you request cancellation. Current-term refunds exclude certain surcharges and fees; prior renewed-term refunds return the full premium.12Federal Emergency Management Agency. National Flood Insurance Manual
To start the refund, you need written confirmation from your lender that flood insurance is no longer required. A signed statement from the policyholder confirming the lender has waived the requirement is also accepted in place of a formal cancellation request.12Federal Emergency Management Agency. National Flood Insurance Manual Do not sit on this. The cancellation effective date is the date the insurer receives the request, so every day of delay is premium you will not get back.
Keeping Your LOMA Valid When Maps Change
FEMA revises its Flood Insurance Rate Maps periodically, and holders sometimes worry a new map will erase the amendment. It generally does not. When FEMA revises a panel, it issues a Summary of Map Actions document that categorizes every existing Letter of Map Change in the community, and one day after the new map takes effect FEMA issues a Revalidation Letter confirming that the original determination still stands. There is no cost.13Federal Emergency Management Agency. Summary of Map Actions and Revalidation Letters
Keep your original LOMA determination letter and any Revalidation Letters indefinitely. Buyers and new lenders will ask for both when you sell or refinance. A Revalidation Letter without the underlying LOMA can raise questions, and replacing lost FEMA correspondence is slow.
If FEMA Denies the Request
A denial usually means the elevation data did not support removal from the flood zone or the documentation was incomplete. FEMA explains the reason in the determination letter. Common problems: survey data showing the lowest adjacent grade is actually below the Base Flood Elevation, evidence that fill was used (which makes it a LOMR-F matter), or numbers on the MT-EZ that do not match the Elevation Certificate.
Denial is not always the end. If the issue was a documentation error or an incomplete package, correct it and resubmit. If the denial was on the merits, meaning the surveyed elevations genuinely fall short, your options narrow. You can commission a new survey if you believe the original measurements were wrong, or move to the LOMR-F pathway if the property was raised with fill. Some owners choose to keep voluntary flood insurance at a lower-risk rate instead of pursuing further amendments.