Elevation certificates
in Houma, LA
An elevation certificate records how high your lowest floor sits against the base flood elevation for your lot. A licensed surveyor makes it. Describe the property and independent surveyors quote.
A free quote-request service. Local contractors do the work and quote you directly.
What the certificate records
Heights, measured on site by someone licensed to do it.
Your lowest floor
The surveyor measures the height of the lowest floor of the house and records it as an elevation, so it can be compared with the flood height for the lot.
The base flood elevation
BFE is the flood height FEMA's maps set for your lot. After a storm it is sometimes replaced by an advisory BFE. The certificate puts your floor and the BFE side by side.
Why that comparison matters
Insurance, permits and grant programs all ask how far the floor sits above or below the BFE. A certificate is a document they can read.
Who asks for one
Reasons people request surveyor quotes. The office asking tells you what it needs.
NFIP policyholders
Flood insurers can ask for a certificate when rating a policy. Ask your insurer or agent what they need.
Permit applicants
A permit for work on a house in a flood zone may need one. The parish or city permit office tells you.
Grant applicants
Programs that pay to raise a house set a height to build to, and a certificate documents where the house is now. Check your program's list.
Owners about to raise
Contractors set the lift from the numbers on a certificate. See house elevation. If you have no certificate yet, a surveyor makes one.
How high is high enough?
Elevation is measured against base flood elevation (BFE), the flood height FEMA's maps set for your lot. Restore Louisiana's standard is the highest of several heights, and one of them is BFE plus 2 feet.
Put in two numbers from your elevation certificate to see roughly where the new floor lands. The math is simple: target floor = BFE + freeboard; the lift is the target minus your floor today.
Example: with a BFE of 8 ft and a floor at 3 ft, BFE + 2 ft puts the target floor at 10 ft, about 7 ft up. Enter your own numbers above.
A rough guide, not a determination. Your parish permit office and any grant program set the height you must build to, and some require more than BFE + 2 ft. Advisory BFEs adopted after a storm can differ from the printed map. No certificate yet? A licensed surveyor makes one: see elevation certificates.
What to have ready
None of this is needed to ask for a quote. Having it makes the first visit faster and the quotes easier to compare.
- The property address and, if you have it, a plat or survey of the lot
- Any older elevation certificate for the house
- Your NFIP policy number and declarations page, if you have flood insurance
- Why you need it: insurance, a permit, a grant or an upcoming raise, and any deadline
- Your FEMA flood zone, if you know it
- How the surveyor gets to the house: gates, fences, a key or a contact on site
- Photos of the front and sides of the house, and the steps or porch
Rules and what we can't tell you
Check each one with the office named.
Licensed surveyor
Elevation certificates are surveyor work. We pass your request to independent surveyors, who set their own fees and schedules.
Advisory BFE
Terrebonne's earlier program required the parish's adopted advisory BFE. Ask the parish what applies to your lot now.
Restore Louisiana
Its standard is the highest of several heights, including BFE plus 2 feet, and it will not fund elevating a slab-on-grade house. See slab homes and elevated rebuilds.
Price and timing
We don't publish a price or a turnaround for certificates. Ask each surveyor for both in writing.
Elevation certificate questions
- Made by: a licensed surveyor
- Records: lowest floor against the BFE
- Cost to ask: nothing
Do I need an elevation certificate?
Ask whoever is asking for one. Your flood insurer, the permit office or a grant program tells you whether they need it and in what form. We can't say for your property.
Who can make an elevation certificate?
A licensed surveyor. They measure on site and record your lowest floor and other features against the base flood elevation. We pass your request to independent surveyors who quote you directly.
What is BFE, and what is BFE plus 2 feet?
Base flood elevation is the flood height FEMA's maps set for your lot, sometimes replaced by an advisory BFE after a storm. Restore Louisiana's standard is the highest of several heights, and one of them is BFE plus 2 feet. Your parish and program tell you which height applies to you.
I already have a certificate. Do I need a new one?
Ask the office or program requesting it whether an older certificate is acceptable. After an elevation, an updated certificate often follows the final inspection.
How much does it cost, and how long does it take?
Surveyors set their own fees and schedules, and we have no typical figure to give you. Ask each one for both in writing.
Other work on the house
- House elevationRaise the whole house on new piers.
- House lifting for repairsLift it, fix what's underneath, set it back down.
- House levelingSagging floors and doors that stick.
- Pier and beam repairRotted piers, beams and sills replaced.
- Slab homes and elevated rebuildsWhen lifting isn't the route.
- Service areasTerrebonne and Lafourche towns.
Quotes for an elevation certificate
Tell us about the property and surveyors who work in Terrebonne and Lafourche quote you directly, or message us on WhatsApp.
Free to request, no obligation. We pass your request to independent, licensed local surveyors. We can't tell you whether you need a certificate; the office asking for it can.
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