Elevation Certificates in Novato, CA

We prepare FEMA elevation certificates and LOMA elevation data for buildings in Novato, Marin County, from the downtown creek floodplain to the levee-protected bay margin.

Elevation certificates from $1,000 · (510) 543-2220

Elevation Certificates in Novato: Local Conditions

The City of Novato says more than 5,000 acres inside the city are mapped as Special Flood Hazard Area. Properties upstream of the confluence of Novato, Warner, and Arroyo Avichi Creeks have been especially prone to flooding, with damage to buildings in 1980, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1989, and 1998, and the City also lists Ignacio, Arroyo San Jose, and Vineyard Creeks and the Bahia area as places with high flood danger. Marin County Flood Control Zone 1, formed in 1955, covers more than 45 square miles around Novato Creek and maintains nine miles of creek levees and four pump stations, along with periodic sediment removal from lower Novato Creek, Warner Creek, and Arroyo Avichi.

Two Novato details matter for an elevation certificate. First, the City keeps a library of certificates on file, indexed by street, and its Public Works Department answers questions about flood zones, maps, and certificates. Check that list before you order a new one, because an existing certificate may already cover your building. Second, Hamilton sits behind a City-owned levee. FEMA issued a letter of map revision after the levee was built in 1997 that removed the properties behind it from the SFHA and accredited the levee in 2007. Preliminary maps issued in 2014 then showed a higher Base Flood Elevation at the levee, which triggered a re-accreditation submittal. Owners near a levee should confirm the current effective map at msc.fema.gov rather than relying on an old determination.

Our Novato field work starts with a benchmark tie in NAVD88, the datum of the current Marin FIRM, and then covers the lowest adjacent grade, lowest floor, garage and crawlspace levels, flood openings, and the elevations of mechanical equipment, with photos of every side of the building. You get a signed FEMA elevation certificate. When the ground or lowest adjacent grade comes in at or above the BFE, we can prepare the letter of map amendment data and submit it through eLOMA if it qualifies. Read more on our FEMA elevation certificate page, compare Petaluma or San Rafael, or see land surveying in Novato.

Full service details, process, and deliverables: FEMA Elevation Certificates & LOMA · All surveying in Novato: Novato land surveying

What's Included

Signed and sealed by a California Professional Land Surveyor
Completed on FEMA Form FF-206-FY-22-152, with the required photographs
Elevations tied to a published benchmark on the flood map’s vertical datum
eLOMA submission as a licensed professional when the building qualifies
Construction-stage ECs for permits: construction drawings, building under construction, and finished construction
Sacramento region, Central Valley, Delta, and Bay Area

Our Process

Address & Flood Map Check

Send the address and the reason you need the certificate: lender letter, insurance quote, building permit, or a LOMA. We pull the effective FIRM panel, flood zone, and Base Flood Elevation before quoting, and tell you up front if a LOMA looks possible.

Benchmark Tie

We tie the site to a published benchmark on the vertical datum the flood map uses, with GNSS and a total station. Every elevation on the certificate is measured from that tie, not estimated from a contour map.

Building Measurement

We measure the top of the bottom floor, the next higher floor, the garage slab, the lowest and highest adjacent grade, the lowest machinery and equipment, and the flood openings, and take the photographs the form requires.

Signed EC, and the LOMA if It Qualifies

You receive the completed, signed Elevation Certificate as a PDF. If the lowest adjacent grade is at or above the Base Flood Elevation, we prepare the LOMA request and submit it to FEMA, through eLOMA when the building meets its criteria.

Elevation Certificates in Novato: FAQ

The City of Novato publishes a list of elevation certificates on file, sorted by street name, and its Public Works Department can answer questions about flood zones and certificates. If one exists and the building has not been changed since, it may be all your lender or insurer needs. If it is missing, outdated by an addition, or on an older form, we can prepare a new one.

Whether a levee-protected property is in or out of the Special Flood Hazard Area depends on the levee's accreditation and the current effective map, and Hamilton's status has been revised more than once. If your lender or insurer asks, an elevation certificate records exactly how high your building sits, which is useful whatever the map shows.

Yes. NFIP rules require communities to record the lowest floor elevation of new and substantially improved buildings in the Special Flood Hazard Area, and an elevation certificate is the usual way to document it. If you are planning a large remodel or addition in the floodplain, get the certificate work scheduled early so the design team knows the existing floor and grade elevations before plans go in.

Need Elevation Certificates in Novato?

Elevation certificates start at $1,000. Call (510) 543-2220 with the Novato address and we'll check the flood map and give you a fixed price.

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Private licensed surveyor, not affiliated with FEMA • Homeowners welcome • Response within 24 hours

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