Elevation Certificates in San Jose, CA

FEMA elevation certificates and flood zone surveys in San Jose, Santa Clara County, from Alviso and North San Jose to the Coyote Creek neighborhoods.

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

Elevation Certificates in San Jose: Local Conditions

San Jose has two very different flood problems. The first is Coyote Creek. Valley Water, the county's flood protection agency, describes the February 21, 2017 flood, when the creek overtopped its banks at several locations between Montague Expressway and Tully Road, forcing evacuations and damaging property. Valley Water's Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project covers that reach, and its FAQ is candid about the goal: protection up to the level of the 2017 flood, which it calls an approximately 20-year event. That is well short of the 1 percent annual chance flood FEMA uses to draw Special Flood Hazard Areas, so the project should not be read as a promise of map changes. The second problem is the bay edge. The South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Project, with Valley Water, the Army Corps, and the State Coastal Conservancy, is building levees between Alviso Slough and Coyote Creek to protect Alviso and North San Jose from a 100-year coastal storm, with a stated aim of FEMA-certifiable levees.

The City of San Jose administers the National Flood Insurance Program through Public Works, which runs a flood info line for zone questions and copies of existing elevation certificates. One local detail matters for anyone thinking about fill: the city's flood hazard page says FEMA temporarily suspended processing of Letters of Map Revision based on Fill (LOMR-F and CLOMR-F) in San Jose effective July 1, 2023. That notice covers fill-based requests. A standard LOMA, which relies on natural ground already at or above the Base Flood Elevation, is a different request, and the city notes projects in flood zones still must meet its elevation and floodproofing requirements.

Our San Jose field work ties a benchmark on the FIRM's vertical datum with GNSS, then measures the lowest adjacent grade, lowest floor, garage, crawlspace, and machinery and utilities with a Trimble S3 total station. We photograph the building per FEMA instructions and deliver a signed FEMA elevation certificate. If the data shows the structure is above the BFE, we can prepare a letter of map amendment and file through eLOMA when eligible. San Jose work is scheduled as a mobilization from Lotus. See our elevation certificate service, the Santa Clara and Sunnyvale pages, and our San Jose area page.

Full service details, process, and deliverables: FEMA Elevation Certificates & LOMA · All surveying in San Jose: San Jose 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 San Jose: FAQ

Do not count on it. Valley Water says the Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project is designed to protect up to the level of the February 2017 flood, roughly a 20-year event. FEMA flood zones are based on the 1 percent annual chance flood, so check the current FIRM and consider a LOMA if your structure sits above the BFE.

The City of San Jose says FEMA temporarily suspended processing of LOMR-F and CLOMR-F applications in San Jose effective July 1, 2023. A LOMA based on existing natural ground is a separate request. We can tell you which one your survey data supports.

San Jose Public Works runs a flood info line that provides flood zone information and copies of elevation certificates on file. If none exists, or the building has changed, we can prepare a new one.

Need Elevation Certificates in San Jose?

Elevation certificates start at $1,000. Call (510) 543-2220 with the San Jose 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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