Guidance Document (Joining the NFIP)

Joining the National Flood
Insurance Program
FEMA 496
April 2019

Adoption of Flood Insurance Rate Maps by Participating Communities

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Joining the National
Flood Insurance Program
Flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster in the United States, and it affects every State.
Flooding can be caused by storms, dams or levees breaking, new development changing how water flows
above and below the ground, snowmelt, and much more. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
was established to reduce the financial risk for property owners and renters through insurance; in exchange,
communities adopt floodplain management regulations that reduce future flood damages. This Federal
program, established with the passage of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, has grown to include
over 22,000 participating communities and to provide over $1 trillion in flood insurance coverage.
Your community’s decision to join the NFIP is very
important. No Federal law requires a community to join—
participation is voluntary. When communities join the NFIP,
property owners and renters have the opportunity to purchase
Federal flood insurance to protect themselves from financial
losses. Another consideration is if communities identified by
the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) as being flood-prone have not
joined the NFIP within a year of being notified of that status,
they will be sanctioned. See the second page for a description
of the sanctions.
FEMA is required by law to identify and map the Nation’s
flood-prone areas. The identification of flood hazards serves
many important purposes. It creates an awareness of the
hazard, especially for those who live and work in those areas.
The maps provide States, tribal governments and
communities with information needed for land use planning
to reduce risks to new development in floodplains, and to
implement other health and safety codes and regulations.
States, tribal governments and communities also use the
information for emergency management.
To participate in the NFIP, your community must adopt
and enforce floodplain management regulations that meet or
exceed the minimum requirements of the program. The
requirements are intended to prevent loss of life and property
and reduce taxpayer costs for disaster relief, as well as
minimizing the economic and social hardships that result
from flooding.
When FEMA provides flood hazard maps, community
officials should carefully review the maps and determine
whether flood insurance and floodplain management would
benefit their communities and property owners. In deciding
whether to join the NFIP, community officials should keep in
mind that homeowners’ insurance policies generally do not
cover flood losses, and many property owners are unaware
their property is at risk.

All property owners in communities that participate in the
NFIP are able to purchase NFIP flood insurance, regardless
of location in or out of the mapped flood hazard area.
When FEMA identifies a community as flood-prone,
community officials should be aware that if they choose not
to participate in the NFIP, property owners in mapped flood
hazard areas will be ineligible for most forms of disaster
assistance. This does not affect communities where FEMA
has not identified flood hazards.

What must my community do to join the NFIP?
To join the program, a community must submit an application
package that includes the following information:
 Application for Participation in the National Flood
Insurance Program (FEMA Form 81-64):
This one-page form asks for the following information:
• Community name
• Chief Executive Officer
• Official with overall responsibility for implementing
the community’s floodplain management program
• Community repository for public inspection
of flood maps
• Estimates of land area, population, and number
of structures in and outside flood-prone areas
 Resolution of Intent: Adoption of a resolution of intent
indicates an explicit desire to participate in the NFIP and
a commitment to recognize flood hazards and carry out
the objectives of the NFIP.
 Floodplain Management Regulations: Community
must adopt and submit floodplain management
regulations that meet or exceed the minimum floodplain
management requirements of the NFIP.

IMPORTANT FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• Floods are the most common and most costly natural
disaster in the United States.
• Before most forms of Federal disaster assistance can
be offered, the President must declare a major disaster.
• Flood insurance claims are paid even when a major
disaster has not been declared.

• Over the life of a 30-year mortgage there is a 26% chance
that a building in a high-risk zone will experience a flood
that equals or exceeds the 1-percent-annual chance flood.
• Since 1969, the NFIP has paid over $68 billion for flood
insurance claims, helping hundreds of thousands of
families and businesses recover from flood disasters.

• The most common form of Federal disaster assistance
is a loan, which must be paid back with interest.

• Approximately 25% of all claims paid by the NFIP are
for buildings outside the mapped floodplain.

• There are more than 5.1 million flood insurance policies
in more than 22,300 communities across the Nation.

Can Your Community Afford Not to Participate?

Please contact your FEMA Regional Office or the NFIP
State Coordinating Agency for information about joining.
These offices can provide the application, a sample resolution,
and a model floodplain management ordinance. (See “For
Assistance” on the back page for contact information)

What requirements must your community adopt?
The NFIP requirements are designed to ensure that new
buildings and substantially improved buildings in flood-prone
areas are protected from flood damage. The minimum NFIP
floodplain management requirements are listed in Title 44 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (44 CFR), Section 60.3.
The specific requirements depend on the type of flood hazard
data that FEMA has provided to the community.
In addition to meeting the requirements of the NFIP, a
community’s floodplain management regulations must be
legally enforceable. This means the regulations meet
applicable provisions of State enabling laws that authorize
communities to enact and enforce land use regulations and
are adopted through a process that meets applicable State and
local due process procedures.
The authority for floodplain management varies from State
to State. Some States require communities to regulate floodplains
to a higher standard than the minimum NFIP requirements for
certain aspects of floodplain management. Some States require
communities submit floodplain management regulations to the
State for approval. Communities should contact the State NFIP
Coordinating Agency for assistance with specific State requirements.
HELPFUL LINKS
https://www.fema.gov/participation-national-floodinsurance-program

This page includes relevant information on the NFIP
including regulation, guidance, definitions of key
words, etc.
https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/9438

This page includes the form that is used to enroll
communities into the NFIP.

What type of regulations can your community adopt?
Community floodplain management regulations may be
included in zoning ordinances, building codes, subdivision
ordinances, sanitary regulations, or “stand-alone” floodplain
management regulations. How your community approaches
floodplain management depends on State laws and regulations
and how your community chooses to manage its flood hazards.
What happens if your community is identified as
flood-prone but does not join the NFIP?
The following sanctions apply when a community does not
qualify for participation in the NFIP within a year after
FEMA has identified it as flood-prone:
 Property owners will not be able to purchase NFIP flood
insurance policies.
 Federal grants or loans for development will not be
available in identified flood hazard areas under programs
administered by agencies such as the Department of
Housing and Urban Development, Environmental
Protection Agency, and Small Business Administration.
 Federal disaster assistance for flood damage will not be
provided to repair insurable private and public buildings
in identified flood hazard areas.
 Federal mortgage insurance or loan guarantees, such as
those written by the Federal Housing Administration and
the Department of Veteran Affairs, will not be provided
in identified flood hazard areas.
 Federally insured or regulated lending institutions,
such as banks and credit unions, are allowed to make
conventional loans for insurable buildings in flood
hazard areas in nonparticipating communities. However,
lenders must notify applicants that properties are in flood
hazard areas and the properties are not eligible for
Federal disaster assistance. Some lenders may
voluntarily choose not to make these loans.
Communities that FEMA has not identified as flood-prone
may choose to participate in the NFIP. These sanctions do
not apply if those communities decide not to participate.

FOR ASSISTANCE
If your community needs assistance to join the NFIP, you can contact the FEMA Regional Office
(see below for address and telephone number). You can also contact your
State Coordinating Agency for the NFIP. You can go to https://www.fema.gov/fema-regional-contacts
for a listing of the FEMA Regional Offices or
http://www.floods.org/index.asp?menuID=274&firstlevelmenuID=185&siteID=1
for the NFIP State Coordinating Agencies.

REGION I

REGION VI

CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT
99 High Street
Boston, MA 02110
(877) 336-2734

AR, LA, NM, OK, TX
FRC 800 North Loop 288
Denton, TX 76209
(940) 898-5399

REGION II

REGION VII

NJ, NY, PR, VI
26 Federal Plaza, Suite 1307
New York, NY 10278
(800) 611-6122

IA, KS, MO, NE
11224 Holmes Road
Kansas City, MO 64131
(816) 283-7061

REGION III

REGION VIII

DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV
615 Chestnut Street
One Independence Mall, 6th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 931-5500

CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY
Denver Federal Center
Building 710, Box 25267
Denver, CO 80225
(303) 235-4800

REGION IV

REGION IX

AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN
3003 Chamblee Tucker Road
Atlanta, GA 30341
(770) 220-5200

AZ, CA, HI, NV, American Samoa,
Guam, Marshall Islands,
and Northern Mariana Islands
1111 Broadway, Suite 1200
Oakland, CA 94607
(800) 611-6122

REGION V
IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI
536 South Clark Street, 6th Floor
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 408-5500

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REGION X
AK, ID, OR, WA
Federal Regional Center
130 – 228th Street, Southwest
Bothell, WA 98021
(425) 487-4600

Adoption of Flood Insurance Rate Maps by Participating Communities