Before a repair, permit or flood insurance quote, look up your property's FEMA flood zone, base flood elevation (BFE), elevation certificate and the Property Appraiser's FEMA 50% (or 49%) value. It's all free. This guide walks through the official tools as we found them on October 22, 2026. General information, not insurance or legal advice.
Stop and call a pro (or the right office) instead if:
- You need an elevation certificate and none is on file. FloodSmart (FEMA): "you'll need to hire a land surveyor, engineer or architect to complete one."
- You got a substantial damage letter, or repairs could reach the 50% (or 49%) mark. Pinellas County handles unincorporated areas; city residents should "contact your city for specific information about their Substantial Damage plan and permitting information." The county warns, "Don't make repairs without a permit."
- The Property Appraiser's structure value looks too low. Its office takes Building Value Reconsideration requests for storm-damaged homes in A or V zones (not condos, townhomes or PUD buildings, per its Storm Damage FAQs); for condos, it suggests the association hire a private appraiser.
- You think FEMA's map has your property wrong. Pinellas County's FAQ points to Section C.2 of your elevation certificate and FEMA's Letter of Map Amendment process, (877) 336-2627. Our advice: ask the surveyor who prepared the certificate to go over it with you.
- You're planning to build, or have insurance questions. Pinellas County says to call (727) 464-7700 about the flood hazard "BEFORE developing building plans" and to "Talk to a licensed insurance agent" about premiums.
What you'll need
| Item | Why | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Address or parcel number | Every tool searches by address; the Property Appraiser also takes parcel numbers | The Property Appraiser's site |
| Computer or phone with internet | The tools are web maps | Anything with a browser |
| City or unincorporated? | Pinellas County says city residents should "contact your city for flood map information" | The parcel's tax district, per the Property Appraiser's Find My Building Department page |
| A way to save results | Our advice: screenshot each result, with the date | Your phone or computer |
Step by step
Step 1: Look up your flood zone and BFE
From pinellas.gov/floodmaps, open the Pinellas County Flood Map Service. Under the FEMA Flood Zones tile, "Learn More About Current Flood Zones" opens the Current FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map App. The county's instructions:
- "Click 'find address or place' located in upper-left of the map."
- "Enter the address"
- "Click the magnifying glass to search"
- "Click on the property"
- "Pan through the information pop-ups"
The map "illustrates Special Flood Hazard Areas in blue, while moderate-risk areas are shaded orange." Our advice: write down the zone and BFE. The county notes the map BFE "is only accurate to plus or minus a half foot" and points to the Flood Insurance Study for an exact figure.
Step 2: Read what your zone means
Pinellas County: "Everyone in Pinellas County is in a flood zone." Zones starting with A or V are the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). FEMA's definitions:
- BFE: "The elevation of surface water resulting from a flood that has a 1% chance of equaling or exceeding that level in any given year."
- AE: "The base floodplain where base flood elevations are provided." On coastal maps, FEMA says AE is where "wave heights are less than 3 feet."
- VE: "Coastal areas with a 1% or greater chance of flooding and an additional hazard associated with storm waves."
- Coastal A and the LiMWA line: the LiMWA "marks the inland limit of the Coastal A Zone— the part of the coastal SFHA referenced by building codes and standards where wave heights can be between 1.5 and 3 feet during a base flood event." FEMA says many local codes require V Zone standards there.
- X: shaded X is moderate hazard, "between the limits of the base flood and the 0.2-percent-annual-chance (or 500-year) flood"; unshaded X is minimal hazard.
Step 3: In Madeira Beach, use Forerunner
Madeira Beach's Forerunner page says to "Search for a property on the homepage by address to find its flood zone, Base Flood Elevation (BFE), Design Flood Elevation (DFE)," and that elevation certificates on file appear "on the property's unique public profile." The map has a "Search..." box at the top left and an "Effective FIRM" label. The city's certificate page says it "has copies of the elevation certificates for many of the structures in the community"; call (727) 391-9951 ext. 244.
Step 4: Find an existing elevation certificate
Pinellas County: an elevation certificate "is a document prepared by a licensed surveyor" with the flood zone, flood elevation and "the elevation levels of floors within the building and of the ground (or grades) around it." FEMA's form is "FEMA Form FF-206-FY-22-152 (formerly 086-0-33)."
Open the county's FEMA Elevation Certificates app, check "I agree to the above information," and click OK. Then, per the app: "Enter the property address," "Click the magnifying glass to search," click the icon on the map, scroll to the bottom of the pop-up, and "Click the link under "attachments"."
The county's page says white symbols are certificates filed for building compliance since the late 1990s and colored ones were submitted to the state since 2017. It lacks older buildings and "those completed solely for flood insurance purposes," and suggests asking the sellers or builder. Unincorporated: (727) 464-7700.
Step 5: Get the Property Appraiser's FEMA/WLM letter
The Property Appraiser says to search your parcel, then "select the FEMA/WLM Letter button within the Quick Pick Tool box." Madeira Beach's page: "click on FEMA/WLM link to get the "not to exceed" (50%) amount."
Madeira Beach's page uses 50%. For unincorporated areas, Pinellas County (which "manages Substantial Damage Assessments for unincorporated areas") uses 49% and "will evaluate your estimate vs. the structure value"; in a city, ask your city's building department. In the county's words, if you do the work yourself, "FEMA requires estimates to include market-rate labor costs." For condos, the Property Appraiser says the letter reflects the whole building.
Step 6: Check your evacuation zone
Pinellas County: "Flood zones, evacuation zones and storm surge are different." On Find Your Evacuation Zone, click "Open the Know Your Zone App," close the welcome box, and type in "Find address or place" under "Search Address Below." Zones run A through E, plus non-evacuation zones.
Step 7: Double-check on FEMA's Map Service Center
FEMA's Map Service Center is "the official public source for flood hazard information" for the NFIP. Type in "Enter an address, a place, or longitude/latitude coordinates" and click Search. The county's certificate app calls its flood layer "a static copy of FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL)."
How long it takes
No official source gives a time; it varies.
Stop and call if you find:
- No elevation certificate, and you need one: a licensed land surveyor, engineer or architect (FloodSmart).
- An insurance zone that doesn't match the map: Madeira Beach says to contact the city; unincorporated, (727) 464-7700.
- A substantial damage letter, or work near the 50%/49% value: your building department.
- An evacuation order for your zone: leave (Know Your Zone).
When you're ready to repair, see our hurricane and storm damage repair page. If you're rebuilding below an elevated home, read rebuilding after storm surge in Madeira Beach.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my flood zone in Pinellas County?
Search your address in the county's Current FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map App and click the property. FEMA's Map Service Center is "the official public source for flood hazard information."
How do I find an existing elevation certificate?
Search the county's FEMA Elevation Certificates app, then ask your city or the county. FloodSmart says your local floodplain manager can tell you if one is on file.
Do I need an elevation certificate for flood insurance?
FloodSmart: "Most homeowners do not need an elevation certificate to get flood insurance. The exception is if you live in a high risk (Zone A) or high risk coastal (Zone V) flood area."
Sources
- Pinellas County: Flood Maps & Zones
- Pinellas County Flood Map Service
- Pinellas County: Current FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map App
- Pinellas County: FEMA Elevation Certificates Map App page
- Pinellas County: FEMA Elevation Certificates app
- Pinellas County: Flood Elevation Certificate
- Pinellas County: Flood Information FAQs
- Pinellas County: Substantial Damage and Substantial Improvement
- Pinellas County: Find Your Evacuation Zone and Know Your Zone
- Pinellas County Property Appraiser: Find My FEMA 50% or 49% Structure Valuation
- Pinellas County Property Appraiser: Storm Damage FAQs
- Pinellas County Property Appraiser: Find My Building Department
- City of Madeira Beach: Forerunner and Forerunner map
- City of Madeira Beach: Elevation Certificates
- City of Madeira Beach: FEMA October Plan
- FEMA Glossary: Zone AE, Zone VE and V1-30, Base Flood Elevation, Flood Zones, Elevation Certificate
- FEMA: Coastal Flood Insurance Rate Maps
- FloodSmart (FEMA): Get an elevation certificate
- FEMA Flood Map Service Center