How to Print a FIRMette and 

Download a FIRM Panel 

https://msc.fema.gov 

January 2018 
 

Contents 

Getting Started 

Step One: Find Your Flood Map 

Step Two: 

Option A – Print FIRMette 

Option B – Download FIRM Panel 

Making FIRMettes in FIRMette Web for Areas 

without Digital Data 

Additional Information: Search All Products 

Troubleshooting 

2 
 

 

Getting Started 

First, navigate to the FEMAFlood Map Service Center (MSC), http://msc.fema.gov. 

• A Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) is an official flood map used in the National Flood Insurance 

Program. 

• Most FIRMs are divided into FIRM panels. The panels are large (2ft x 3ft) and difficult to print. 

• You can create a FIRMette which is an easy to print full-scale section of a FIRM 

3 
Step One 

Search by Address 

To find a flood map for a specific address or landmark, you may type an address in 

the search bar or use the Address Search option on the left side of the MSC 

homepage. 

Enter an address or a place of interest and select the “Search” button. 

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Step Two 

Option A - Print a FIRMette 

Most search 

results include 2 

options and a 

map that displays 

your location and 

the flood zones for 

the area* 

The first option 

creates a printable 

FIRMette from 

FEMA’s dynamic 

digital flood data. 

NOTE: If digital data is not available, flood zones will not display, only the FIRM boundaries. 

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Step Two 

Option A - Print a FIRMette 

Select “Print 

Map/FIRMette” 

This will create a 

FIRMette in pdf 

format. This 

printable map is 

created 

dynamically using 

the current 

effective FIRM, 

plus any letters of 

map revision 

issued since. 

NOTE: If digital data is not available, the available buttons will be slightly different. See the instruction s 

for using FIRMette Web later in this document. 

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Step Two 

Option A - Print a FIRMette Legend 

And you’re done! 

After a few 

moments, the 

FIRMette will open 

in a new browser tab 

and be centered on 

the approximate 

location from 

Address Search. 

Here’s an example 

FIRMette. 

Once opened, you 

can save the 

documents or use 

the “Print to PDF” 

option to print the 

documents 

Creation Date 

7 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Step Two 

Option B - Download a FIRM Panel 

Select “Download 

FIRM Panel” for a 

copy of the 

original full-size 

FIRM. Since these 

static map images 

show the FIRM as 

it was published 

on the original 

effective date, also 

check if there any 

updates under 

“Changes to the 

FIRM” 

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Areas without Digital Data: 

Making FIRMettes in FIRMette Web 

If there is no 

dynamic Digital 

Data for your 

location, the result 

page is slightly 

different. To create 

a FIRMette of the 

current Effective 

FIRM, select 

“VIEW/PRINT 

FIRM” Option 

NOTE: Be sure to check if there have been any changes to the FIRM by selecting the Revisions, 

Amendments, and Revalidations options under “Changes to this FIRM”. 

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Areas without Digital Data: 

Making FIRMettes in FIRMette Web 

A new window will 

ppear, containing th 

FIRMette Web tool, 

which will display the 

elected FIRM panel. 

a e 

s 

Select the “Make a 

FIRMette” button. 

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Areas without Digital Data: 

Making FIRMettes in FIRMette Web 

Choose your paper 

size. 

Click, hold, and drag 

the pink layer to cover 

the area you want in 

your FIRMette. 

To reposition the title 

block or scale and 

north arrow, click the 

appropriate button 

and drag the new 

pink layer. The 

areas highlighted in 

pink and green are 

included on the 

FIRMette. 

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Areas without Digital Data: 

Making FIRMettes in FIRMette Web 

• You may use the 

Zoom and Pan 

functions to more 

precisely identify the 

area you want in 

your FIRMette. 

• However, you must 

be zoomed out all 

the way in order to 

make a FIRMette 

correctly. 

When ready, click on 

your preferred output 

format, “Adobe PDF” 

or “Image File” 

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Areas without Digital Data: 

Making FIRMettes in FIRMette Web 

•Your FIRMette 

will appear and 

can be saved to 

your hard drive. 

•You can also 

go back and 

make additional 

FIRMettes from 

the same panel. 

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Areas without Digital Data: 

Making FIRMettes in FIRMette Web 

Once you have 

saved and/or 

opened your 

FIRMette in your 

local viewer, you 

can print it out the 

on the appropriatesized paper 

corresponding to 

your earlier 

selection. To 

preserve the scale 

from the original 

FIRM map, save 

as PDF and 

change print 

settings to "actual 

size" 

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Search All Products 

Search by Address is for finding the current effective map for your community. While 

Search All Products is useful for finding the full range of maps and Flood Risk 

Products Available for a location. 

To search for additional products use the Search All Products option located on the 

MSC home page, in the left hand navigation of any MSC page, or from your 

Address Search Results.. 

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Search All Products 

Search all Products is 

a great resource for 

community officials 

looking to access 

Historic FIRM and 

other mapping 

products in one 

complete list for the 

community. Users can 

make a FIRMette from 

any FIRM in FIRMette 

Web by using the 

“View” option in the 

FIRM panel list 

NOTE: FIRMette cannot be created for Preliminary FIRM panels since they are not yet official 

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Troubleshooting 

For technical assistance, please use 

any of the “Help/?” features across 

any of the FIRM tools. Each of the 

“Help/?” will provide additional 

information and resources regarding 

the tools being used. OR contact a 

FEMA Map Specialist at: 

1 (877) FEMA MAP 

(1-877-336-2627) 

or by email: 

FEMAMapSpecialist@ri 

skmapcds.com 

Visit the MSC FAQ for more general 

troubleshooting 

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