Joining the 

National Flood 

Insurance Program

FEMA 496

May 2005

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 respective State Coordinating Agency for the NFIP. 

 You can go to http://www.fema.gov/fima/floodplain.shtm for a listing of the FEMA Regional Offices 

 and the NFIP State Coordinating Agencies.

REGION I

CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT

99 High Street, 6th Floor

Boston, MA 02110 

877-336-2734

REGION II

NJ, NY, PR, VI

26 Federal Plaza, Ste. 1307

New York, NY 10278 

212-680-3609

REGION III

DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV

615 Chestnut Street, 6th Floor

Philadelphia, PA 19106

215-931-5608

REGION IV

AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN

3003 Chamblee-Tucker Rd.

Atlanta, GA 30341

770-220-5200

REGION V

IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI

536 South Clark Street

Chicago, IL 60605

312-408-5500

REGION VI

AR, LA, NM, OK, TX

Federal Regional Center

800 North Loop 288

Denton, TX 76210

940-898-5399

REGION VII

IA, KS, MO, NE

2323 Grand Boulevard, Ste. 900

Kansas City, MO 64108

816-283-7061

REGION VIII

CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY

Denver Federal Center, Bldg. 710, Box 25267

Denver, CO 80225

303-235-4800

REGION IX

AZ, CA, HI, NV, American Samoa, Guam, 

Marshall Islands and Northern Mariana Islands

1111 Broadway, Suite 1200

Oakland, CA 94607

510-627-7100

REGION X

AK, ID, OR, WA

Federal Regional Center

130 228th Street SW

Bothell, WA 98021-9796

425-487-4600 
The decision on whether to join the NFIP is very important for a 

community. There is no Federal law that requires a community 

to join the Program and community participation is voluntary. 

A benefi t of participation is that your citizens are provided the 

opportunity to purchase fl ood insurance to protect themselves 

from fl ood losses. Another consideration is that a community 

that has been identifi ed by the Department of Homeland 

Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 

as being fl ood-prone and has not joined the NFIP within one 

year of being notifi ed of being mapped as fl ood-prone will be 

sanctioned. This means that Federal agencies cannot provide 

fi nancial assistance for buildings in fl ood hazards areas. 

FEMA is required by law to identify and map the Nation’s 

fl ood-prone areas. The identifi cation of fl ood hazards serves 

many important purposes. Identifying fl ood hazards creates an 

awareness of the hazard, especially for those who live and work 

in fl ood-prone areas. Maps provide States and communities with 

the information needed for land use planning and to reduce 

fl ood risk to fl oodplain development and implement other health 

and safety requirements through codes and regulations. States 

and communities can also use the information for emergency 

management. 

To participate in the NFIP To participate in the NFIP, a community must adopt and enforce , a community must adopt and enforce 

fl oodplain management regulations that meet or exceed the 

minimum requirements of the Program. These requirements are 

intended to prevent loss of life and property and reduce taxpayer 

costs for disaster relief, as well as minimize economic and social 

hardships that result from fl ooding. 

When FEMA provides a community with a fl ood hazard map, the 

community should carefully review these maps and determine 

whether fl ood insurance and fl oodplain management would 

benefi t the community and its citizens. In making the decision 

whether to join the NFIP, communities need to keep in mind 

that homeowners’ insurance policies generally do not cover fl ood 

losses, and many homeowners and other property owners are 

often unaware that their property is fl ood-prone. Even if your 

community has not been identifi ed as fl ood-prone by FEMA, 

your community can still join the NFIP. By participating in the 

NFIP, property owners throughout the community will be able to 

purchase fl ood insurance. 

Communities that have been identifi ed as fl ood-prone by FEMA 

need to keep in mind that property owners in a non-participating 

community are ineligible for most forms of disaster assistance 

within the identifi ed fl ood hazard areas. This does not affect 

communities that have not had fl ood hazards identifi ed by FEMA. 

What must a community do to join the NFIP?

To join the Program, the 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

· Person responsible for administering 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 the floodplain

• Resolution of Intent: The community must adopt a resolution 

of intent, which indicates an explicit desire to participate in 

the NFIP and commitment to recognize fl ood hazards and 

carry out the objectives of the Program.

• Floodplain Management Regulations: The community must 

adopt and submit fl oodplain management regulations that 

meet or exceed the minimum fl oodplain management 

requirements of the NFIP. 

Please contact your FEMA Regional Offi ce or the NFIP State 

Coordinating Agency for information about joining the Program. 

These offi ces will provide an application, sample resolution, and 

a model fl oodplain management ordinance. (See “For Assistance” 

on the back page for contact information)

What are the requirements that a community must adopt?

The NFIP requirements are designed to ensure that new buildings 

and substantially improved existing buildings in fl ood-prone 

areas are protected from fl ood damages. The minimum NFIP 

fl oodplain management requirements that a community must 

adopt are located in Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations 

(44 CFR) section 60.3. The specifi c requirements that a 

community must adopt depend on the type of fl ood hazard data 

that is provided to the community by FEMA.

In addition to meeting the requirements of the NFIP, a 

community’s fl oodplain management regulations must be 

legally enforceable. This means that the regulations must meet 

applicable provisions of State enabling laws, which authorize 

communities to enact and enforce fl oodplain management 

regulations and be adopted through a process that meets 

applicable State and local due process procedures.

State authority for fl oodplain management varies from State to 

State. Some States require that communities regulate fl oodplains 

to a higher standard than the minimum NFIP requirements for 

certain aspects of fl oodplain management. Some States have 

a requirement that communities must submit their fl oodplain 

management regulations to the State for approval. Communities 

should contact the State NFIP Coordinating Agency for assistance 

on specifi c State requirements that must also be met.

As indicated above, the FEMA Regional Offi ce or the NFIP State 

Coordinating Agency can provide the community with a model 

fl oodplain management ordinance and guidance on the specifi c 

requirements the community will need to adopt. 

What type of regulations can a community adopt?

Community fl oodplain management regulations are usually 

found in the following types of regulations: zoning ordinances, 

building codes, subdivision ordinance, sanitary regulations, and 

“stand alone” fl oodplain management ordinances. How your 

community approaches fl oodplain management depends on State 

laws and regulations and also how your community chooses to 

manage its fl ood hazards.

What happens if a community is identifi ed as fl ood-prone, 

but does not join the NFIP?

The following sanctions apply if a community does not qualify 

for participation in the NFIP within one year of being identifi ed 

as fl ood-prone by FEMA. Non-participating communities that 

have not been identifi ed as fl ood-prone by FEMA are not subject 

to these sanctions.

• Property owners will not be able to purchase NFIP fl ood 

insurance policies and existing policies will not be renewed.

• Federal grants or loans for development will not be available 

in identifi ed fl ood hazard areas under programs administered 

by Federal agencies such as the Department of Housing and 

Urban Development, Environmental Protection Agency, and 

Small Business Administration.

• Federal disaster assistance for fl ood damage will not be 

provided to repair insurable buildings located in identifi ed 

fl ood 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 

identifi ed fl ood hazard areas.

• Federally insured or regulated lending institutions, such as 

banks and credit unions, are allowed to make conventional 

loans for insurable buildings in fl ood hazard areas of nonparticipating communities. However, the lender must notify 

applicants that the property is in a fl ood hazard area and that 

the property is not eligible for Federal disaster assistance. 

Some lenders may voluntarily choose not to make these loans.

Joining the National Flood Insurance 

Program

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 whether or not a disaster has 

been Presidentially declared. 

The most common form of Federal disaster assistance is a 

loan, which must be paid back with interest. 

There are about 4.7 million fl ood insurance policies in force in 

more than 20,000 communities across the U.S.

Over the life of a 30-year mortgage, there is a 26-percent (or 

1 in 4) chance that a building in a fl oodplain will experience 

a fl ood that will equal or exceed the 1-percent-chance fl ood 

(100-year fl ood). 

Since 1969, the NFIP has paid over $14 billion in fl ood 

insurance claims that have helped hundreds of thousands of 

families recover from fl ood disasters.

Approximately 25% of all claims paid by the NFIP are for 

policies outside of the mapped fl oodplain.

CAN YOUR COMMUNITY AFFORD NOT TO PARTICIPATE?

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was established with the passage of the National 

Flood Insurance Act of 1968. The NFIP is a Federal program enabling property owners in 

participating communities to purchase insurance as a protection against fl ood losses in exchange 

for State and community fl oodplain management regulations that reduce future fl ood damages. 

Over 20,000 communities participate in the Program.