public-service · flood zone determination
44 CFR Part 65: What a Flood Zone Determination Must Cite
What federal regulation requires a flood zone determination to name, and the 45-day window and terms for asking FEMA to review it.
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What matters now
- A determination must name the map panel number, effective date, and SFHA status.
- It must also state the time frame during which the determination is effective.
- Reviews require the map panel's title block: effective date, bar scale, and north arrow.
- A joint borrower-lender request for FEMA review must be postmarked within 45 days of notification.
- Elevation data is not considered under this review procedure.
When a lender or FEMA notifies a property owner that a building sits in a flood zone, 44 CFR Part 65 sets out what that determination has to identify: “The NFIP map panel number and effective date upon which the determination is based,” “A statement indicating whether the building or manufactured home is within the Special Flood Hazard Area,” and “The time frame during which the determination is effective” (44 CFR Part 65). The same regulation also sets the terms for asking FEMA to review that determination, including a 45-day window measured from the date the lender notified the borrower.
This original record-reading guide is a general reading aid, not cited evidence. It does not depict a source record; the article text and source links provide the facts.
Key points
- A determination must name the map panel number and effective date, state whether the building falls inside the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), and give the time frame the determination is effective (44 CFR Part 65).
- Anyone submitting map material as part of a review must include the panel’s title block — effective date, bar scale, and north arrow — alongside the building’s location (44 CFR Part 65).
- “The request for review of the determination must be postmarked within 45 days of borrower notification” (44 CFR Part 65).
- “Elevation data will not be considered under the procedures described in this section” (44 CFR Part 65).
Determination contents
Part 65 requires a determination to name “The NFIP map panel number and effective date upon which the determination is based” — the specific edition of the flood map used, not just a map name (44 CFR Part 65). It must also carry “A statement indicating whether the building or manufactured home is within the Special Flood Hazard Area” — a direct in/out call on SFHA status (44 CFR Part 65). Finally, it must state “The time frame during which the determination is effective,” so the owner knows how long the determination is meant to apply (44 CFR Part 65).
This is the same information collected on FEMA’s “Standard Flood Hazard Determination Form and Instructions,” the form lenders use to record and report a determination (44 CFR Part 65).
Identifying the map panel used
Because the panel number alone does not show what the panel actually depicts, Part 65 also spells out what a submitted map excerpt must contain: “Portions of the map panel may be submitted but shall include the area of the building or manufactured home in question together with the map panel title block, including effective date, bar scale, and north arrow” (44 CFR Part 65). In practice, that means the title block — where the effective date, bar scale, and north arrow appear together on the panel — is the reference point for confirming which map edition was used.
The 45-day window to request review
A borrower and lender who jointly want FEMA to review a determination work against a fixed clock: “the request for review of the determination must be postmarked within 45 days of borrower notification” (44 CFR Part 65). The clock runs from when the lender notified the borrower, not from the date on the map panel or the date the property was purchased.
Review-procedure scope
Within this review procedure, one input is explicitly off the table: “Elevation data will not be considered under the procedures described in this section” (44 CFR Part 65). The review turns on the map panel, its effective date, and the SFHA statement — not on a separate elevation study submitted alongside the request.
What this article does not answer
This article states only what 44 CFR Part 65 requires a determination to name and the terms of its review procedure. It does not evaluate whether any particular property’s flood-zone determination is correct, and it does not state what any specific property’s flood zone, SFHA status, or elevation actually is. It does not address whether flood insurance is needed or advisable for any property, or what such coverage would cost. And it does not predict the outcome or likely success of any individual review request — the regulation sets out the procedure and its terms, not a result.