Flood disclosure and flood insurance when you buy in Florida
What a Florida seller must tell you about flooding, how to look up a home's flood zone, and when a lender or Citizens requires flood insurance.
The short answer
By the time you sign the contract, a Florida seller must disclose flood damage they know of from their ownership, insurance claims for flood damage, and flood assistance1. A federally backed mortgage requires flood insurance in a high-risk zone2. Citizens requires it on home policies with wind cover from January 1, 2027, except condo units, and sooner in high-risk zones or for homes costing $400,000 or more to rebuild3.
- On the seller's flood disclosure: flood damage they know of while they owned the home, insurance claims for flood damage, and flood assistance1
- 3 questions
- The chance of flooding over a 30-year mortgage in FEMA's Zone A, a 1% chance each year4
- 26%
- The usual wait before an NFIP flood policy starts, unless a government-backed lender requires it or the flood map changed5
- 30 days
- Citizens requires flood insurance on every home policy taking effect from this date, except condo unit owners' policies and policies without wind cover3
- January 1, 2027
On this page
Most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage5. So before you buy in Florida, it pays to know what the home has been through and whether you'll need a separate flood policy. The inspections insurers ask for on the house itself are in four-point, wind mitigation and roof age rules in Florida.
This guide covers the seller's flood disclosure, how to look up a home's FEMA flood zone, when a lender or Citizens requires flood insurance, and when a new policy starts. Every rule links to the statute or the FEMA page it comes from.
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What the seller's flood disclosure tells you
Florida law requires the seller of residential property to complete a flood disclosure and give it to you at or before the time the sales contract is signed1. The statute sets the form's words. After a note on flood insurance, the seller answers three questions, ticking has or has not for each1.
| Question | What the seller says | What it doesn't cover |
|---|---|---|
| Flood damage | Whether they know of any flooding that damaged the property while they owned it1 | Flooding before they owned the home, or flooding they don't know of |
| Flood claims | Whether they filed a claim with an insurer for flood damage on the property, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) included1 | Claims filed by earlier owners |
| Flood assistance | Whether they received assistance for flood damage to the property, such as help from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency1 | Assistance earlier owners received |
Each question asks about the seller alone. The form doesn't ask for the home's flood zone, its elevation or what flood insurance costs there; the next sections show how to check those1.
“Homeowners' insurance policies do not include coverage for damage resulting from floods. Buyer is encouraged to discuss the need to purchase separate flood insurance coverage with Buyer's insurance agent.”
For the form, flooding means the property under water, in part or in full, from one of three causes1:
- Inland or tidal waters overflowing.
- An unusual and rapid build-up of runoff or surface water from an established source, such as a river, stream or drainage ditch.
- Rain that leaves water standing for a sustained period.
The disclosure has been required since October 1, 20246. A 2025 law, in force from October 1, 2025, added the first question, on flood damage the seller knows of, and took the word federal out of the assistance question78.
Buying a new condo from its developer? The developer's contract must carry the same three questions; the claims and assistance questions also cover the common elements9. The rest of what a condo buyer receives is in what to know before you buy a condo in Florida.
The statute doesn't say what happens if a seller skips the disclosure or answers it wrongly1. If that comes up, a Florida real estate attorney can tell you where you stand.
Ask the seller for one more document
Ask whether the seller has the home's elevation certificate. A completed one stays valid when the home changes hands10. What it is, and why it can matter for the price of flood insurance, is below.
How to find a home's flood zone
Search the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. It holds FEMA's latest flood maps and searches by street address, so you can see which flood zone the home is in24.
The zone that matters most is the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA): the land a flood with a 1% chance of happening in any year would cover. FEMA calls that flood the base flood, or the 100-year flood11. On the map, the SFHA is the zones whose names start with A or V, such as A, AE, AH, AO, V and VE124.
- In any one year1%
- Over a 30-year mortgage26%
Zones B, C and X lie outside the SFHA, at moderate or minimal risk11.
A home outside the SFHA can still flood. FEMA says floods can happen anywhere5.
Where NFIP flood insurance claims come from, on average, in FEMA's April 2025 figure. Every 100 claims 100 claims. Outside high-risk areas, 40 claims, 40%. Inside high-risk areas, 60 claims, 60%.
| Segment | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Outside high-risk areas | 40 claims | 40% |
| Inside high-risk areas | 60 claims | 60% |
| Flood zone | With a federally backed loan | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| A or V zones, such as AE or VE: the SFHA, high risk1211 | Flood insurance is required2 | The seller's disclosure, an elevation certificate, a flood quote, and how much cover the lender requires |
| B or shaded X: moderate risk, between the 1% and 0.2% annual-chance floods11 | Not required by federal law, though the lender may still require it14 | The seller's disclosure and a flood quote |
| C or unshaded X: minimal risk, above the 0.2% annual-chance flood11 | Not required by federal law, though the lender may still require it14 | The seller's disclosure and a flood quote |
If Citizens insures the home, its own rule doesn't turn on the flood zone alone; see below3.
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When your lender requires flood insurance
If the home is in the SFHA and your mortgage is federally backed, your lender must require flood insurance25.
Your lender must tell you about any flood insurance requirement for the home2. Ask early, so you have the lender's requirement and an insurance quote well before closing.
Outside the SFHA, federal law doesn't require flood insurance12. A lender can still make it a condition of the loan, wherever the home is14.
The base flood elevation is the height the base flood, the 1% annual-chance flood, is expected to reach1114. If the lowest ground touching the house is at or above it, the owner can ask FEMA for a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA), a letter taking the property out of the SFHA. A LOMA ends the federal requirement, though the lender may still require flood insurance14.
FEMA charges no fee to review a LOMA request. In most cases the owner hires a licensed land surveyor or professional engineer to prepare an elevation certificate for it14.
When a new flood policy starts
A new NFIP policy usually takes effect 30 days after you buy it5. FEMA names two exceptions: coverage bought because a government-backed lender requires it, and coverage tied to a change in the community's flood map5.
So flood insurance a government-backed lender requires for your mortgage doesn't wait the 30 days5. If no lender requires it and you want cover from the day you close, ask your insurance agent about the start date early.
You buy an NFIP policy through an insurance company or agent, often the one who sells your home or auto insurance5. Insurers authorized in Florida can also write private flood insurance, under the state's own rules for it15.
If Citizens insures the home
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation requires flood insurance as a condition of its home policies3.
The rule is set in steps, by date, by flood zone and by the home's dwelling replacement cost: what it would cost to rebuild the home, not counting the land and not its market value. Where valuations differ, Citizens uses the lowest3.
April 1, 2023
New policies in the SFHA
A new Citizens policy on a home in FEMA's Special Flood Hazard Area needs flood cover from the day it's issued.
July 1, 2023
Renewals in the SFHA
A policy on a home in the Special Flood Hazard Area that renews from this date needs flood cover by renewal.
January 1, 2024
$600,000 or more
Policies effective from this date, on a home with a dwelling replacement cost of $600,000 or more.
January 1, 2025
$500,000 or more
Policies effective from this date, on a home with a dwelling replacement cost of $500,000 or more.
January 1, 2026
$400,000 or more
Policies effective from this date, on a home with a dwelling replacement cost of $400,000 or more.
January 1, 2027 (key date)
Every other home
Policies effective from this date, on every other home Citizens insures.
The flood policy must give at least the dwelling coverage the NFIP offers, or be a private policy of the standard, preferred or customized kind Florida law sets out315.
You sign a form affirming that Citizens doesn't provide flood insurance, and that without it the home isn't eligible for Citizens' coverage. Citizens may deny coverage to anyone who won't secure and keep flood insurance3.
Elevation certificates and the price of flood insurance
An elevation certificate is a FEMA form that records a building's elevations. It's used to show the building meets the community's floodplain rules, to inform the flood insurance premium, and to support a request to change the flood map, such as a LOMA10.
You don't need one to buy flood insurance. If you give the insurer one, FEMA compares it with its own information, and it can lower the premium16. FEMA prices an NFIP policy on the home's own flood risk: how often floods happen there and of what kinds, how far it is from water, and features such as its elevation and what it would cost to rebuild17.
A completed certificate doesn't expire when the home is sold. It stays valid unless the building is physically changed in a way that alters what it certified, and a new flood map doesn't make it out of date1016.
Where to find one
- The seller. Copies of a certificate go to the building owner, the insurance agent or company, and the community official10.
- The local floodplain office. Communities in the NFIP must record the elevation of the lowest floor of every new and substantially improved building, so the office may have one on file10.
- A licensed professional. A land surveyor, engineer or architect authorized by state law to certify elevations completes a new one10.
Whether a certificate would lower the price of a policy on that home is a question for your insurance agent.
What to check before you close
The flood checks, in the order you'll meet them:
- Read the seller's flood disclosure before you sign, and note any flood damage, claim or assistance it reports.
- Look up the home's flood zone on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center.
- Ask the seller for the elevation certificate, if there is one.
- Ask your lender what flood insurance the loan requires, and get flood quotes from an insurance agent.
- If Citizens will insure the home, check which step of its flood rule applies on the policy's start date.
- If flood insurance is required, have the policy in place for closing.
Flood insurance is one of the costs of owning the home, alongside the property tax you'll pay after you buy. For the other figures you settle around closing, see how the year's property tax is split with the seller.
General information, not advice on a home
This guide explains the rules. Whether to insure a particular home for flood, and for how much, is a question for an insurance agent, and your lender sets what its loan requires. Your licensed Comped agent can walk you through the disclosure and the dates.
Questions buyers ask
Yes. A seller of residential property must give the buyer a flood disclosure at or before signing the sales contract. It says whether the seller knows of flooding that damaged the property while they owned it, filed an insurance claim for flood damage, or received flood assistance such as FEMA aid. It doesn't ask for the flood zone, or about flooding before the seller owned the home.
Federal law requires it for buildings in FEMA's Special Flood Hazard Area with a federally backed mortgage. Elsewhere, a lender can still require it. Citizens requires it by the dwelling's replacement cost, and on every home policy with wind cover from January 1, 2027, condo unit owners' policies aside. In April 2025, FEMA said that on average 40% of NFIP flood claims came from outside high-risk areas.
Usually not. FEMA says most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage, and Florida's seller flood disclosure opens with the same warning. Flood insurance is a separate policy, from the National Flood Insurance Program through an insurance agent, or from a private insurer.
A new NFIP policy usually takes effect 30 days after you buy it. FEMA names two exceptions: coverage a government-backed lender requires, such as for your mortgage, and coverage tied to a change in the community's flood map. If no lender requires it and you want cover from the day you close, ask your insurance agent about the start date early.
On homes in FEMA's Special Flood Hazard Area, for new policies from April 1, 2023 and renewals from July 1, 2023. Elsewhere it goes by the dwelling's replacement cost: $600,000 or more from January 1, 2024, $500,000 or more from January 1, 2025, $400,000 or more from January 1, 2026, and every other home from January 1, 2027. Policies without wind cover and condo unit owners' policies are exempt.
Ask the seller first: copies go to the building owner, the insurance agent and the community official. Communities in the NFIP must record the lowest floor's elevation for new and substantially improved buildings, so the local floodplain office may have one. A land surveyor, engineer or architect can complete a new one. It's optional, and it can lower an NFIP premium.
Sources
Primary sources only: the statutes, rules and agency documents each figure comes from.
- 1.Fla. Stat. §689.302, Disclosure of flood risks to prospective purchaser
The Florida Senate · flsenate.gov · checked
- 2.Understanding flood risk: real estate, lending or insurance professionals
FEMA · fema.gov · checked
- 3.Fla. Stat. §627.351(6), Citizens Property Insurance Corporation
The Florida Senate · flsenate.gov · checked
- 4.Know your flood risk: homeowners, renters or business owners
FEMA · fema.gov · checked
- 5.Flood insurance
FEMA · fema.gov · checked
- 6.CS/CS/HB 1049 (2024), Flood Disclosure in the Sale of Real Property, chapter 2024-215
The Florida Senate · flsenate.gov · checked
- 7.CS/CS/SB 948 (2025), Flood Disclosures, chapter 2025-166
The Florida Senate · flsenate.gov · checked
- 8.Fla. Stat. §689.302, 2024 edition
The Florida Senate · flsenate.gov · checked
- 9.Fla. Stat. §718.503, Developer disclosure prior to sale
The Florida Senate · flsenate.gov · checked
- 10.Elevation certificate and instructions, FEMA Form FF-206-FY-22-152
FEMA · fema.gov · checked
- 11.Flood zones (glossary)
FEMA · fema.gov · checked
- 12.Special Flood Hazard Area (glossary)
FEMA · fema.gov · checked
- 13.FEMA launches direct to customer flood insurance premium quoting tool (April 7, 2025)
FEMA · fema.gov · checked
- 14.Letter of Map Amendment and Letter of Map Revision-Based on Fill process
FEMA · fema.gov · checked
- 15.Fla. Stat. §627.715, Flood insurance
The Florida Senate · flsenate.gov · checked
- 16.Elevation certificate: FAQ (October 2023)
FEMA · fema.gov · checked
- 17.NFIP's pricing approach
FEMA · fema.gov · checked
General information about Florida law, not legal or tax advice. For your home, ask your county's property appraiser, a tax professional or your Comped agent.
What changed
When a law, a rule or a county's figures change, we update the guide and note it here.
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