FEMA letter establishing that an existing structure or parcel on natural ground is not located in the mapped special flood hazard area.
A Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) is an official FEMA determination that an existing structure or legally described parcel on natural ground is not located in the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area.
A lender’s flood determination can place a building in an SFHA because of map scale, structure location, or available elevation information. If qualified evidence shows the naturally elevated structure or land is above the base flood and outside the SFHA, a LOMA can provide the official FEMA result needed to correct that treatment.
A successful LOMA can support removal of the federal mandatory-purchase requirement. It does not prevent flooding, insure the property, or force the owner to cancel optional coverage.
Borrowers usually investigate a LOMA after a Flood Determination triggers required coverage and they believe the result does not reflect the property’s actual elevation or location.
The request may require legal property information, map data, surveyed elevations, and an Elevation Certificate or comparable professional documentation. FEMA, not the lender or surveyor, issues the final LOMA.
A LOMA applies when the structure or parcel was inadvertently included in the SFHA and the relevant ground has not been elevated by fill. If fill was placed to raise the property, a Letter of Map Revision Based on Fill uses a different process.
That distinction is why LOMA should not be used as a generic name for every request to change flood-map treatment.
| Result | Practical scope |
|---|---|
| Structure removed from SFHA | Addresses the building identified in the letter; other land may remain mapped in the SFHA |
| Entire parcel removed from SFHA | Addresses the legally described parcel under the FEMA determination |
| Partial land determination | May remove a described portion while leaving the remaining parcel in the SFHA |
The lender must read the issued letter and match it to the secured property. A document for another building, outdated parcel description, or prior structure may not resolve the current loan.
The letter officially amends how the identified property is treated under the effective map, but the visible map panel may still show the original boundary. That is why owners should retain the determination and provide it during a future sale, refinance, or servicing review.
The lender reviews the letter and updates the flood requirement when the documentation applies. A pending application normally does not require the lender to ignore an existing SFHA determination before FEMA acts.
A lender determines that a house near the edge of Zone AE is in the SFHA. A licensed surveyor documents the building and natural-ground elevations, and the owner submits the required material to FEMA. FEMA issues a structure LOMA showing the house is outside the SFHA. The lender reviews the letter and removes the federal mandatory-purchase condition, while the low portion of the lot remains mapped in the flood area.
An elevation certificate records location and elevation data. A LOMA is FEMA’s official map determination based on accepted evidence.
A Flood Insurance Rate Map is the effective community map. A LOMA officially amends the treatment of the identified property without necessarily redrawing that panel.
A flood determination is the lender-side result for the mortgage. A LOMA can cause the lender to revise that result.
Flood Insurance is coverage. A LOMA may remove a mandatory requirement but does not provide coverage or prove there is no flood risk.