V-Zone Design and Construction Certification
Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction
Technical Fact Sheet No. 5

Purpose: To explain the certification requirements for structural design and 
construction in V zones. 

Structural Design and Methods of Construction Certification
As part of the agreement for making flood insurance available in a community, 
the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requires the community to adopt a 
floodplain management ordinance that specifies minimum design and construction 
requirements. Those requirements include a certification of the structural 
design and the methods of construction.

Specifically, NFIP regulations and local floodplain management ordinances 
require that:
1.  a registered professional engineer or architect shall develop or review the 
structural design, specifications, and plans for the construction, and 
2.  a registered professional engineer or architect shall certify that the 
design and methods of construction to be used are in accordance with accepted 
standards of practice for meeting the following criteria:
--the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member of the lowest floor 
(excluding the pilings or columns) is elevated to or above the Base Flood 
Elevation (BFE); and 
--the pile or column foundation and structure attached thereto is anchored to 
resist flotation, collapse, and lateral movement due to the effects of wind and 
water loads acting simultaneously on all building components. Water loading 
values used shall be those associated with the Base Flood. Wind loading values 
used shall be those required by applicable state or local building standards.

The community, through its inspection procedures, will verify that the building 
is built in accordance with the certified design.

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Other Certifications Required in V Zones
--Lowest Floor Elevation, by a surveyor, engineer, or architect (see Fact Sheet 
No. 4)
--Breakaway Wall Collapse, by a registered professional engineer or architect  
(see Fact Sheet No. 27)
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The Design and Methods of Construction certification should take into consideration 
the NFIP Free-of-Obstruction requirement for V zones: the space below the lowest 
floor must be free of obstructions (e.g., free of any building element, equipment, 
or other fixed objects that can transfer flood loads to the foundation, or that can 
cause floodwaters or waves to be deflected into the building), or must be 
constructed with non-supporting breakaway walls, open lattice, or insect screening. 
(See NFIP Technical Bulletin 5-93 and Fact Sheet No. 27.)
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Completing the V-Zone Certification
There is no single V-zone certificate used on a nationwide basis. Instead, local 
communities and/or states have developed their own certification procedures and 
documents.

Registered engineers and architects involved in V-zone construction projects 
should check with the authority having jurisdiction regarding the exact nature 
and timing of required certifications.

Page 2 shows a sample certification form developed by one state. It is intended 
to show one of many possible ways by which a jurisdiction may require that the 
certification and supporting information be provided. In this instance, three 
certifications are included on the form (Lowest Floor Elevation, Design and 
Methods of Construction, Breakaway Wall Collapse).

Note: The V-zone certificate is not a substitute for and cannot be used without 
the NFIP Elevation Certificate (see Fact Sheet No. 4), which is required for 
flood insurance rating.

[End of Fact Sheet No. 5]