Notices of Suspended Eligibility
Steps Leading to Suspension
Suspension from the NFIP
Summary of Final Rule
The National Flood Insurance Program enables property owners, business and renters to purchase flood insurance. In return, communities agree to adopt, implement and enforce local floodplain management regulations. These regulations contribute to protecting lives and reducing the risk of from future flooding to new construction and substantial improvements.
Effective Dec. 2, 2020, a final rule modernized regulations that previously required FEMA to publish community eligibility in the Federal Register. The rule allows FEMA to publish this information about probations or suspensions of a community on the internet or by another comparable method.
If you want to determine whether a particular community was suspended on the suspension date or for further information, please email:
FEMA Floodplain Management Division
Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Effective Dates
The Community Status Book lists communities within each state or territory that have new or revised Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). The FIRM must be adopted by the listed date. View the current effective dates for Flood Insurance Rate Map.
Notices of Suspended Community Eligibility
Beginning in June 2021, FEMA published eligible community status suspension notices on FEMA’s website. The states listed have communities with new or revised Flood Insurance Rate Maps which must be adopted by the listed effective date. If not adopted by the effective date, a community will be suspended.
The Community Status Book lists each participating community’s effective Flood Insurance Rate Map or suspension information.
Steps Leading to Suspension
Failure to Adopt a Flood Insurance Rate Map Leads to Suspension
When FEMA updates flood risk products, including Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program are required to also update their regulations to incorporate adoption of the new products for regulatory purposes.
Upon finalizing new flood risk products for a community, FEMA notifies the community’s Chief Executive Officer that the community will be suspended unless the regulations are updated by the FIRM effective date. Before the effective date, FEMA sends a notice directly to the community at 180 days, 90 days and 30 days reminding them of the requirement to adopt the updated or new Flood Insurance Rate Map.
FEMA also posts a notice of potential suspension on FEMA’s website approximately 1-2 weeks prior to the effective date indicating which communities have yet to update their regulations and will therefore be suspended if they do not update and adopt the regulations by the effective date.
If a new or revised Flood Insurance Rate Map is not adopted by the effective date, the community is suspended and flood insurance will no longer be available in the community.
FEMA recognizes communities may adopt and submit the required documentation after this list is published but prior to the actual effective suspension date. These communities will not be suspended and will continue to be eligible for the sale of policies through the National Flood Insurance Program.
Failure to Enforce May Lead to Probation and Then Suspension
When a community is put on probation, they are notified of the exact actions to take to avoid suspension by a specific date. If sufficient progress is not made to address deficiencies or violations or no response is provided from the community, FEMA will proceed with the suspension process.
When a community has made minimal or no progress following the actions taken above, FEMA will suspend the community from the NFIP. These notifications include a 60-Day Show Cause Letter to the community, a 30-Day Suspension Warning Letter, congressional notifications, a news release to local media outlets and an update on FEMA’s website.
COMMUNITIES CURRENTLY ON PROBATION FOR FAILURE TO ENFORCE
| State | County or Parish | Community | Community Identification Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | Lee | Town of Fort Meyers Beach | 120673 |
| Idaho | Canyon | Canyon County | 160208 |
| Illinois | Dekalb | Village of Kirkland | 170186 |
| Montana | Cascade | City of Belt | 300009 |
| Oklahoma | Sequoyah | Town of Moffett | 400196 |
| Washington | Island | Island County | 530312 |
Communities on Suspension
- On March 30, 2023, Logan County, Colorado was suspended from the National Flood Insurance Program for failure to enforce.
Floodplain Management Regulation Repeal, Lapse or Non-compliant Amendments
A community that does not have floodplain management regulations meeting the minimum requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program (Title 44 Code of Federal Regulations Sections 60.3, 60.4 and 60.5) is not eligible for participation in the program.
If a community repeals their regulations, lets the regulations lapse or amends them so that they do not meet minimum requirements, they must be suspended from the National Flood Insurance Program.
Community Suspension from the National Flood Insurance Program
A community that does not join the NFIP after being identified for one year as flood-prone, has withdrawn from the program or is suspended from it, faces the following sanctions:
- No property owner or renter will be able to purchase a flood insurance policy.
- Existing flood insurance policies will not be renewed.
- No federal grants or loans for development may be made in identified flood hazard areas under programs administered by federal agencies
- No federal disaster assistance may be provided to repair insurable buildings located in identified flood hazard areas for damage caused by a flood.
- No federal mortgage insurance or loan guarantees may be provided in identified flood hazard areas.
- Federally insured or regulated lending institutions, such as banks and credit unions, must notify applicants seeking loans for insurable buildings in flood hazard areas that there is a flood hazard and that the property is not eligible for federal disaster relief.
Summary of the Final Rule
Published 10/20/20
Revisions to Publication Requirements for Community Eligibility Status Information Under the National Flood Insurance Program
This final rule modernizes regulations regarding publication requirements of community eligibility status information under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). FEMA is replacing outdated regulations that require publication of community loss of eligibility notices in the Federal Register with a requirement that FEMA publish this information on the internet or by another comparable method.
FEMA is also replacing its requirement that the agency maintain a list of communities eligible for flood insurance in the Code of Federal Regulations with a requirement that FEMA publish this list on the internet or by another comparable method.