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Behind the Walls

Is my house in a flood zone? Look up any address, free.

Type any US address. You get FEMA's official flood zone (the one your lender uses), whether a lender must require flood insurance, the tract's rating for eighteen hazards from FEMA's National Risk Index, and any live National Weather Service alerts. Every lookup result links to its source. Nothing you type is saved.

Try a public spot: City Dock, Annapolis · 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington · Ocean Drive, Miami Beach

Why the zone letter beats a score

Find your FEMA flood zone by address.

Listing sites show a modeled 1 to 10 "flood factor." It is a private estimate, it has been pulled from listings and challenged in court, and it does not decide whether your lender must require flood insurance. The FEMA zone is the public record: it decides that, and what you can build. Since FEMA's Risk Rating 2.0, the zone no longer sets the price of an NFIP policy; the building does. Start there, then add the risk index for the bigger picture.

Zones A and AE

High risk. A 1 percent chance of flooding each year, about 1 in 4 over a 30 year mortgage. Flood insurance required with most loans. AE has a base flood elevation; A does not.

Zones V and VE

High risk, coastal. Waves of three feet or more on top of the flood. The strictest building rules, and often some of the highest premiums.

Zone X, shaded

Moderate risk. The 0.2 percent annual chance floodplain (the 500 year flood), areas with a 1 percent annual chance of shallow flooding, or an area protected by a levee. Insurance optional, and usually far cheaper than in a high risk zone.

Zone X, unshaded

Minimal risk on the current map. Not zero: nearly one third of NFIP flood claims from 2014 to 2024 came from outside the high risk zones.

Zone D

Undetermined. FEMA has not studied it. Treat it as unknown.

Floodway

The stream channel and nearby land that must stay open to carry the flood. Inside it, building and fill are tightly restricted.

A worked example

Two Maryland addresses, two very different answers.

Run City Dock in Annapolis and a home in Potomac through the lookup and you see the whole idea.

Annapolis waterfront

Zone AE, base flood elevation 5 feet (NAVD88)

High risk. With most mortgages, a buyer will be required to carry flood insurance, and the lender must say so before closing. The NFIP premium is set for this building: its elevation, first floor height, distance to water and rebuild cost. An elevation certificate is optional but can lower the price, so it is worth ordering before the inspection period ends. FEMA's Risk Index rates the tract Relatively Moderate for coastal flooding and winter weather.

Potomac, Maryland

Zone X, area of minimal flood hazard

Outside both floodplains on the current map. Flood insurance is optional and usually inexpensive here, which is exactly when to buy it. Know its limits: an NFIP policy covers basement essentials like the furnace, water heater and cleanup, not finished walls, floors or most belongings stored there. The hidden costs here are elsewhere, in property taxes and the closing costs that change by county.

Both results were pulled live from FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer and National Risk Index on October 20, 2026. Maps change; run the lookup for today's answer.

Who to call

In a flood zone? Here is who to contact.

The lookup tells you the risk. These official FEMA and National Flood Insurance Program contacts tell you what to do about it.

Buy a policy

A flood insurance provider

Most home insurance does not cover flood. Policies come through insurance companies that write NFIP coverage. FloodSmart, the program's official site, lists the providers that sell in each state.

Find a provider on FloodSmart

Questions and maps

FEMA Mapping and Insurance eXchange

FEMA's help line for flood map questions, general flood insurance questions, and finding the company that holds an existing policy. Call (877) 336-2627.

FloodSmart contact page

See the official map

FEMA Flood Map Service Center

The official flood maps your lender uses, searchable by address, with a printable map panel you can save for your file or share with your agent.

Open the Map Service Center

Buying a home? Ask the seller for their current flood insurance declarations page. An existing NFIP policy can often be assumed by the buyer. Contact details checked October 21, 2026.

Questions buyers ask

Flood zone FAQ

Is the flood zone the same as flood risk?

No. The zone is FEMA's regulatory map, built from studies that can be years old, and it is what lenders use to decide whether flood insurance is required. Risk is bigger than the map: drainage, elevation, the age of the map, and the weather. This page gives you both: the official zone, and FEMA's own risk index for the area around the home.

How much will flood insurance cost?

No public lookup can tell you. Since FEMA's Risk Rating 2.0, every NFIP policy is priced for the individual building, using its distance to water, elevation, rebuild cost and more. Get a quote through any insurance agent who writes NFIP policies, and ask the seller for their current declarations page; an existing NFIP policy can often be assumed by the buyer.

The home is in Zone AE but sits on a hill. Can it get out?

Often, yes. If a licensed surveyor's elevation certificate shows the lowest adjacent grade, the ground right next to the home, is at or above the base flood elevation, you can ask FEMA for a Letter of Map Amendment. FEMA reviews a LOMA at no charge; the survey is the cost. With a LOMA in hand, the lender can drop the insurance requirement.

Why do Redfin or Realtor.com show a different number?

They license a modeled score from a private company, First Street, and show it as a 1 to 10. Zillow dropped those scores in late 2025 after a California multiple listing service questioned the model's accuracy. A New York couple who sold their home at a loss has also sued Zillow and First Street over a 9 out of 10 flood score on a house their lawsuit says is not in a FEMA flood zone. The zone on this page is the federal record, the index is FEMA's, and every result links to the source.

Does the home's flood history show up anywhere?

Three places, all through the seller. The seller disclosure, where state law requires it. The CLUE report, a LexisNexis claims history of up to seven years that only the owner can order, free. And FEMA, which releases a property's NFIP flood claim history only to its owner. Ask the seller for both reports.

Do you store the addresses people look up?

No. Your browser sends the address to the Census Bureau, and the map point to FEMA's map services and the National Weather Service. House of Jaxi never receives or saves it. The link you can copy keeps the address after the # in the web address, a part browsers never send to a server, so you can share a lookup without it reaching us.

Know the other hidden costs too. Transfer and recordation taxes change across Maryland counties, DC and Northern Virginia, and in Maryland and DC they are among the largest closing costs buyers pay.

Price my closing costs

One hidden cost a week, explained. Housemates get flood, insurance, taxes and HOA fees decoded, one issue at a time.

Step inside

This lookup is for education only. Results are estimates, not financial, insurance, tax, or legal advice. Flood zones change when FEMA revises a map. The lender's flood zone determination at closing, and an insurer's quote, are the official answers for a purchase.