13 FEMA Flood Zones for Flood Insurance Requirements

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) identifies flood hazard risk nationwide and provides flood insurance rate maps (FIRMs) for floodplain management and insurance regulations.

High-risk areas are called Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) and have a 1% annual chance of inundation by flooding. They are also referred to as the 100-year floodplain because they have a 1 in 100 chance of flooding every year (although it’s quite possible for some areas to sustain multiple floods every 100 years).

Let’s take a look at the different flood zone categories and break down all flood zone meanings.

There are three different flood zone categories in the country: high-risk, moderate-to-low-risk, and undetermined risk. While each zone may be prone to floods, it’s worth noting that FEMA has not as thoroughly mapped some areas, so some map parcels don’t indicate exact flood risk. 

Since flooding is the most common natural disaster on earth, typically, you either fall into a high-risk or moderate-to-low-risk area. The greater your risk, the more likely it is that you’ll need to use your flood insurance policy while you live there.

Given the letter designations of A or V, homes and businesses in high-risk flood zones are most likely to sustain flood damage every year. Homes inside this designation are called Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) and face a 26% chance of experiencing at least one flood during their 30-year mortgage.

These homeowners are typically required by their mortgage lender to maintain adequate flood insurance, either through a private carrier or through FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program, during the entire term of the loan.

Flood zones with a letter A designation are inland areas, while flood zones with a letter designation of V are coastal areas.

Designations B, C, and X fall inside the moderate-to-low-risk flood zones and account for more than 20% of the flood insurance claims filed with FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program each year.

While homeowners in these designations typically aren’t required by their mortgage lender to purchase flood insurance, we highly recommend that everyone in these different flood zones (homeowners, business owners, landlords, and tenants) consider purchasing flood insurance to be safe.

FEMA uses cutting-edge mapping technology to determine the flood zone types of areas throughout the country and create a map for the general public to help determine what zones need flood insurance. 

These flood zone categories are used by insurance companies, mortgage lenders, builders, and government officials. They are intended to help the general public determine the flood risk of their home or business and advise on floodplain regulation.

High-risk flood areas begin with A or V on FEMA flood maps. As mentioned earlier, these are SFHAs that have a 1% chance of floodwaters exceeding the base flood elevation annually. Put another way, properties in SFHAs have a 26% chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage. These zones are typically near water bodies.

Flood zone A is a high-risk flood zone where no base flood elevation (BFE) has been determined. A BFE is the elevation within the zone that has a 1% chance of flooding each year. 

FEMA flood zone A doesn’t have BFEs because no detailed hydraulic analysis has been conducted in these areas, so FEMA has yet to determine the exact elevation likely to experience a flood. According to FEMA’s Guide to Obtaining and Developing Base (100-Year) Flood Elevations, A zone flood risk has likely been estimated in the past using whatever data or approximate methods were available, including historical flood data. However, these zones haven’t undergone the latest analysis necessary for regulation.

FEMA A flood zones are typically high-risk because they’re low-lying areas near bodies of water, such as lakes, rivers, and streams, and may have flooded in the past. For new construction in participating National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) communities, builders must determine the BFE before starting a project in an A flood zone.

Yes, flood zone A requires flood insurance if you have a federally backed mortgage, such as a Fannie Mae, a Federal Housing Authority (FHA) or a Veterans Affairs (VA) loan. Private lenders can also use their discretion to require flood insurance in Zone A.

FEMA Flood zone AE is a high-risk flood zone with a 26% chance of flooding during a 30-year mortgage, and it typically borders an inland water body or the Intracoastal Waterway. The primary difference between flood zone A and flood zone AE is that a BFE has been determined in an AE flood zone. Both are still high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas. AE flood zones are commonly found on FEMA flood maps.

Yes, relatively speaking, a FEMA AE flood zone is bad as it’s a high-risk flood zone with over a one-in-four chance of flooding during the life of a standard mortgage, according to FEMA. Detailed hydraulic analyses have been performed in the area to determine the BFE. Homes must generally be built above the BFE in AE flood zones.

On previous flood maps, there used to be a few different A-listed zones with numbers after them, from A1 to A30. The FEMA zone AE flood zone has replaced these A-numbered ones.

Yes, flood zone AE requires flood insurance if you have a federally-backed mortgage, such as an FHA or VA loan. Private lenders can and often do require flood insurance in AE flood zones, too, due to the high chances of flooding.

There are a few other high-risk A flood zoning codes that are classified based on nuances of the community:

Flood zone AO is a high-risk flood zone where shallow flooding averaging 1 to 3 feet deep is most likely, usually in the form of sheet flow on sloping terrain. These are usually close to rivers and streams. BFEs have been determined.

Yes, flood zone AO requires flood insurance if you have a federally-backed mortgage, such as an FHA or VA loan. Private lenders can also require flood insurance in AO flood zones.

Flood zone AH is another high-risk zone vulnerable to flood depths of one to three feet, where ponding of water can usually happen. BFEs have been determined.

Depending on how you look at it, flood zone AH may be marginally better than a V or AE flood zone, which usually border rivers and coastlines. AH flood zones can be located inland. However, they’re still high-risk flood zones with the same chances of flooding as other AE and other FEMA A zones. 

Yes, flood zone AH requires flood insurance if you have a federally backed mortgage, such as an FHA, VA, or Fannie Mae loan. Private lenders can also require flood insurance in AH flood zones.

Flood zone AR is a high-risk zone with a temporarily increased flood risk due to the building or restoring a flood control system nearby, such as a dam or levee. These places were formerly protected by a flood control system that was decertified and is now being rebuilt.

Yes, as a high-risk zone, flood zone AR requires flood insurance if you have a federally backed mortgage, such as an FHA, VA, or Fannie Mae loan. Flood zones AR and A99 generally have lower premiums than other high-risk A flood zones due to the nearby flood control systems.

Flood zone A99 is a high-risk zone that will soon be protected by a new flood control system that’s under construction. According to FEMA, “These are SFHAs where enough progress has been made on the construction of a protection system, such as dikes, dams, and levees, to consider it complete for insurance rating purposes.” The construction must meet certain legal requirements. No BFEs have been determined.

Eventually, if the federal flood system is finished, this zone would likely become a shaded zone X, a moderate-risk flood zone, on a flood map.

Yes, flood zone A99 requires flood insurance if you have a federally backed mortgage, like FHA and VA loans. Private lenders can also require flood insurance. Flood zones AR and A99 generally have lower premiums than other high-risk A flood zones due to the nearby flood control systems.

FEMA flood zone V is a coastal high-risk zone where no base flood elevations have been determined. It’s the coastal equivalent of an A flood zone. These areas are especially hazardous due to their location on the coast near oceans and facing immediate risk of storm surges.

The “V” indicates the likelihood of flooding with velocity, meaning the water won’t just pond when flooding. It will likely come in the form of waves that can reach significant heights beyond a few feet.

Yes, flood zone V requires flood insurance if you have a federally backed mortgage, such as an FHA, VA, or Fannie Mae loan. Private lenders can and often will require flood insurance in V flood zones.

Flood zone VE is a coastal flood zone where base flood elevations have been determined. It’s the coastal equivalent of an AE flood zone. VE flood zones are common in coastal development communities, such as those with beachfront properties. Again, due to their proximity to the coastline, these zones are quite prone to flooding from storm surges.

Yes, flood zone VE requires flood insurance if you have a federally backed mortgage, such as an FHA, VA, or Fannie Mae loan. Private lenders can and often will require flood insurance in VE flood zones, also.

Moderate-to-low-risk flood zones are not SFHAs and are less likely to flood than high-risk flood zones. Mortgage lenders do not require flood insurance in these flood zones.

However, that doesn’t mean they’re immune to flooding. The NFIP reports that over 20% of their flood insurance claims come from moderate and low-risk areas, so you should still be wary of your flooding risk.

Flood zone X is one of the most common designations you will encounter on a flood zone map. FEMA zone X is a moderate-to-low-risk flood area that has a 0.2% or less chance of flooding during a 30-year mortgage. 

On flood maps, a flood zone X description is either shaded or unshaded. When flood zone X is shaded, it’s a moderate risk zone between the 100-year (1%) and 500-year (0.2%) chance of flooding. Shaded flood zone X has replaced the previously known “flood zone B” on new flood maps.

When flood zone X is unshaded, the area is outside the 500-year floodplain (with less than a 0.2% chance of flooding during a 30-year mortgage) and is usually protected by a federal control system. On new flood maps, unshaded flood zone X has replaced the previously known “flood zone C.” Unshaded flood zone X areas have the lowest risk of flooding.

Floodplain zone X is good, relatively speaking, as it’s not a high-risk flood zone. However, your risk can vary in an X flood zone. Some may be at moderate risk, while others are at low risk (depending on the shading of the FEMA map). Nevertheless, properties in FEMA flood zone X generally have lower flood insurance rates than those in high-risk flood zones.

No, flood insurance isn’t required in flood zone X, although you may still want to consider coverage as flooding is still possible. Always be aware of your property’s flood risk, as it can also change over time.

Although there’s no official FEMA flood zone classification termed “X500,” it still may be referenced casually and sometimes even in local government documents. Flood zone X500 may refer to the low-risk, unshaded portions of X flood zones on FEMA flood maps. The “500” refers to the 500-year floodplain. 

Some dated flood resources referred to flood zone X500 as “an area inundated by

1% annual chance flooding with average depths of less than 1 foot or with drainage areas

less than 1 square mile; or an area protected by levees from 1% annual chance flooding.” However, you won’t find this definition in the latest FEMA flood insurance manual or in previous versions from the last few years.

Flood zones X and X500 aren’t technically the same. Someone referring to FEMA flood zone X500 may also be referring to an X flood zone, but an X flood zone may not always be an X500 flood zone.

No, flood zone X500 isn’t bad, as it’s considered one of the moderate-to-low risk flood zone ratings with a less than 1% chance of flooding annually. However, this doesn’t mean flood damage is impossible in the area, as anywhere it rains, it can technically flood.

Regardless of the exact interpretation, X500 flood zone insurance is not required, as it is not an SFHA (high-risk) flood zone.

As flood maps have changed over time, so have the FEMA flood zone codes for lower-risk flood zones. FEMA flood zones B and C are dated, but you may still encounter them. Also, flood zone D still exists, but it’s rarer to find on a FIRM.

Flood zone B may appear on older FEMA flood maps. It’s a moderate-risk zone between the 100-year and 500-year floodplain with a 0.2% and 1% chance of flooding during a 30-year mortgage. Shaded zone X is used on new maps in place of Zone B.

No, the zone B flood zone doesn’t require flood insurance, as it is not an SFHA (high-risk) flood zone. 

Zone C flood zones may also appear on older maps or in communities where local flooding is too small to map. Zone C is a low-risk flood zone with elevations higher than that of the 500-year floodplain, so these areas have less than a 0.2% chance of experiencing a flood. Unshaded flood zone X is normally used in place of zone C on new flood maps.

No, flood zone C doesn’t require flood insurance, as it is not an SFHA (high-risk) flood zone. 

FEMA flood zone D is an undetermined flood risk zone. No flood hazard analysis has been conducted. Flood zone D may also appear when a community incorporates portions of another community’s area

where no map has been prepared. Areas in zone D are often sparsely populated and largely undeveloped.

No, the Zone D flood zone doesn’t require flood insurance, as it is not an SFHA (high-risk) flood zone. 

Flood zones that require flood insurance are the high-risk flood zones, officially called Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) by FEMA. These high-risk zones that require flood insurance begin with A or V and are flood zones:

When discussing which flood zones require flood insurance, it’s important to note that flood insurance is not federally required for any homeowner or business owner, but rather mortgage lenders require you to purchase it if you reside or maintain your property in one of FEMA’s high-risk flood zone classifications.

The best flood zone ratings for flood insurance purposes are the moderate-to-low-risk flood zones, such as X. FEMA judged flood zone X (and possibly X500, depending on the interpretation) to have the lowest risk of flooding damage.

FEMA defines a flood as “A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of 2 or more acres of normally dry land area or of 2 or more properties” from one of the following:

Other than the types of flood zones that we defined above, you can also generally categorize the areas as either coastal flooding risks, riverine flooding risks, shallow flooding risks, or alluvial fan flooding risks. Alluvial fan flooding is a mountain-formation-related flood hazard more common in the western United States.

We mentioned them earlier, but you may also hear about the 100- and 500-year floodplains. These are just another way to refer to high- and lower-risk flood zones. 

A 100-year floodplain zone is an area with a 1% chance (or 1 in 100 chance) of flooding every year. The 100-year reference seems like a misnomer because the area can flood more than once every 100 years. It’s just a probability, and 100-year floodplains can and often do flood more than once in that time frame since each year has a 1% chance. Each year is independent from the previous one.

When accumulated over the life of a standard 30-year mortgage, this gives properties in 100-year floodplains, also designated as the high-risk special flood hazard area zones by FEMA (which begin with an A or V), a 26% chance of flooding in the 30-year time frame.

The 500-year floodplain refers to the moderate-to-low-risk FEMA flood zones that begin with X, B, or C. Being in a 500-year floodplain equates to a 0.2% (or 1 in 500) chance of a flood reaching the base flood elevation (BFE) of that zone. The lower-risk zones are 500-year floodplains.

While you don’t need flood insurance in a 500-year floodplain to satisfy lender requirements, you shouldn’t rule out the possibility of a flood, and you may want to look into coverage just to be safe.