Florida flood zone lookup, by address
Every property in South Florida sits in a FEMA flood zone, and the letter decides real money: whether a federally backed mortgage requires flood insurance, roughly what that policy costs, and what elevation rules apply when you build or substantially renovate. This lookup reads the county's effective FEMA flood layer for the exact parcel — not the neighborhood, the parcel — and returns the zone with the base flood elevation where one applies.
What you get for an address
- The flood zone (X, AE, AH, VE and the rest) from the county's effective FIRM data — the same designation a lender's flood determination uses.
- Base flood elevation (BFE) where the zone carries one, in feet. Your structure's lowest floor relative to this number is what drives the premium.
- The rest of the parcel record alongside it: zoning, county market value, comparable sales, and the property-tax reset a buyer inherits on sale.
The zones in one table
| Zone | Risk | Insurance with a federally backed mortgage |
|---|---|---|
| X | Moderate to minimal — outside the 1% annual chance floodplain | Not required |
| AE / AH / AO | High — inside the 1% annual chance floodplain | Required |
| VE / V | High, coastal — storm waves on top of flooding | Required, highest rates |
| D | Undetermined — no study completed | Not required, priced conservatively |
Each letter has its own page if you want the detail: zone X, zone AE, zone AH, zone VE.
Why the county layer and not a national map
The lookup reads Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County's own published copies of the effective FEMA data. County GIS departments republish each map revision, and reading the county layer means the answer reflects the panels actually in force for that jurisdiction — including the 2024 Broward revisions.
Check any Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach address
Flood zone and base flood elevation, zoning, comparable sales and the tax reset a buyer inherits. No sign-up.