Tampa, FL Hurricane Preparedness: Flood Elevation (2026)

Section 5-110.3.3, part of the required-inspections article adopted by Ord. No. 2024-15, sets a hard checkpoint in the construction sequence for any site in a mapped flood hazard area: once the lowest floor, including a basement, if any, is placed, and before any further vertical construction proceeds, the contractor or owner must submit the elevation certification required under Section 1612.4 of the Florida Building Code, Building, and Section R322 of the Florida Building Code, Residential, to the building official. This dovetails with Sec. 5-110.3's foundation-inspection checklist, which separately requires that a copy of the under-construction flood certificate of elevation, or a surveyor-certified survey establishing the lowest floor, be available for review at the job site before going vertical for new construction in an 'A' or 'V' flood zone.

In practice, a Florida-licensed surveyor documents the as-built elevation of the lowest floor relative to the flood hazard map datum (NAVD 88, per Sec. 5-121.81) before framing continues, giving the city, and later FEMA and the owner's flood insurer, a verified record that the structure was actually built to the design flood elevation rather than merely permitted to it. A final certification of the lowest floor elevation is required again at the final inspection stage under the related Sec. 5-121.104/.105 provisions for structures exempt from the Florida Building Code.

Because this checkpoint sits inside the standard building-permit inspection sequence, missing it stops the job: inspectors will not release the framing inspection, and the project cannot proceed to a certificate of occupancy, until the elevation documentation is on file.