To build, fill, grade, or otherwise develop land in an Arkansas flood hazard area, you need an Arkansas floodplain development permit from your local city or county government before work begins. The state does not issue these permits. Under the Flood Loss Prevention Act, the Arkansas General Assembly authorized every city, town, and county to adopt ordinances regulating construction and land use in flood-prone areas, and each participating community designates a Floodplain Administrator who reviews applications and enforces the rules.1Justia Law. Arkansas Code 14-268-104 – Authority to Adopt Measures2Code of Arkansas Rules. 15 CAR 27-103 – Designation of Floodplain Administrator The core question the permit answers is whether your project meets the elevation and design standards that protect people and structures from the flood with a one-percent chance of occurring in any given year.
What Kind of Work Requires a Permit
“Development” reaches well beyond building a house. Federal rules define it as any change to improved or unimproved real estate, including constructing buildings, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation, drilling, or storing equipment and materials on the land.3eCFR. 44 CFR 59.1 – Definitions Installing a driveway, dumping fill dirt to raise a lot, or even stockpiling construction materials inside a Special Flood Hazard Area can trigger the permit requirement. If your project sits anywhere near a mapped flood zone and you are not sure, call the Floodplain Administrator before you break ground. That call is free. Redoing work that violates the ordinance is not.
Find Your Flood Zone and Base Flood Elevation First
Before designing anything, confirm whether the property lies inside a regulated flood zone. FEMA’s Flood Insurance Rate Maps delineate Special Flood Hazard Areas using zone labels beginning with the letter “A” (Zone A, AE, AH, AO) for riverine flooding and “V” for coastal flooding.4FEMA. Flood Zones Arkansas properties are riverine.
The single most important number for any project inside one of these zones is the Base Flood Elevation, or BFE. The BFE is the predicted water surface height during the one-percent-annual-chance flood, and every elevation requirement, floodproofing certification, and insurance rating traces back to it. Look up the BFE through FEMA’s Map Service Center or ask your local Floodplain Administrator. Get the number before you design, not after.
What Your Project Has to Meet
The lowest floor of any new residential structure in a Special Flood Hazard Area must be elevated to or above the BFE.5eCFR. 44 CFR 60.3 – Floodplain Management Criteria for Flood-Prone Areas Many Arkansas communities require additional “freeboard,” typically one foot above the BFE, which is not required by the NFIP minimum but earns the community credit toward reduced insurance premiums for residents.
Non-residential structures have a second option. Instead of elevating, the building can be floodproofed to the BFE, meaning it is built watertight below that level with walls that resist water pressure. A registered professional engineer or architect must certify the floodproofing design and construction methods.5eCFR. 44 CFR 60.3 – Floodplain Management Criteria for Flood-Prone Areas
All electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing, and air conditioning equipment must be designed or positioned so floodwater cannot enter or accumulate inside the components.5eCFR. 44 CFR 60.3 – Floodplain Management Criteria for Flood-Prone Areas That usually means elevating the HVAC unit, water heater, and electrical panel above the BFE. The outdoor condenser is one of the most commonly missed items on inspection.
Enclosures Below the BFE
Enclosed space below the BFE, such as a garage, crawlspace, or foyer, can only be used for vehicle parking, building access, or storage. Living space, appliances, ductwork, and plumbing fixtures are not permitted there.6Federal Emergency Management Agency. NFIP Technical Bulletin 1 – Openings in Foundation Walls and Walls of Enclosures
Enclosure walls must include flood openings that automatically let water flow in and out to prevent pressure buildup that can collapse a foundation. The minimum is at least two openings with a combined net area of one square inch per square foot of enclosed space, with the bottom of each opening no higher than one foot above grade.6Federal Emergency Management Agency. NFIP Technical Bulletin 1 – Openings in Foundation Walls and Walls of Enclosures Screens and louvers are allowed if they do not block automatic water flow.
The Elevation Certificate
The Elevation Certificate ties compliance together. It records the elevation of the structure’s lowest floor, attached garage, mechanical equipment, and surrounding grade relative to the BFE, and it must be prepared by a licensed land surveyor, engineer, or architect authorized under state law.7Federal Emergency Management Agency. National Flood Insurance Program Elevation Certificate and Instructions You will need it twice: once at application to document proposed elevations, and again after construction to confirm the as-built structure meets the requirement. Professional fees typically run several hundred dollars.
Applying for the Permit
Submit the application to your local Floodplain Administrator. A typical package includes:
- The completed application form provided by your local jurisdiction.
- A site plan showing property boundaries, existing and proposed structures, and their relationship to the flood zone boundaries.
- Engineering drawings detailing how the structure will be elevated or floodproofed.
- A preliminary Elevation Certificate documenting proposed elevations based on the construction plans.
- A floodproofing certification, required only for non-residential structures using the floodproofing option instead of elevation.
The Administrator reviews the package for compliance with the local ordinance and NFIP minimums, with particular attention to whether the project will increase flood levels on nearby properties. Fees vary by jurisdiction and are generally modest administrative charges.
After approval, construction proceeds under periodic inspection. Once the lowest floor is in place and mechanical equipment is installed, submit the final certified Elevation Certificate confirming the finished structure meets or exceeds the required elevation. A new certificate is required at this stage because as-built conditions sometimes differ from the plans.7Federal Emergency Management Agency. National Flood Insurance Program Elevation Certificate and Instructions
Projects Inside a Regulatory Floodway
Some Special Flood Hazard Areas contain a narrower channel called the regulatory floodway, the portion of the floodplain that must stay open to carry floodwater. Development inside the floodway is held to a much stricter standard. You must show through hydrologic and hydraulic engineering analysis that your project will cause zero increase in flood levels during the base flood.5eCFR. 44 CFR 60.3 – Floodplain Management Criteria for Flood-Prone Areas
This “no-rise” requirement blocks most floodway construction. Even placing fill to raise a yard can redirect water and lift flood heights on neighboring properties. A professional engineer must run the analysis and certify no rise. If the analysis shows any increase, the project cannot proceed without a formal revision to the community’s flood maps, which is expensive and slow.
Renovations, Repairs, and the 50-Percent Rule
These standards do not apply only to new buildings. If you renovate, expand, or repair an existing structure in a flood zone and the total project cost reaches 50 percent of the building’s pre-project market value, the entire structure must be brought into compliance with current standards as if it were new construction.8Federal Emergency Management Agency. Substantial Improvement and Substantial Damage The same threshold applies after flood damage. If repair costs reach 50 percent of the pre-damage market value, the structure is “substantially damaged” and must be elevated or floodproofed to current standards before reoccupation. The Floodplain Administrator makes this determination, not the insurance company.
Some communities count improvement costs cumulatively over a set number of years, so splitting a big renovation into smaller permits does not necessarily avoid the rule. FEMA recommends that communities treat permit applications submitted within a set timeframe as a single project.8Federal Emergency Management Agency. Substantial Improvement and Substantial Damage Before starting any significant work on a flood-zone structure, ask the Administrator in writing whether the project will trip the threshold.
If You Think Your Property Shouldn’t Be in the Flood Zone
If the property’s natural ground elevation actually sits at or above the BFE and was included in the flood zone only because of the mapping’s limited precision, you can apply for a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA). You hire a licensed surveyor or engineer to prepare an Elevation Certificate, then submit the documentation to FEMA, which typically issues a determination within 60 days of a complete application.9FEMA.gov. Letter of Map Amendment and Letter of Map Revision-Based on Fill Process A successful LOMA can remove the mandatory flood insurance requirement.
If fill was placed during construction to raise a small area above the BFE, the corresponding process is a Letter of Map Revision Based on Fill (LOMR-F). Requirements are similar, but FEMA also requires the community to confirm the land and any structures are reasonably safe from flooding and that proper permits were obtained.9FEMA.gov. Letter of Map Amendment and Letter of Map Revision-Based on Fill Process Larger projects that physically change floodplain boundaries, floodway limits, or flood elevations require a full Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) after construction, and developers should first obtain a Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR), FEMA’s written opinion on whether the proposed project would meet NFIP standards if built as designed.10FEMA. Letters of Map Revision and Conditional Letters of Map Revision
What Happens If You Skip the Permit
Building without a floodplain development permit or violating the elevation requirements can trigger local code enforcement, including stop-work orders and fines. Non-compliant structures face far higher flood insurance premiums and may be effectively uninsurable at affordable rates. Lenders can force-place expensive flood coverage on the mortgage if you fail to maintain the required policy, and non-compliant properties are harder to sell because buyers cannot obtain standard financing.
The community itself faces consequences too. If a city or county fails to enforce its flood damage prevention ordinance, FEMA can place it on probation and eventually suspend it from the NFIP. Suspension means no property owner in that community can buy or renew an NFIP policy, and the community loses eligibility for federal grants and loans for development in flood hazard areas, federal disaster assistance to repair insurable buildings damaged by flooding, and federal mortgage insurance or loan guarantees for properties in flood zones.11FEMA. National Flood Insurance Community Status and Public Notification The permit is cheaper.