Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM)
Practice Exam
120 Multiple-Choice Questions with Answers and Rationales
1. What year was the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) established?
A. 1958
B. 1968
C. 1973
D. 1988
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The NFIP was created by Congress with the passage of the National Flood
Insurance Act of 1968, in response to rising flood disaster costs and the withdrawal of
private insurers from the flood market.
2. Which federal agency administers the National Flood Insurance Program?
A. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
B. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
C. Environmental Protection Agency
D. U.S. Geological Survey
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: FEMA administers the NFIP, including floodplain mapping, minimum
floodplain management standards, and the flood insurance program itself.
,3. What is the minimum requirement a community must meet to participate in the
NFIP?
A. Build a levee system
B. Adopt and enforce a floodplain management ordinance meeting or
exceeding NFIP minimum standards
C. Purchase flood insurance for all municipal buildings
D. Hire a full-time floodplain manager
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Communities join the NFIP by agreeing to adopt and enforce a floodplain
management ordinance that meets or exceeds FEMA's minimum requirements found
in 44 CFR Part 60.
4. The Community Rating System (CRS) is best described as:
A. A mandatory penalty program for non-compliant communities
B. A voluntary incentive program that reduces flood insurance premiums for
communities exceeding NFIP minimum standards
C. A federal grant program for levee construction
D. A FEMA program for certifying floodplain managers
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The CRS is a voluntary program under which NFIP-participating
communities that implement floodplain management activities beyond the minimum
requirements earn premium discounts of 5% to 45% for policyholders.
5. Which of the following is NOT one of the goals of the NFIP?
A. Identify and map flood hazard areas
B. Reduce federal expenditures on disaster relief
C. Guarantee zero flood losses in any community
D. Provide flood insurance to property owners
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The NFIP cannot guarantee zero losses; it aims to identify hazards, guide
sound floodplain management, and offer insurance as an alternative to disaster
assistance, thereby reducing federal disaster costs over time.
,6. A community that does NOT participate in the NFIP will:
A. Still be eligible for federally backed flood insurance
B. Generally be ineligible for federal disaster assistance and federally backed
mortgages for structures in the SFHA
C. Automatically receive a CRS discount
D. Be exempt from FEMA mapping
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Non-participating communities lose access to federally backed flood
insurance, and lenders generally cannot make federally related loans on structures in
Special Flood Hazard Areas located there; certain disaster assistance is also
restricted.
7. The Mandatory Purchase requirement for flood insurance applies to:
A. All homes nationwide regardless of location
B. Structures with federally backed mortgages located in a Special Flood
Hazard Area (SFHA) in a participating community
C. Only commercial buildings
D. Structures more than 500 feet from any water body
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Under the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, lenders must require flood
insurance for federally backed loans on buildings located in the SFHA within
NFIP-participating communities.
8. Which act significantly increased flood insurance rates and moved many
subsidized policies toward full-risk rates?
A. Stafford Act
B. Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012
C. Coastal Barrier Resources Act
D. Clean Water Act
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The Biggert-Waters Act of 2012 was designed to make the NFIP more
financially sound by phasing out subsidies and moving many policies toward actuarial,
full-risk premium rates.
, 9. The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 primarily did what?
A. Eliminated the NFIP entirely
B. Slowed and reduced some of the rate increases mandated by
Biggert-Waters
C. Made flood insurance purchase optional everywhere
D. Transferred the NFIP to private insurers permanently
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: This 2014 act responded to affordability concerns by repealing or
moderating certain Biggert-Waters rate increase provisions, capping annual premium
increases for many policyholders.
10. What is Risk Rating 2.0?
A. A new building code standard
B. FEMA's updated NFIP pricing methodology that rates individual property
flood risk more precisely
C. A dam safety inspection protocol
D. A hurricane category scale
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Risk Rating 2.0: Equity in Action is FEMA's current NFIP rating
methodology, which uses individualized flood risk variables (e.g., distance to water,
elevation, flood frequency) rather than flood zone and elevation alone.
11. What does FIRM stand for in floodplain management?
A. Flood Insurance Risk Model
B. Flood Insurance Rate Map
C. Federal Inundation Reference Map
D. Flood Impact Reduction Measure
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: A Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) is the official map on which FEMA
delineates Special Flood Hazard Areas, base flood elevations, and flood zones for a
community.
Practice Exam
120 Multiple-Choice Questions with Answers and Rationales
1. What year was the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) established?
A. 1958
B. 1968
C. 1973
D. 1988
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The NFIP was created by Congress with the passage of the National Flood
Insurance Act of 1968, in response to rising flood disaster costs and the withdrawal of
private insurers from the flood market.
2. Which federal agency administers the National Flood Insurance Program?
A. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
B. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
C. Environmental Protection Agency
D. U.S. Geological Survey
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: FEMA administers the NFIP, including floodplain mapping, minimum
floodplain management standards, and the flood insurance program itself.
,3. What is the minimum requirement a community must meet to participate in the
NFIP?
A. Build a levee system
B. Adopt and enforce a floodplain management ordinance meeting or
exceeding NFIP minimum standards
C. Purchase flood insurance for all municipal buildings
D. Hire a full-time floodplain manager
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Communities join the NFIP by agreeing to adopt and enforce a floodplain
management ordinance that meets or exceeds FEMA's minimum requirements found
in 44 CFR Part 60.
4. The Community Rating System (CRS) is best described as:
A. A mandatory penalty program for non-compliant communities
B. A voluntary incentive program that reduces flood insurance premiums for
communities exceeding NFIP minimum standards
C. A federal grant program for levee construction
D. A FEMA program for certifying floodplain managers
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The CRS is a voluntary program under which NFIP-participating
communities that implement floodplain management activities beyond the minimum
requirements earn premium discounts of 5% to 45% for policyholders.
5. Which of the following is NOT one of the goals of the NFIP?
A. Identify and map flood hazard areas
B. Reduce federal expenditures on disaster relief
C. Guarantee zero flood losses in any community
D. Provide flood insurance to property owners
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The NFIP cannot guarantee zero losses; it aims to identify hazards, guide
sound floodplain management, and offer insurance as an alternative to disaster
assistance, thereby reducing federal disaster costs over time.
,6. A community that does NOT participate in the NFIP will:
A. Still be eligible for federally backed flood insurance
B. Generally be ineligible for federal disaster assistance and federally backed
mortgages for structures in the SFHA
C. Automatically receive a CRS discount
D. Be exempt from FEMA mapping
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Non-participating communities lose access to federally backed flood
insurance, and lenders generally cannot make federally related loans on structures in
Special Flood Hazard Areas located there; certain disaster assistance is also
restricted.
7. The Mandatory Purchase requirement for flood insurance applies to:
A. All homes nationwide regardless of location
B. Structures with federally backed mortgages located in a Special Flood
Hazard Area (SFHA) in a participating community
C. Only commercial buildings
D. Structures more than 500 feet from any water body
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Under the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, lenders must require flood
insurance for federally backed loans on buildings located in the SFHA within
NFIP-participating communities.
8. Which act significantly increased flood insurance rates and moved many
subsidized policies toward full-risk rates?
A. Stafford Act
B. Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012
C. Coastal Barrier Resources Act
D. Clean Water Act
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The Biggert-Waters Act of 2012 was designed to make the NFIP more
financially sound by phasing out subsidies and moving many policies toward actuarial,
full-risk premium rates.
, 9. The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 primarily did what?
A. Eliminated the NFIP entirely
B. Slowed and reduced some of the rate increases mandated by
Biggert-Waters
C. Made flood insurance purchase optional everywhere
D. Transferred the NFIP to private insurers permanently
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: This 2014 act responded to affordability concerns by repealing or
moderating certain Biggert-Waters rate increase provisions, capping annual premium
increases for many policyholders.
10. What is Risk Rating 2.0?
A. A new building code standard
B. FEMA's updated NFIP pricing methodology that rates individual property
flood risk more precisely
C. A dam safety inspection protocol
D. A hurricane category scale
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Risk Rating 2.0: Equity in Action is FEMA's current NFIP rating
methodology, which uses individualized flood risk variables (e.g., distance to water,
elevation, flood frequency) rather than flood zone and elevation alone.
11. What does FIRM stand for in floodplain management?
A. Flood Insurance Risk Model
B. Flood Insurance Rate Map
C. Federal Inundation Reference Map
D. Flood Impact Reduction Measure
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: A Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) is the official map on which FEMA
delineates Special Flood Hazard Areas, base flood elevations, and flood zones for a
community.
