Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) Exam
Script 2026/2027 | Full Study Companion
| A+ Certified
C -✓✓The basic responsibility for regulating land use in flood hazard areas lies with:
A: Army Corps of Engineers
B: Federal Emergency Management Agency
C: Local Governments
D: All of the above
B -✓✓No Adverse Impact:
A: Is a mandatory program for communities that participate in the NFIP
B: Encourages cooperation among individuals and communities in a watershed
C: Is a voluntary program for developers who want to minimize environmental damage
D: Is a legal principle that upholds the right of communities to regulate floodplains
D -✓✓Hydrostatic forces consist of:
A: The weight of moving water pushing on a solid object
B: Foundation rupture caused by water
C: Uplift caused by water
D: The weight of water on a solid object
D -✓✓The floodplain manager's job includes:
A: Providing floodplain management info to citizens and officials
B: Assisting permit applications
C: Monitoring the permitting process
D: All of the above
D -✓✓Floodplains provide water resources values that include:
A: Natural flood storage and conveyance
B: Water quality maintenance
C: Groundwater recharge
D: All of the above
True -✓✓True or False:
Reducing flood risk, promoting economic development, and protecting natural resources
can be compactible goals that could benefit any community.
D -✓✓Purpose of the Coastal Barriers Resources Act of 1982 was "to minimize loss of
human life, wasteful expenditures of Federal revenues, and the damage to fish, wildlife,
and other natural resources associated with coastal barriers." To achieve these goals in
the designated units of the CBRS, Congress has:
, A: Restricted the availability of Federal grants and loans that have the effect of
encouraging development
B: Denied the availability of flood insurance under the NFIP
C: Appropriated additional funds to hire more natural hazards specialists, field
biologists, naturalists, and natural resources managers at all levels of government
D: A and B
FMA -✓✓Targeted to reduce repetitive flooding damage to structures
PDM-C -✓✓Nationally competitive program with awards based on ranking factors and
evaluation criteria
HMGP -✓✓Available after Presidentially declared disasters
1 percent -✓✓The base, or 100-year flood has what percent chance of being equaled
or exceeded in any given year?
C -✓✓Results of hydrological analyses are used to estimate:
A: Approximate floodplain boundaries
B: The geometric configuration of the stream channel
C: Flood frequency and flood discharge
D: All of the above
E -✓✓The flood profiles in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS):
A: Should always be used to determine the BFE at a particular site
B: Show water-surface profiles of the 10, 50, 100, and 500 year floods
C: Are estimates based on historical data
D: All of the above
E: A and B
Zone AE (or A1-30) -✓✓The flood insurance rate zone corresponding to the 100-year
floodplains determined in the Flood Insurance Study by detailed methods
Zone AO -✓✓The flood insurance rate zone corresponding to the areas of 100-year
shallow flooding associated with sheet flow of 1-3 feet
Zone VE (or V1-30) -✓✓The flood insurance rate zone corresponding to 100-year
coastal floodplains that have additional hazards associated with storm waves
Zone A -✓✓The flood insurance rate zone corresponding to the areas of 100-year
flooding where a detailed study has not been conducted
Zone C -✓✓The area of minimal flooding (replaced with Zone X on new studies)
Script 2026/2027 | Full Study Companion
| A+ Certified
C -✓✓The basic responsibility for regulating land use in flood hazard areas lies with:
A: Army Corps of Engineers
B: Federal Emergency Management Agency
C: Local Governments
D: All of the above
B -✓✓No Adverse Impact:
A: Is a mandatory program for communities that participate in the NFIP
B: Encourages cooperation among individuals and communities in a watershed
C: Is a voluntary program for developers who want to minimize environmental damage
D: Is a legal principle that upholds the right of communities to regulate floodplains
D -✓✓Hydrostatic forces consist of:
A: The weight of moving water pushing on a solid object
B: Foundation rupture caused by water
C: Uplift caused by water
D: The weight of water on a solid object
D -✓✓The floodplain manager's job includes:
A: Providing floodplain management info to citizens and officials
B: Assisting permit applications
C: Monitoring the permitting process
D: All of the above
D -✓✓Floodplains provide water resources values that include:
A: Natural flood storage and conveyance
B: Water quality maintenance
C: Groundwater recharge
D: All of the above
True -✓✓True or False:
Reducing flood risk, promoting economic development, and protecting natural resources
can be compactible goals that could benefit any community.
D -✓✓Purpose of the Coastal Barriers Resources Act of 1982 was "to minimize loss of
human life, wasteful expenditures of Federal revenues, and the damage to fish, wildlife,
and other natural resources associated with coastal barriers." To achieve these goals in
the designated units of the CBRS, Congress has:
, A: Restricted the availability of Federal grants and loans that have the effect of
encouraging development
B: Denied the availability of flood insurance under the NFIP
C: Appropriated additional funds to hire more natural hazards specialists, field
biologists, naturalists, and natural resources managers at all levels of government
D: A and B
FMA -✓✓Targeted to reduce repetitive flooding damage to structures
PDM-C -✓✓Nationally competitive program with awards based on ranking factors and
evaluation criteria
HMGP -✓✓Available after Presidentially declared disasters
1 percent -✓✓The base, or 100-year flood has what percent chance of being equaled
or exceeded in any given year?
C -✓✓Results of hydrological analyses are used to estimate:
A: Approximate floodplain boundaries
B: The geometric configuration of the stream channel
C: Flood frequency and flood discharge
D: All of the above
E -✓✓The flood profiles in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS):
A: Should always be used to determine the BFE at a particular site
B: Show water-surface profiles of the 10, 50, 100, and 500 year floods
C: Are estimates based on historical data
D: All of the above
E: A and B
Zone AE (or A1-30) -✓✓The flood insurance rate zone corresponding to the 100-year
floodplains determined in the Flood Insurance Study by detailed methods
Zone AO -✓✓The flood insurance rate zone corresponding to the areas of 100-year
shallow flooding associated with sheet flow of 1-3 feet
Zone VE (or V1-30) -✓✓The flood insurance rate zone corresponding to 100-year
coastal floodplains that have additional hazards associated with storm waves
Zone A -✓✓The flood insurance rate zone corresponding to the areas of 100-year
flooding where a detailed study has not been conducted
Zone C -✓✓The area of minimal flooding (replaced with Zone X on new studies)
