Chapter 8 › XI. Building Code and Floodplain Management Administration and Enforcement (Category I)

Can FEMA pay for our extra permitting and inspection work after the disaster?

FEMA term

Category I: Building code and floodplain management administration and enforcement

Short answer

Yes. Administering and enforcing building codes and floodplain ordinances for disaster-damaged structures, public, private and residential, is eligible from the start of the incident period through 180 days after the declaration is amended to authorize permanent work. There are no extensions.

What FEMA requires

Eligible: permit and plan review, inspections, enforcement, elevation certificates, condemnation determinations, substantial damage determinations and appeals, monitoring unpermitted work, staff training, contracting and public outreach.
Eligible regardless of whether the code meets PA’s facility-restoration criteria.
Ineligible: work on non-disaster structures, and adopting or updating codes, ordinances, zoning or land use plans.
Communities suspended or sanctioned by the NFIP are ineligible.
Labor: budgeted staff overtime only; unbudgeted staff regular and overtime.
Category I work can’t be the basis of an alternate project or carry a mitigation proposal.

Documentation

Small projects: a list of activities and number of locations. Large projects: activity logs or sign-ins, locations with addresses or GPS, and rights-of-entry where needed. Source: PAPPG Table 30.

Watch out · Govstar practitioner advice

Start the 180-day clock tracking on day one. Surge permitting and substantial damage work often runs past the window, and FEMA won’t extend it.

Govstar summarizes FEMA’s Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide in plain language and links to the official text. Govstar is independent and not affiliated with FEMA. This is general guidance, not legal advice.