Independent FEMA Public Assistance resource. Not affiliated with FEMA.DeclarationsRecovery GuidesStart hereReform watchContact
Get help
GovStar model · Disaster Fiscal ResiliencyASTM E1557 · Smart Asset Registry · RAPID readiness

UNIFORMAT II Replacement Valuation Model

A pre-disaster method for valuing every public facility by building system, so that when funding is decided by a formula, an estimate or a project worksheet, you can show what restoring each damaged system will actually cost.

Values the building by systemFoundations, shell, interiors, services and equipment, each with its own replacement value, using the ASTM UNIFORMAT II classification.
Measures the basis risk gapCompares what a hazard-based formula would pay with what the damaged systems would cost to restore.
Feeds the Smart Asset RegistryStores the values, conditions and insurance links before the disaster, so the estimate is ready in days, not months.

Where FEMA reform stands (November 2026)

  • RAPID is a recommendation, not law. The President’s FEMA Review Council released its final report on May 7, 2026. It recommends replacing Public Assistance with the Reformed and Partnered Initiative for Disasters (RAPID): a lump-sum grant to the state within 30 days, triggered by a pre-set parametric formula using event data such as wind speed, flood depth or earthquake shaking. Replacing Public Assistance would require an act of Congress.
  • H.R. 4669 takes a different route. The FEMA Act of 2025, reported by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 57–3 on September 3, 2025, would pay permanent work up front based on cost estimates through a new Section 409, plus an optional small-disaster block grant. It has not been enacted.
  • Today’s rules still apply. Public Assistance runs under the Stafford Act, 44 CFR Part 206 and PAPPG v5.0.

The valuation model is useful on all three paths: it supports today’s cost estimates and insurance reviews, H.R. 4669’s estimate-based grants, and any parametric formula that needs facility-level calibration.

1What the model is

GovStar method

The UNIFORMAT II Replacement Valuation Model breaks each public facility into its functional building systems, assigns each system a current replacement value, and records the engineering facts that decide how that system fails in a flood, windstorm, earthquake or fire. It produces three things.

Output 1

Current replacement value by system

  • Value of each UNIFORMAT II element (for example, B20 Exterior Enclosure or D30 HVAC).
  • Adjusted to local costs, general requirements and contractor overhead and profit.
  • Rolls up to a facility value that matches your insurance schedule.
Output 2

Damage-to-cost estimate

  • Applies a damage ratio to each system based on the hazard and the facility’s vulnerability.
  • Shows which systems drive the loss (often MEP, finishes and the envelope).
  • Gives an estimate range within days of the event.
Output 3

Funding and eligibility split

  • Separates insured, FEMA-eligible and locally retained costs.
  • Prevents duplication of benefits by tying each system to the policy schedule.
  • Leaves an audit trail from pre-event value to final cost.

2UNIFORMAT II in brief

ASTM E1557

ASTM E1557, the UNIFORMAT II classification for building elements, organizes a facility by function rather than material. An exterior wall is element B2010 whether it is brick, concrete or metal panel. That is what makes it fast after a disaster: you can value a damaged system before anyone knows the exact products that will replace it.

Level 1: major groupLevel 2: group elementsTypical disaster role
A SubstructureA10 Foundations · A20 Basement constructionScour, settlement, hydrostatic damage
B ShellB10 Superstructure · B20 Exterior enclosure · B30 RoofingWind uplift, envelope breach, structural damage
C InteriorsC10 Interior construction · C20 Stairs · C30 Interior finishesFlood and water intrusion; often fully replaced after flooding
D ServicesD10 Conveying · D20 Plumbing · D30 HVAC · D40 Fire protection · D50 ElectricalHighest-value losses; switchgear, controls and equipment fail when submerged
E Equipment & furnishingsE10 Equipment · E20 FurnishingsContents and fixed equipment; check policy sublimits
F Special construction & demolitionF10 Special construction · F20 Selective demolitionUnusual structures and demolition kept separate from repair costs
G Building siteworkG10–G90 Site preparation, improvements, utilitiesSite utilities, paving and drainage around the facility
Four levels of detail

Zoom in only as far as the decision needs

  • Level 1 (B Shell): first 48 hours, broad exposure.
  • Level 2 (B20 Exterior Enclosure): the valuation and registry level.
  • Level 3 (B2010 Exterior Walls): damage scoping and adjuster alignment.
  • Level 4 (assembly line item): unit costs for labor, material and equipment.
UNIFORMAT II vs. MasterFormat

Use both, in order

  • UNIFORMAT II prices functional assemblies and works before design exists, which is when early funding is decided.
  • CSI MasterFormat organizes by trade and material for bidding and procurement.
  • Mapping one to the other gives a one-to-one audit trail from the damaged system to the final invoices.

3The basis risk gap

Parametric funding

Basis risk is the difference between what a parametric formula pays and what the damage actually costs to repair. A trigger measures the hazard (how fast the wind, how deep the water). It does not see the building. Two facilities in the same flood depth can have very different losses depending on where their electrical gear sits.

Wind speed

Cannot see

  • Roof age and attachment
  • Envelope condition
  • Rain intrusion and contents
Flood depth

Cannot see

  • First-floor elevation
  • Basement switchgear and pumps
  • Duration and contamination
Rainfall

Cannot see

  • Sewer surcharge
  • Blocked inlets
  • Local topography
Earthquake shaking

Cannot see

  • Retrofit status and code era
  • Soil amplification
  • Equipment anchorage
Who carries the gap. Under a formula grant, any shortfall between the payout and the real cost falls on the state and, through it, on local governments. Many local governments cannot legally award a contract until the money is appropriated, so an understated grant can stop a project, not just strain a budget. Public power groups have raised this concern in comments on the Review Council report, noting that formula payouts average out across an insurer’s large portfolio but not for a single utility’s plant.
Example: a wastewater pump station sits in a zone where the trigger reads 15 feet of water. The trigger cannot tell whether the SCADA panels were raised above flood level or whether the switchgear, motors and pump bearings went under. That difference can be most of the station’s value.

4How UNIFORMAT II bridges the gap

Three-layer funding architecture

The model separates when money moves from how much is needed. The trigger can stay fast and objective; the system-level valuation supplies the facility-specific number.

Layer 1Trigger: the switchConfirms the event crossed an objective threshold and releases an advance. Fast, verifiable, but blind to the building.
Layer 2Registry: the engineConverts the measured hazard into damage and cost for each UNIFORMAT II system at each facility.
Layer 3Reconciliation: the anchorTrues up to bids and actual cost, checks insurance and eligibility, and closes the audit trail.

Step 1: replacement value for each system

System value = Gross square feet × cost per SF × system share × location factor
  × (1 + general requirements %) × (1 + contractor overhead and profit %)Cost per SF and system shares come from your estimating source (for example RSMeans square-foot models or your own capital project history). General requirements typically run 5–10% and contractor overhead and profit 15–20%; leaving them out understates the value by roughly a quarter.

Step 2: event estimate for each system

System loss = System value × damage ratio (hazard intensity, vulnerability)
Facility estimate = Σ system losses + emergency work + debris + soft costs
  + code-required upgrades + contingency + escalation − insurance recoverableDamage ratios come from vulnerability curves (for example FEMA Hazus damage functions or an engineer’s fragility data) applied to the recorded hazard at each asset.

Step 3: label every estimate by maturity

A GovStar proposal for keeping a fast estimate from becoming a final number too early:

ClassBasisAppropriate useNot for
R-1 Parametric advanceTrigger and formulaImmediate cash flowA final fixed-cost grant
R-2 Registry-based initialUNIFORMAT II valuation × modeled damageAllocation and inspection triageProject closeout
R-3 Engineer-validatedSite inspection and scopeSimple facilitiesFinal value of complex lifeline or SCADA assets
R-4 Contract awardBid pricesTruing up obligations to the marketAvoiding procurement review
R-5 Final reconciledActual cost, insurance and eligibilityAudit, closeout and final duplication-of-benefits checkReopening absent fraud or material error

5The Smart Asset Registry

Pre-disaster data

The Smart Asset Registry is where the valuation lives. It is not an insurance statement of values with an address and a lump sum; it is an engineering-grade, insurance-linked inventory that can answer five questions within 72 hours of an event.

After the event

Five questions the registry answers

  1. Which assets were exposed?
  2. How intense was the hazard at each one?
  3. Which systems are vulnerable (MEP elevation, roof age, retrofit status)?
  4. What is the probable repair or replacement cost?
  5. How much is insured, FEMA-eligible or retained?
Minimum data

Five groups of fields

  • Identity: asset ID shared across GIS, finance and the FEMA applicant record.
  • Engineering: construction type, code era, first-floor and equipment elevations.
  • Valuation: UNIFORMAT II system values and the cost source and date.
  • Hazard: flood zone and depth grids, wind, seismic and wildfire exposure.
  • Insurance: policy and schedule IDs, limits, sublimits and deductibles.

Sample registry record

FieldExampleWhy it matters
Asset IDPS-3056 Wastewater pump stationTies the registry, insurance schedule and FEMA project together
Construction and code eraReinforced masonry, 1988 codeDrives code-required upgrades, which FEMA may fund if the code applied before the disaster
ElevationsFirst floor 12.0 ft; switchgear 10.5 ft; SCADA 13.5 ftTurns a flood depth into a system-by-system damage estimate
D50 Electrical value$1.42M (cost data dated 2026-07)Highest-value system at this site
Insurance linkPolicy schedule line 214; flood sublimit $500KSupports the obtain-and-maintain check and the duplication-of-benefits split
ConfidenceField-verified, PE reviewed 2026Shows auditors which values are measured and which are modeled
Governance

Data

  • Version-controlled baselines frozen before each hazard season.
  • Annual sign-off by each asset owner.
Governance

Engineering

  • Professional engineer review of high-value assets.
  • Annual recalibration of unit costs.
Governance

Insurance

  • Tracks obtain-and-maintain requirements from earlier disasters.
  • Reconciles registry values to the schedule of values.

6Use it under today’s Public Assistance

PAPPG v5.0

You do not need to wait for reform. The same system-by-system values strengthen the work FEMA reviews now.

Cost estimates

Defensible early estimates

Assembly-based estimates organized by system are easier for FEMA to validate. See how FEMA checks your cost estimate.

Repair vs. replace

The 50 percent rule

Pre-event replacement values give you the denominator for the repair-versus-replacement test before FEMA builds its own. See the 50 percent rule.

Insurance

Reductions and obtain-and-maintain

System values tied to the policy schedule make insurance reductions and future insurance requirements easier to calculate. See insurance proceeds and reductions.

Codes

Code-required upgrades

Recording code era by system shows which upgrades are required by codes in effect before the disaster. See code upgrade criteria.

Mitigation

Section 406 mitigation

Knowing which system failed and why points to cost-effective mitigation on the damaged elements. See Section 406 hazard mitigation.

Fixed cost

Section 428 and capped projects

When an estimate becomes a funding ceiling, its accuracy is your risk. See fixed-cost projects.

Two cautions. First, the Davis-Bacon Act generally does not apply to Public Assistance, so do not add prevailing-wage premiums to a PA estimate unless you pay them as normal practice on all your work. Second, a registry value is a planning number; FEMA still determines eligible cost from the approved scope of work, so keep the estimate class visible on every number you share.

7Replacement Value and Basis Risk Tester

Interactive tool

How far could a formula payout miss one facility’s flood loss?

Enter a facility, a flood depth and a hypothetical formula payout. The tester values the building by UNIFORMAT II system, models flood damage to each system, and shows the gap. Cost shares and damage ratios are illustrative defaults for demonstration, not FEMA or Hazus values; replace them with your engineer’s data for real decisions. No RAPID formula has been published, so the payout percentage is your assumption.

Sets typical system shares and cost per SF.
Bare construction cost before multipliers.
1.00 = national average.
Negative = water stayed below the first floor.
Design, permits, construction management.
Your assumption for a trigger-based grant.
Replacement value–
Modeled repair cost–
Formula payout–
Gap–
SystemShareReplacement valueDamage ratioModeled lossLoss

8Getting started

30-month roadmap
  1. Months 0–6: build the asset master. Give every facility one ID across GIS, finance and insurance; add footprints; reconcile the insurance schedule of values; record obtain-and-maintain requirements from past disasters.
  2. Months 6–18: value by system. Break major assets into UNIFORMAT II Level 2 systems; record first-floor and equipment elevations, roof age and code era; set replacement values with a dated cost source; have a professional engineer review lifeline assets.
  3. Months 18–30: test it. Build the damage-to-cost engine, run a tabletop exercise that funds a simulated disaster in 30 days, and compare the result with what a parametric formula would have paid.
  4. Every year: keep it current. Freeze a baseline before hazard season, recalibrate unit costs, and record repairs and upgrades so the pre-disaster condition is never in dispute.
Start with the facilities that carry the most value and the most exposure: treatment plants, pump stations, emergency operations centers, fire stations and schools. Getting 20 percent of your assets right usually covers most of the value at risk.

9Sources and related reading

Verify before relying
Reform sources

Primary documents

GovStar

Related reading

Standards and data

Technical references

This page describes a GovStar planning method and proposed reforms that may change. It is not legal advice and is not FEMA guidance. Reform status checked November 2026. GovStar is independent and not affiliated with FEMA.