Completing a National Register Nomination

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Before beginning to write a National Register nomination, please contact the State Historic Preservation Office. Our staff will discuss your property and ask for some basic history and photographs of the property. This will help us to insure that the property is eligible for listing and determine if there are any potential issues with listing the property. In order to be eligible for listing a property must have historic significance and retain the majority of its historic character and materials.

A National Register nomination contains two major narrative sections. The first is a written description of the property. A description of individual building should include the major exterior and interior elements and materials of the building. Each of the visible elevations of the building should be described. Also the general layout, materials, and features of the main interior spaces should be discussed. This description should also include additions and alterations to the building that have been made over time.

The second major section is a written history of the building. The history needs to place the property in its historic context and clearly state why the property is historically significant. Properties can be considered significant for their association with a historic event, person, or design or construction qualities. It can also be significant for its potential to yield information about our history.

Completed nominations should be submitted to our office, along with pictures of the property and a map. The pictures should show both the exterior and main interior spaces of a building. A nomination for a historic district only needs pictures of the exteriors of buildings.

Once a nomination form is completed, it is reviewed by the State Review Board. The board meets three times a year and is composed of architects, archaeologists, historians, and planners from around the state. After the board approves a nomination it is sent to the National Park Service for official listing in the National Register.