How to Nominate a Structure to be Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Listing in the National Register of Historic Places (National Register) honors the property by recognizing its importance to its community, State, or to the Nation, and confers a measure of protection from harm by Federal or State activities. It does not, however, place any restrictions on the actions of private property owners.

Listing in the National Register allows eligibility for a variety of programs designed to assist in the preservation of significant properties, including Federal and State tax credits for certain types of rehabilitation work. Other financial incentives for preservation include grants and loans.

National Register Criteria

To be eligible for the National Register, a property must demonstrate significance in terms of one or more of four broad criteria.  Significance is evaluated in a national, state, or local context.

• events or trends;
• association with individuals who made a demonstrable and lasting contribution;
• architectural merit;
• or the potential to yield information that will contribute to a better understanding of our past.

Integrity

In addition to demonstrating significance, a property must retain physical integrity to reflect that significance; it must not have been substantially altered since the period when the event occurred, or the person lived there.

• Architecturally significant properties must retain the majority of the features that characterize their type.
• Archaeological sites must remain intact.

National Register Nomination Forms

Information concerning the physical character and historical development of a property is presented in a specific format on a National Register nomination form. Nomination forms and instructions are available from MHT; please email mht.nationalregister@maryland.gov.

Determinations of Eligibility

For purposes of regulatory compliance, agencies may request a determination of eligibility (DOE). DOEs are only made in the course of compliance projects. However, MHT staff can offer an informal, preliminary opinion on a property’s potential eligibility upon request. To find out how to determine whether a property may be a likely candidate for listing in the Register, email mht.nationalregister@maryland.gov.